Mud Massage Review in the Health Guide
Feeling bedraggled and bemused? Consider a few hours of pampering at Contacto Natural Health Spa and Resort, for a quick pick-me-up. Tucked away in the jungle just ten minutes south of Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica, Contacto Natural is the ideal place to forget your troubles and get back to basics, with the help of one of several soothing treatments offered. I personally recommend the Fangoterapia (mud massage). Be forewarned, however, that you will be asked to don a disposable paper bikini that does little to camouflage past dietary excesses! Gratefully, a luxurious terry robe is also provided, offering momentary coverage for the short trek from changing room to treatment center.
The massage is preceded by a vapor medicinal, in the Spa’s domed, circular steam room, where one sits on built-in concrete benches before a central stone cauldron that intermittently hisses and issues cleansing herb-laced steam. A quick cold shower is next, after which one is invited to sit and relax for ten or fifteen minutes, while sipping cold mint tea and munching on a mixture of peanuts and dried peas. This “pause” or time-out, if you will, somehow heightens one’s awareness of ambient sounds, smells, sights and sensations. One becomes gratefully present to the ubiquitous rooster crowing, the dog barking, the crackle of car tires against pebble-strewn roads, the tingle of a gentle breeze against one’s skin, the rough-hewn log planks that serve as walls in the sitting room, the earthy smell of burning incense riding the air, the resident Chihuahua (Camilla) who pokes her head in, sniffs and wanders off, the surrounding melodic dialogue of nature—chattering, peeping, tweeting, trilling. 
Lying on the massage table, now oblivious to the cares of the world that precipitated the visit here in the first place, one is no longer self-conscious, much less concerned about the bikini-turned-thong paper underwear riding up into bodily crevices. The sound of recorded flutes in the background, the scent of menthol wafting from the masseuse’s hands beneath one’s nostrils and the distant memory of a simpler life transports one to another dimension. For the next forty-five minutes one is gently scrubbed with a juta (loofah), rubbed down with a natural herb-infused mud that is eventually baked dry with the aid of a high-intensity overhead light, treated to a neck and head massage, wrapped mummy-style in a light-weight blanket and ultimately left alone to savor the experience.
All too soon (eternity would not be long enough!), one is escorted back to the same simply appointed changing room and offered a delicious hot cinnamon-apple tea to sip on after cleansing one’s mud-caked body with a welcomed hot shower. The final amenity—a lovely atrapasueños—dream catcher—cradled in a long crimson leaf alongside a delicate red blossom, is presented at the time of payment ($45USD–not including tip).
Contacto Natural is a little bit of heaven on earth, offering a variety of services from pedicures ($25USD for 50 minutes), body waxing ($70USD for 70 min) and an avocado body treatment ($60USD for 60 min) to hot stone therapy ($60USD—45 minutes), Aztec sweatlodge ($25USD for 2-3 hours—minimum of six people) and Reiki ($US40 for 60 minutes). Combination packages of several treatments and vegetarian meals are also available, as well as long-term stays ranging from three days to a month for individuals and groups The grounds are lush with vegetation, the facilities rustic and unpretentious, the staff friendly and accommodating, the cost of services/lodging reasonable and the location perfect for a retreat designed to nurture body, mind and spirit.
