Papallacta Thermal Hot Springs

A hot springs resort is not the normal kind of place you would find Alex and I for a night. But our travel agent almost insisted on it.. Now after being in the Amazon for the last 3 days, it was pretty obvious why he is so good at his job. Since we were here, we were going to make the most of it with some needed R&R.

First thing was to have a dip in the 38 degree water fed from natural hot spring water from the underground volcanic activity near by.

The mix between the cool mountain air and the warm water was perfect. And we had an early check in too so we had the whole area to ourselves to relax in. Then we had a smart idea to go back and forth between the hot pools and what seemed to be freezing cold water pool. Enough to make your limbs tingle.

Later that night we had reserved some massages. Now I've never had a professional massage, the act of someone touching me like that is way out of my comfort zone. But that's what this holiday is all about. Yes, I'm suggesting that pushing my limits is getting a massage. Haha.

The first was a deep tissue massage. Before even entering the room I was already uncomfortable as they gave us what was paper see-through panties to wear and nothing more. But we went into the room and they were very discreet. Asking us to lay on the table and cover ourselves with a sheet while they are out of the room. But then the massage began, and deep tissue was an understatement. For little ladies they used those fists and elbows hard on us. If my face was being recorded it would not have portrayed "relaxed", it hurt alot. Alex on the other hand loved it, I don't think they could have gone hard enough for him.

The second massage was where things got weird. So Ecuador is very famous for their chocolate as we learned. The origin of cocoa and the best in the world. So why not get covered in it with a chocolate body scrub and wrap. This time the entry was far less discreet, being us into the room and telling us to take off the robes and lay on the table. The scrub started off with a rubbing down of what I assume is chocolate with chunks in it. Exfoliating with chocolate it seems, all over. Now that we were friendly, the next step was to have a shower Infront of her to wash it off. I thought that was the end, but it was only the beginning. Laying back on the table, it came the melted warm chocolate. Layering it over us completely by hand from toes to face. Once covered, she then began to wrap us in plastic wrap and then a leather cover over that. Making us feel like some sort of dessert. That's when she left the room and we waited like that, for what seemed forever. Alex said it was 15 minutes, but honestly felt like an hour. Marinating in Ecuadorian chocolate the whole time. But the story doesn't end there, the chocolate has to come off... So she takes us out of the room and down the hall. This is where new prisoners come when they are being checked into jail. Standing there with arms and legs apart facing the wall, she uses a fire hose to wash you down. I honestly can't tell you if this is part of the therapy, or something they do just for their own amusement disguised as a "thermal jet therapy". Occasionally telling us to change to the next position, but with water and chocolate in your face, that want the easiest thing to do.Read more