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wanderluster
wanderluster
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5 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Thermal Mud Pools

  • April 9, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Saphira from Pine Hill, New Jersey
Thermal Mud Pools

"Look, you're a power ranger!" said the mother as she finished caking her son’s face with mud. He didn't look so sure. I thought most kidswould relish in being covered in mud, heck I'm an adult and I was having a blast, but maybe this little boy had the beginnings of OCD or something.

He glanced in my direction and I tried to smile reassuringly, but of course I couldn't, the mud on my face had dried and hardened and I couldn't move a muscle. I decided it would be a good time to go rinse off.

When we arrived at the thermal pool and mud bath in El Valle de Anton,I expected that we would pay some inflated kind of tourist fee equivalent to back home, so when the girl standing at a little booth said,

"uno dollar" I at first thought I had misunderstood. I handedover two dollars, thinking surely she will ask for more, I then walked, a bit perplexed, to the other side of the red and green wooden bridge where we were greeted in a most enthusiastic manner by Juan.

"Hello, English speaking?" he chirped. At first I wanted to say no, because I hadn't spent almost a year practicing Spanish to not use it at all, but Juan seemed so eager to show off his English skills that we smiled and said,

"yes." Juan walked us around and gave us a little tour. He showed us the thermal pool, which was exactly what you would think of when someone uses the term "cement pond. Juan pointed out the restrooms, changing rooms and snack bar and finally with the flair of a big grand finale, Juan showed us the mud area. He carefully explained that the white mud was for faces
and the dark mud was for the rest of your body. The mud isn't supposed to be spread willy nilly all over your body, but is to be used for places that need healing. Kind of like a mud version of aspercreme.

Juan departed to pounce on the next English speaking tourists and we made our way back to the thermal pool.

The pool was literally a big above ground looking pool made entirely out of cement and painted a dark bright blue. The water was a dark greenish gray and there were little pieces of debrisfloating around. Most tourists I saw immediately dismissed any notion of going in the pool. The water did look dirty, but it was only because of the thermal mud and the minerals. I didn't think twice and proceeded to climb in.

I was suddenly shocked at how deep the pool was. Because it was above ground it appeared deceptively shallow, but was in fact dug down into the ground and when standing it covered me up to half of my neck. The water was perfectly warm. It was not too hot, but not cold either. The minerals gave me the effect that I was
being enveloped by something comforting and soothing like a greenish gray blanket. The pool was completely shaded by trees that dropped little flower petals that floated on top of the water like boats. There was an old woman who was swimming around fishing them out and throwing them over the side. She looked as though she came there every day and later didn't even use a
changing room to change out of her bathing suit.

Much like a hot tub, you were advised to stay in the pool for no more than 15 minutes, and here is the interesting part. When we got out of the pool, the minerals we had been soaking in, made our legs feel like lead. It was both ne of the weirdest and coolest physical sensations. We must have looked pretty funny pacing back and forth for a while remarking at how heavy our legs felt and how we felt like we could barely lift them. After a few minutes the sensation subsided and we made our way over to the mud.

I was determined to follow Juan's instructions exactly so I started by putting the white mud all over my face and then proceeded to cover only part of my arms and legs with the dark mud. After my husband did the same, we took some amusing pictures of each other, and made our way over to the rocks
to dry in the sun like turtles. It didn't take very long and soon we began to feel the mud tighten on our bodies like tiny boa constrictors.

The little outdoor fountain also used the thermally heated water and it was even a delight to rinse off. Instantly I commented that my skin had never felt smoother. On the way out they were selling mud in little containers for $1.00 and I'm still mad that I neglected to buy some to take home.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the lush tropical grounds where we came to a mossy area where people, mostly children, were jumping up and down. A woman kept pointing at us and encouraging us to join the jumpers and since I'm not very good at resisting peer pressure we both walked onto the moss and started jumping. Again it was the weirdest and coolest thing. The ground, which had water deep underneath it, was bouncy and springy like a natural trampoline. I admit that we probably stayed
there jumping far longer than any two adults should have.

We grabbed some ice cream treats from a vendor and sat at a picnic table under a pavilion. We people watched, chastising those who weren't following the mud directions correctly, as sticky melting drips of ice cream landed on our hands and legs.

As would become common on our trip to Panama, I lamented how we didn't have anything like this back home and how I wished we could just stay here forever.


From journal Molas and Mud - Adventures in El Valle, Panama

Editor Pick

Thermal Mud Pools

  • December 6, 2003
  • Rated 5 of 5 by wanderluster from Evansville, Indiana
Thermal Mud Pools

Most tourists completely miss Pozos Termales. They're not mentioned in Lonely Planet or visible from town. What a shame to miss this secret hideaway where aches and pains can be soothed away.

I'd heard about them from a Panamanian woman sweating beside me in Gamboa's sauna. She hadn't used the communal thermal pools but highly recommended the mud. So we took her advice and visited the tranquil forested setting a short drive from El Valle's main road by taxi.

Our $1 admission covered everything: mineral baths, therapeutic mud, and showers. We crossed a bridge and followed a path past flowering plants leading to a sunken pool of muddy water. A man spoke to us in Spanish, but we couldn't understand him. In response to our blank stares, he pointed to two ceramic containers, lifted the lids, and gestured spooning the contents–white and black mud–into his palm and onto his skin.

Aha! We were to apply the mud, let it set then rinse off in the nearby shower. He nodded and left. We looked at each other, wondering if we should bother getting all muddy fifteen minutes to closing time.

Why not? We stripped down to our suits (having learned our lesson in Gamboa) and began to lather white mud all over our face and body. It was the consistency of homemade ice cream but thankfully not as cold.

A young woman rinsing under the outdoor shower watched us with amusement. Apparently, we were doing it all wrong. She indicated that the white mud–which we had plastered all over our bodies–was for faces only. We followed her distracted gaze. The man who'd given us the initial instructions was approaching. Hurry!

We scurried over to the other container and began slopping dark mud over the white as quickly as we could -- arms, legs, waist. Oops, missed that calf–ya got some white showing there. But we straightened up and stood there like the Cheshire Cat when he walked past and glanced our way.

Don't think he noticed our glaring white spots. But we did and began laughing again, pointing out each other's fine cover up job. A local man with white mud on his face and patches of dark mud on his arm strolled past to check his face in the mirror. Compared to him, we looked ridiculous.

He was applying mud to specific parts of his body to relieve arthritic aches. And we were preparing for a tribal dance–in full body paint.

The owner caught our eye and tapped his watch. Our mud hadn't set, but it was time to rinse. Emerging from the shower I touched my face. Incredibly soft. So smooth. The combination of sodium, potassium, magnesium, silica, bicarbonates and calcium had surpassed Gamboa's expensive spa treatments and even my swim in the mineral rich Dead Sea.

We didn't dip in the thermal pools, but I highly recommend the mud. If I were a local, I'd wallow weekly.

From journal Nature Adventures in Panama's El Valle

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