Temazcal in Xcaret Travel Review
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
It has been a while since I wrote about Mexico. This time I wanted to show you some of the photos I took while in Xcaret.
To be more specific, these photos were taken in the Temazcal. The Temazcal is a healing ritual. It comes in two versions.
You can do it sauna style, or you can do the short version if you cannot handle the heat. I did both versions at different times.
The only difference between both versions is the middle part. You start by hearing a prayer from the shaman. You drink a special beverage, and you burn incense.
From there, you enter the sauna. They add heated volcanic rocks into the middle. In the sauna version, you quickly feel like a steamed lobster.
The door gets closed, and the entire room is bathed in darkness. The shaman begins to chant and sing, in Spanish, but sometimes Mayan.
He invokes all the elements. At a certain point, we all shout. This is meant to release us of our frustrations.
If you are doing the heated sauna, the shaman throws you cold water from time to time. This feels great, especially because it cures you of the heat.
One you get out of the pizza oven; you go down steps into the herbal bath. The water feels extra refreshing if you came out of the heated sauna.
This is the final part of the ritual. You can just soak there for as long as you want. It has a nice ambience.
The herbal bath is pretty deep, but it has ropes to keep you from drowning.
You can also just sit by the staircase, if you are not feeling too adventurous.
I think I ranted enough about this aspect of my Mexican vacation.
I hope you find the photos I took amusing. My name is Teresita Blanco, the Artsy Sister. Bye, bye and God bless.
