There’s
nothing more enjoyable for my wife and I than relaxing in the sumptuous thermal
baths of Mexico. When we lived in San
Miguel de Allende, we went as often as possible to “La Gruta”, a place located
in the middle of the country in the direction of the small city called Dolores
Hidalgo. The waters there reminded me of
what I’d enjoyed in a mountain forest near Seattle, WA back in the 80s. There were three levels—warm, warmer, and almost
hot. And just above these baths were a
couple of ponds with lotus flowers.
Here in
our area of Tlaxcala, we don’t have far to go to enjoy another set of thermal
waters—a place called Chignahuapan located in the state of Puebla.
Last
Friday, we got up early, ate breakfast, packed our backpack, and walked from
our house to the nearby highway to catch a “combi” (a passenger van) for the
small city of Apizaco, about 15 minutes away, where we planned to take the bus
to Chignahuapan. (Just in case you’re
wondering why we walked…well, it’s because we like to keep in shape and use the
plentiful public transportation! We had
a car years ago in San Miguel de Allende for a few months, but we found that it
made us lazy.) Above you can see the
first class bus we took to our destination.
It comes with air conditioning and movies, and the price for the one
hour trip was quite reasonable--$53 pesos for the both of us which is around
$4.25 U.S. Of course, this is because
seniors get a 50% discount on bus trips here in Mexico. And most of the drivers are quite
professional.
When we
arrived in Chignahuapan, we took a taxi ($50 pesos) to the place you see above
which is called Aguas Termales de Chignahuapan.
We could have taken a combi which would have cost us $6.00 pesos each,
but we chose to take the faster mode of transport due to the time of day.
Of
course, you can see that the resort has pools outside and
inside. What you cannot view, however,
are the small rooms that contain rectangular concrete bathtubs, about 3.5 feet
deep that allow you to adjust the temperature of the water according to how
much you let flow into and out of the tub.
Since Fridays are half price day, two hours of this luxury cost us $150
pesos (about $13 U.S.). The thermal
waters not only detoxify you but allow you to meditate or daydream—just plain
relax.
Certainly,
one can also go to the spa to enjoy the meditation room, yoga, or 20 minute
massages. There’s also a really nice
dining room where you can order from the menu or at selected times choose the
buffet. In fact, this place reminds me
of the spa I used to go to in Frankfurt, Germany called “El Pueblo”.
If you
wish to stay for the weekend, there are junior suites and master suites. The junior costs $2,599 pesos while the
master (with a Jacuzzi) runs $3,145 pesos for two people, which includes three
meals per day including additional amenities.
Since
this resort is primarily for Mexican people on holiday or taking time off like
ourselves, there’s only one person there who speaks a little bit of
English. This means that whoever plans
to use this resort needs to either speak basic Spanish with fluency or have
someone with them who does. It’s a place
where you do not often see international tourists.
The Town Of
Chignahuapan
While
the town of Chignahuapan has a population of about 30,000, there are an
additional 50,000 or more in the surrounding villages. Numerous hotels and cabins can be found at
reasonable prices. There are several
restaurants which have really good food.
Obviously, instead of staying at the spa, it’s more economical to find
housing and food close by. We’ve been
coming here several times a year for more than seven years, and we’ve found the
people to be quite friendly. Also, the
weather can be a little cool at night because the altitude is close to 8,000
feet.
As for
ourselves, we took a combi back to Chignahuapan from the resort, and had lunch
at a very nice restaurant—the one to which we’re partial and the waiters are
great. Then we walked a few blocks, got
on the bus, and went home. We’d had a
wonderful day of relaxation. Thank you
Mexico!
No comments:
Post a Comment