Despus de sobrevivir a un invierno de los libros de registro, que necesitaba un-viento, eliminar el

estrs y recargar mis bateras. Yo haba estado en el Caribe antes y mientras que usted no puede
vencer a sus playas de arena y aguas cristalinas para despejar los ltimos restos de la afliccin
clima fro, yo estaba buscando algo diferente. Y el muchacho, hice lo encuentro ... unos veinte
kilmetros fuera de Guadalajara, Mxico en un spa ms inusual llamado Rio Caliente.
Usted probablemente no va a encontrar Rio Caliente en las guas tursticas. Francamente, no me
parece en absoluto. Mi novia, Susan, mencionada por primera vez despus de un amigo masajista
poco convencional de ella quedaron entusiasmados con el lugar. Haba amado a su actitud sin
pretensiones ... un modesto lugar para la gente que a veces quera estar solo tanto como ellos
queran ser mimados. Llamamos agente de reservas de Rio Caliente en California para un folleto.
(El spa en s no tiene telfonos ... nuestra primera muestra de lo que le esperaba.) El precio, $ 670
dlares cada uno, para una estancia de diez das que incluye tres comidas vegetarianas al da,
adems de actividades de spa pareca demasiado bueno para ser verdad. Cuando tomamos en
cuenta de que podamos volar a Guadalajara gratis en nuestras millas de viajero frecuente de
Continental, Rio Caliente era.
Nuestro vuelo de Newark y recogimos una conexin en Houston. Desde Houston volamos a
Guadalajara. Todo el viaje dur seis horas, incluyendo una parada de media hora en Houston.
Al bajar del avin en Guadalajara, era fcil olvidar el invierno que acabbamos de dejar atrs. La
temperatura era de unos primaverales 78 grados y las flores estaban en flor por todas partes. Un
viaje en taxi a Rio Caliente sera ponernos de vuelta 90 pesos cada uno. Calculamos rpidamente
y pens el viaje de 20 millas nos costara unos 24 dlares. Tiramos nuestras bolsas en el maletero
y nos dirigimos hacia nuestro destino.
Esta fue mi primera visita a Mxico. Susan haba estado aqu una vez antes, pero slo en la regin
de Yucatn. Como nuestro taxi sali de la autopista principal y continu hasta un pequeo y muy
accidentado camino de tierra, nos sentimos como si estuviramos en el Mxico que slo haba
visto en las pelculas. Parando con frecuencia para dar paso a la ganadera y caballeros en
caballos, nuestro conductor pareca saber todo el mundo y salud con frecuencia. Sin embargo,
aunque este campo posea una cierta belleza agreste, no era bastante como los frondosos
bosques de pino verde que habamos visto en el folleto. A medida que avanzbamos ms y ms
en las afueras rurales y pobres de Guadalajara, Susan y yo nos miramos en silencio por la
ventana, cada uno preguntndose lo que nosotros mismos habamos conseguido!
De repente, vimos Rio Caliente adelante! Una gran puerta se abri y nos empuj. Pareca nos
transportaron en un paraso mgico! Todo pareca exuberante y verde, con hermosas flores,
colorido salpican los jardines. La carretera que conduce a la oficina es adoquinados y forrado con
un gran jardn de verduras en un lado, (que se sirven en las comidas) y el ro caliente, (Rio
Caliente) se ejecuta bajo un pequeo puente. Pagamos el conductor y fuimos a la oficina para
registrarse.
Les habamos enviado un depsito de quinientos dlares. El saldo de la cuenta se debera cuando
nos fuimos. El gerente de la oficina, un mexicano muy amable que hablaba un excelente Ingls,
nos dio las llaves de nuestra casa de campo. Nos dijo que cuando se sirve la cena. Luego nos
sonri como si el resto dependa de nosotros. Nos inscribimos para masajes y mudwraps. Tanto,
que nos cost ms pero eran muy baratos.
Subimos por un camino largo y sinuoso hacia nuestra casa y de inmediato nos sentimos la
diferencia del nivel del mar 1,600 pies estbamos ahora en. Pasamos por la gente que va y viene,
todos los que parecan estar en diferentes etapas de la relajacin. Encontramos nuestra casa y
entramos. En el interior, encontramos una chimenea, dos cmodas camas, un cuarto de bao
limpio, y dos jarras de cristal llenas de agua a base de litio, que el balneario es famoso. Nos tir
las maletas en la esquina, y tena un vaso de la bebida mgica. Tena un sabor limpio y rico. Casi
dulce en el buen sentido. Tuvo un efecto relajante inmediato. Hicimos un unpack rpida y
encontramos nuestros trajes de bao. Nos bamos a explorar el lugar para ver lo que nosotros
mismos habamos metido.

Nuestra casa estaba en la parte ms alta del spa. Hemos seguido un largo y sinuoso camino hacia
la zona de la piscina. El folleto nos haba dado una muy buena jugada en el lugar, pero al verlo
por primera vez es algo ms. Rio Caliente est situado en una terraza de 36 hectreas en un
bosque nacional de pino. Ro Caliente, que significa "ro caliente", se encuentra en una antigua
planta de curacin de la India. Toda la zona se basa en un profundo lago volcnico subterrneo
que abastece a numerosos manantiales y cascadas a lo largo de tres lados del spa. El agua sube
de la tierra a temperaturas de hasta 157 grados. Las aguas se purifican y se introducen en las
cuatro piscinas, sala de vapor, y los dormitorios de la spa. El contenido mineral del agua es
particularmente beneficioso. La combinacin de sales y minerales, incluyendo el litio es
maravilloso para sumergirse en, y an ms relajante para beber cuando se enfra. La temperatura
de las piscinas son por lo general alrededor de 100 grados; despus de haberse enfriado por un
da o dos. Las piscinas estn completamente drenados, limpiados, rellenados y cada siete das.
En nuestro paseo hasta la piscina, caballos se acercaron a nosotros para ver si tenamos cualquier
alimento. Ellos eran muy mansos y muy hermosa. Se utilizan para paseos a caballo en las
montaas de los alrededores. El lugar fue mgico! Dondequiera que miramos flores exticas y
plantas crecimos. Haba alrededor de 70 personas alojadas en el spa cuando estuvimos all. A
medida que el da avanzaba, nos quedamos impresionados por la variedad de personas: Un par
desde el Crculo Polar rtico estaban all para calentar sus cuerpos. Un grupo llamado Zero
Balancing estaban all haciendo algn tipo de masaje profundo el uno del otro. (Todo lo que s
acerca de ellos era que mantenan a s mismos y se rieron mucho.) Una maravillosa mujer mayor
con el nombre de Anne lleg un da con su amigo que tena hasta los noventa. Ella me dijo que
haba sido un escengrafo de Balanchine, haba vivido en Espaa, y haba sido muy amigo del
poeta Robert Graves. Ella me gui un ojo cuando ella dijo muy cerca. Ella era el mejor contador
de historias que haba escuchado en mucho tiempo.
Susan y yo encontramos dos sillas alrededor de la piscina y se aventuraron en las aguas termales.
Nos bajamos lentamente nuestros cuerpos de invierno en el agua caliente hasta el cuello. En la
otra piscina una clase de aerbicos de agua se llevaba a cabo. Ellos estaban haciendo algn tipo
de estiramiento mientras cantaban, "En algn lugar sobre el arco iris." A nuestro alrededor se
levantaron hermosas montaas. El sol estaba caliente, pero sin humedad, que era muy agradable.
Treinta kilmetros de distancia se alzaba un volcn. La ciudad de Tequila se encuentra en su base.
Aqu es donde la mayor parte del tequila en Mxico se hace. Susan y yo sonremos el uno al otro y
se echaron a rer. Era slo el primer da de unas vacaciones de diez das. Nuestra primera
impresin del lugar es que era moderno, muy baja tecnologa, y un gran lugar para relajarse.
Las comidas eran fantsticos. Eran en su mayora granos, frutas, sopas y verduras. Eran todos
deliciosos, y me las arregl para perder unas cuantas libras a pesar de que me com mucho de
cada comida. El comedor era donde todos los invitados se reunieron. Fue un lugar de reunin para
hablar de cmo se senta, cmo el masaje fue, o lo que compr en su viaje a Guadalajara. Aqu es
donde conocimos a gente de todas partes del mundo. Pareca que haba ms mujeres que de
hombres cuando estuvimos all. Haba parejas como Susan y yo, pero sobre todo, no pareca haber
mujer soltera o casada en sus aos treinta y cuarenta. Todos eran profesionales, y se estaban
lejos de sus puestos de trabajo o familias por un tiempo de desintoxicacin, eliminar el estrs, y
simplemente disfrutar de los alrededores exticos.
Despus de los primeros das, uno tiene un gran sentido de comunidad sobre el lugar. A pesar de
que la gente estaba constantemente yendo y viniendo desde el spa, siempre parece ser un
sentimiento general de la amistad y el bienestar entre los invitados. Algunos huspedes se
alojaban all tanto tiempo como un mes. Y muchos de ellos haban estado en el spa de dos o tres
veces antes.
Al cuarto da, Susan y yo habamos empezado a suavizar considerablemente. (Los tres primeros
das fueron de-toxing, y nuestros sistemas estaban tratando de alinearse a la comida saludable y
cambiar en el clima.) Los dos ramos toma caminatas en las montaas que rodean a cada
maana. Susan estaba haciendo la caminata antes-el desayuno. Esta caminata dur
aproximadamente una hora y media, y fue una gran manera de empezar el da. Yo estaba
haciendo otra alza despus del desayuno. Esta caminata se subi unos cuantos miles de metros

de altura y estaba ms avanzado, teniendo cerca de cuatro horas para completar. Mi caminata fue
liderado por un ranger / Episcopal Sacerdote ex militar con el nombre de Lou. Era un hombre de
unos sesenta aos que se haba trasladado a Mxico justo despus del asesinato de John Kennedy.
Era un maravilloso narrador de historias que tena la capacidad de hacer que te sientas bien
contigo mismo. Las alzas en s eran espectaculares ya veces bastante duro. Haba caminos de
todo a travs de las montaas de los alrededores. Uno tena que mantener su concentracin al
caminar estos senderos. Los precipicios fuera de los lados de estos caminos eran de mil metros de
profundidad, a veces. Cada maana nos volveramos a tomar una ruta diferente, siempre ver algo
maravilloso y misterioso. Una maana, hicimos una excursin a la desembocadura del ro caliente,
que al vapor hacia fuera de la tierra. En otra ocasin, hicimos una excursin a un agujero muy
profundo donde las mujeres indias, cientos de aos atrs, sacrificaron el hombre ms intil de la
tribu en. No tuve demasiado cerca del borde.
Una noche, los premios de la Academia estaban en. (Slo hay una televisin en todo el lugar.) Un
grupo de nosotros hizo palomitas y observ el espectculo. Otra noche, una joven actriz de Los
Angeles, y Ana, la mujer mayor que dijo grandes historias, hice un baile de primavera en honor de
la Madre Tierra y el primer da de la primavera. Treinta y nos pusimos de pie en torno a un fuego
ardiente, mientras que los poemas fueron ledos, y luego todos bailaron como paganos. Al mismo
tiempo un cometa importante se mova a travs del cielo. Yo haba trado mis binoculares y pude
ver el cometa con toda claridad en el cielo mexicano brillante. Otra noche, una mujer que
trabajaba como enfermera en un pequeo pueblo por encima del Crculo Polar rtico, dio una
charla sobre la zona. El spa cuenta con su propia energa, y se mueve a la misma.
Una de las cosas ms agradables sobre el spa era que usted podra hacer todo lo que quera
cuando se trataba de actividades ... o no hacer nada ms que sentarse alrededor de la piscina y
hornear. Hay toda una serie de terapias de mudwraps a la acupuntura china para participar en, si
as lo desea. Tuve un maravilloso masaje que dur una hora y me cost veinticinco dlares en
dinero estadounidense. Tambin tuve una mudwrap que cost siete dlares y fue simplemente
increble.
Susan y yo hicimos dos viajes a Guadalajara cuando estuvimos all. El peso mexicano es
increblemente bajo frente al dlar y Guadalajara es una ciudad hermosa. La seccin histrica de
la ciudad es impresionante, con sus museos y la catedral. Hicimos algunas compras y quedamos
encantados con las gangas. Una cosa que notamos fue que no haba una gran cantidad de
turistas en Guadalajara. La gente o ir a la ciudad de Mxico, o los centros tursticos de la costa.
Guadalajara es un secreto bien guardado.
Hacia el final de nuestras vacaciones nos pareci que habamos llegado a un nivel profundo de
relajacin. Casi como si se hunde en un estado de meditacin reparador. Entre la comida,
caminatas, baos termales, la gente, y el clima maravilloso, uno no poda dejar de librarse de la
tensin que se haba acumulado. La verdadera belleza del lugar que encontr fue slo para
aprender a relajarse de nuevo. Si quera tomar una siesta ... tomar una siesta!
Cuando el ltimo da llev a cabo, nos sentimos tener que irnos. Nosotros realmente queramos
quedarnos ms tiempo. Ahora comprendemos cmo las personas se quedan all durante treinta
das, y cmo la gente seguimos regresando. Nuestra estancia pareca ser ms de unas
maravillosas vacaciones. Pareca ser una ventana a una nueva manera de vivir. Una mejor manera
de comer, de una manera ms calmada de la vida en el mundo.
Un viaje al lado pequea tomamos un da fue a un pequeo hospital rural que era por la carretera
desde el spa. Fue dirigido por una santa hermana que tena la capacidad de leer los ojos y decirle
lo que estaba mal con usted. La hermana lo mir a los ojos con una gran lupa y luego nos dijo lo
que vio: Inmediatamente cogi mi estmago mal la ciudad de Nueva York, que haba dado un
vuelco debido al exceso de caf y alimentos ricos en los ltimos aos. Ella le dijo a Susan que ella
tuvo que ver su nivel de estrs relacionado con su trabajo, y sealado otras dolencias fsicas.
Dimos una donacin y agradeci a ella. Ella nos dio algunas hierbas para tomar cuando
regresamos a los estados. Cul fue sorprendente de esta persona y su hospital era cmo

centenares, tal vez miles de mexicanos vinieron a ella todos los meses y fueron tratados en su
totalidad por las hierbas.
En nuestro ltimo da en que dijimos adis a nuestros nuevos amigos, y nos dirigimos hacia el
aeropuerto. La vacaciones de diez das yo haba abierto a un nuevo pas. Se me haba permitido
relajarme ms de lo que haba hecho en aos! Susan y yo bamos de regreso a Rio Caliente en un
minuto de Nueva York. Recomendamos Rio Caliente a cualquiera que est buscando para relajarse
de verdad y recuperar la salud. El precio es correcto, y el lugar es mgico!

After surviving a winter for the record books, I needed to un-wind, de-stress, and re-charge my
batteries. I'd been to the Caribbean before and while you can't beat its sandy beaches and crystal
clear waters for clearing away the last remains of cold weather woe, I was looking for something
different. And boy, did I find it... about twenty miles outside of Guadalajara, Mexico in a most
unusual spa called Rio Caliente.
You probably won't find Rio Caliente in the guidebooks. Frankly, I didn't find it at all. My girlfriend,
Susan, first mentioned it after an offbeat masseuse friend of hers raved about the place. She had
loved its unassuming attitude ... a modest place for folks who sometimes wanted to be left alone
as much as they wanted to be pampered. We called Rio Caliente's booking agent in California for a
brochure. (The spa itself has no telephones... our first sign of what lay ahead.) The price, $670
dollars each, for a ten-day stay which included three vegetarian meals a day, plus spa activities
seemed too good to be true. When we factored in that we could fly to Guadalajara for free on our
Continental frequent flyer miles, Rio Caliente it was.
We flew out of Newark and picked up a connection in Houston. From Houston we flew to
Guadalajara. The entire journey took six hours including a half-hour layover in Houston.
Getting off the plane in Guadalajara, it was easy to forget the winter we had just left behind. The
temperature was a spring-like 78 degrees and flowers were in bloom everywhere. A taxi ride to
Rio Caliente would set us back 90 pesos each. We calculated quickly and figured the 20-mile trip
would cost us about 24 dollars. We threw our bags in the trunk and headed towards our
destination.
This was my first visit to Mexico. Susan had been here once before, but only to the Yucatan region.
As our taxi turned off the main highway and continued up a small and very bumpy dirt road, we
felt that we were in the Mexico we had only seen in movies. Stopping frequently to make way for
livestock and caballeros on horses, our driver seemed to know everyone and waved frequently.
However, while this countryside possessed a certain rugged beauty, it wasn't quite like the lush
green pine forests we had seen in the brochure. As we moved deeper and deeper into the rural
and poor outskirts of Guadalajara, Susan and I stared silently out the window, each wondering
what we had gotten ourselves into!
Suddenly, we saw Rio Caliente up ahead! A large gate swung open and we drove in. It seemed we
were transported into a magical paradise! Everything seemed lush and green, with beautiful,
colorful flowers dotting the grounds. The road leading to the office is cobbled and lined with a
large garden of vegetables on one side, (which are served at meal times) and the hot river, (Rio
Caliente) running under a small bridge. We paid the driver and went into the office to register.
We had sent them a five hundred dollar deposit. The balance of the bill would be due when we
left. The office manager, a very friendly Mexican man who spoke excellent english, gave us the
keys to our cottage. He told us when supper would be served. He then smiled at us as if the rest
was up to us. We signed up for massages and mudwraps. Both which cost us extra but were very
inexpensive.
We walked up a long winding path towards our cottage and immediately felt the difference of the
1600 foot sea level we were now at. We passed people coming and going, all who seemed to be in
different stages of relaxation. We found our cottage and entered. Inside, we found a working
fireplace, two comfortable beds, a clean bathroom, and two glass pitchers filled with the lithium
base water, which the spa is famous for. We threw our bags in the corner, and had a glass of the
magical brew. It tasted clean and rich. Almost sweet in a good way. It had an immediate relaxing
effect. We did a quick unpack and found our bathing suits. We were going to scout out the place to
see what we had gotten ourselves into.
Our cottage was at the highest part of the spa. We followed a long, winding path down to the pool
area. The brochure had given us a pretty good run down on the place but to see it for the first
time is something else. Rio Caliente is situated on a 36 acre terrace in a national pine forest. Rio
Caliente, which means "hot river", sits on a ancient Indian healing ground. The entire area rests on

a deep underground volcanic lake which supplies numerous springs and waterfalls along three
sides of the spa. The water rises out of the ground at temperatures as high as 157 degrees. The
waters are then purified and fed into the four pools, steam room, and the bedrooms of the spa.
The mineral content of the water is particularly beneficial. The combination of salts and minerals,
including lithium is wonderful to soak in, and even more soothing to drink when cooled. The
temperature of the pools are usually around 100 degrees; after cooling down for a day or two. The
pools are completely drained, cleaned, and refilled every seven days.
On our walk down to the pool, horses came up to us to see if we had any food. They were quite
tame, and very beautiful. They are used for horseback rides into the surrounding mountains. The
place was magical! Everywhere we looked exotic flowers and plants grew. There were about 70
people staying at the spa when we were there. As the days progressed we were amazed by the
variety of people: A couple from the Arctic Circle were there to warm their bodies. A group called
Zero Balancing were there doing some type of deep massage on each other. (All I know about
them was that they kept to themselves and laughed a lot.) A wonderful older woman by the name
of Anne came one day with her male friend who had to be ninety. She told me she had been a set
designer for Balanchine, had lived in Spain, and had been very close friends with the poet Robert
Graves. She winked at me when she said very close. She was the best story teller I had heard in a
long time.
Susan and I found two chairs around the pool and ventured into the thermal waters. We slowly
lowered our winter bodies into the hot water up to our necks. In the other pool a water aerobics
class was taking place. They were doing some kind of stretching while they sang, "Somewhere
over the rainbow." All around us beautiful mountains rose. The sun was hot, but with no humidity,
it was very pleasant. Thirty miles away a volcano loomed. The city of Tequila was situated at its
base. This is where most of the tequila in Mexico is made. Susan and I smiled at each other and
laughed. It was only day one of a ten day vacation. Our initial impression of the place was that it
was funky, very low-tech, and a great place to relax.
Meals were fantastic. They were mostly grains, fruits, soups, and vegetables. They were all
delicious, and I managed to lose a few pounds even though I ate a great deal each meal. The
dining room was where all the guests came together. It was a gathering place to talk about how
you were feeling, how your massage went, or what you bought on your trip to Guadalajara. This is
where you met people from all parts of the world. There seemed to be more women then men
when we were there. There were couples like Susan and I. But mostly, there seemed to be single
or married woman in their thirties and forties. They were all professional, and were getting away
from their jobs or families for a while to detox, de-stress, and just enjoy the exotic surroundings.
After the first few days, one got a great sense of community about the place. Even though people
were constantly coming and going from the spa, there always seems to be a general feeling of
friendship and well being among the guests. Some guests were staying there as long as a month.
And many of them had been to the spa two or three times before.
By the forth day, Susan and I had started to mellow considerably. (The first three days we were
de-toxing, and our systems were trying to align themselves to the healthy food and change in
climate.) We were both taking hikes into the surrounding mountains each morning. Susan was
doing the before-breakfast hike. This hike lasted about an hour and a half, and was a great way to
start the day. I was doing another hike after breakfast. This hike climbed a few thousand feet up
and was more advanced, taking about four hours to complete. My hike was lead by an ex-army
ranger/Episcopalian Priest by the name of Lou. He was a man in his sixties who had moved to
Mexico right after the assassination of John Kennedy. He was a wonderful story teller who had the
ability to make you feel good about yourself. The hikes themselves were spectacular and at times
quite hard. There were paths all through the surrounding mountains. One had to keep their
concentration while walking these paths. The sheer drops off of the sides of these paths were a
thousand feet down at times. Each morning we would take a different route, always seeing
something wonderful and mysterious. One morning, we hiked to the mouth of the hot river, which
steams out of the earth. Another time, we hiked to a very deep hole where Indian women,

hundreds of years ago, sacrificed the most worthless man from the tribe into. I didn't get too close
to the edge.
One night, the Academy Awards were on. (There is only one TV in the whole place.) A group of us
made popcorn and watched the show. Another night, a young actress from Los Angeles, and Anne,
the older woman who told great stories, did a Spring dance in honor of the Earth Mother and the
first day of Spring. Thirty of us stood around a blazing fire while poems were read, and then we all
danced like pagans. At the same time a major comet was moving across the sky. I had brought my
binoculars and we could see the comet quite clearly in the bright Mexican sky. Another evening, a
woman who worked as a nurse in a small village above the Arctic Circle, gave a talk on the area.
The spa has its own energy, and moves to it.
One of the nicest things about the spa was that you could do as much as you wanted when it
came to activities...or do nothing but sit around the pool and bake. There are a whole host of
therapies from mudwraps to Chinese acupuncture to partake in, if you so wish. I had a wonderful
massage that lasted an hour and cost me twenty-five dollars in American money. I also had a
mudwrap which cost seven dollars and was simply incredible.
Susan and I took two trips to Guadalajara when we were there. The peso was incredibly low
against the dollar and Guadalajara is a beautiful city. The historical section of town is stunning,
with its museums and cathedral. We did some shopping and were delighted with the bargains.
One thing we noticed was that there were not a lot of tourists in Guadalajara. People either go to
Mexico City, or the resorts on the coast. Guadalajara is a well kept secret.
Towards the end of our vacation we both found that we had reached a deep level of relaxation.
Almost as if sinking into a state of restful meditation. Between the food, hikes, thermal baths,
people, and the wonderful weather, one could not help but rid oneself of the stress that had built
up. The true beauty of the place I found was just to learn to relax again. If you wanted to take a
nap...take a nap!
When our last day rolled around, we were sorry to leave. We truly wanted to stay longer. We now
understand how people stay there for thirty days, and how people keep coming back. Our stay
seemed to be more than a wonderful vacation. It seemed to be a window into a new way of living.
A better way of eating, a more calmer way of living in the world.
One small side trip we took one day was to a small rural hospital that was down the road from the
spa. It was run by a holy sister who had the ability to read your eyes and tell you what was wrong
with you. The sister stared into our eyes with a large magnifying glass and then told us what she
saw: She immediately picked up my bad New York City stomach, that had turned a corner from too
much coffee and rich food over the years. She told Susan she had to watch her stress level
connected with her job, and pinpointed other physical ailments. We gave a donation and thanked
her. She gave us some herbs to take when we got back to the states. What was amazing about
this person and her hospital was how hundreds, maybe thousands of Mexicans came to her every
month and were treated entirely by herbs.
On our last day we said good-by to our new friends, and headed down towards the airport. The ten
day vacation had opened me up to a new country. It had allowed me to relax more than I had
done in years! Susan and I would go back to Rio Caliente in a New York minute. We recommend
Rio Caliente to anyone who is looking to truly relax and get healthy. The price is right, and the
place is magical!