Okay, I am happy to say that we finally found a favorable spa here in South Africa! And they are affordable, which makes it even more awesome! Kelly, Bri, Amy (another BV wife) and myself all made a trip to the Mangwanani Spa for a full day of treatments, complete with breakfast and lunch...all for under $140. Gotta say, I couldn't get that in America!
Anyway, we were greeted at the Spa by a chorus of ladies at 8:30am. Pretty awesome to walk into a Spa and be surrounded by such lovely music! We then sat down to a yummy breakfast of granola, yogurt, fruit and various muffins and pastries. So good! However, I didn't eat any of the muffins because I was too overwhelmed by the stunning atmosphere. Next time, muffins, I promise!
Following breakfast, we began our rotation of treatments....first stop? Pool time! Sadly, it was a chilly day and we just rested on the lounge chairs instead...but that was still great because we each received a relaxing hand massage as we chatted away! That hand massage was a bit of a teaser before our extensive hand and arm massage up next...
I must take a moment to explain something before I describe this treatment. We were given a card on which to write down our preferences, including amount of massage pressure. I circled "hard." I chose "hard" because every other time I have asked for "hard" I always get "light-medium" pressure and my aching muscles were ready for some pressure. So, the lady clarifies with me the amount of pressure, asking "hard?" And I confirm, "yes, hard." She says "okay, hard is hard" and begins to massage my arm. HARD. Very, very, VERY hard. I told her that she didn't have to press so hard....but the pressure was still pretty intense. I actually almost cried I was in such pain! But I held my own. Throughout this particular treatment, the lady itched her face with her shoulder. She then informed me she had a bad rash. Umm....concern? Little bit, yeah....but I figured she wouldn't be working if it was contagious, right?
My HARD arm massage came to a close, and I determined I was not going to let one rash/hard masseuse ruin my experience. So my hopes were set high as we were led to the full body massage huts. Oh man. So cool! There were two people per hut, but that wasn't much of an issue because there was a decorative divider between the beds. Bri and I shared a hut while Kelly and Amy shared the other. Heaven. This masseuse had a better understanding of the pressure my body requires and I was quite pleased. The only stumbling block was my tiny bladder. Hey, I was trying to stay hydrated!
Following Heaven, we were served lunch, again accompanied by the singing ladies. Lunch was delicious. It's important to note, men reading this, that whomever orchestrated the Spa Day had not only women in mind, but men as well. And it obviously worked, because there were plenty of men present for the treatments and food. Towards the end of lunch, the ladies flocked to various tables to serenade the Birthday Guests. Funny...they surrounded our table...but none of us were celebrating a Birthday...aw well, can't complain about a serenade!
My favorite treatment of the day was up next...the foot and leg massage. Wow, I thought I hit Heaven in the Full Body, but my goodness gracious, me oh my! That foot and leg treatment was superb! Maybe it's because I have been running...
From the foot and leg massage, we were ushered to the head and scalp massage. For those of you who have your hair cut by a good stylist, you know what a basic head massage feels like...but this...oh, this. You have not experienced a true head and scalp massage until you have one for 45 minutes. I felt so very relaxed after this treatment, I could have taken a long nap easy.
There's more! We returned to the little huts for our Facials. I actually fell asleep during this one, it was that good... Finally, we were shown to our final treatment...the body scrub. The scrub itself was basically a coarse salt-like exfoliation concoction that gets rubbed over the body. But the best part of the scrub was the shower afterward. The water was nice and warm and I wanted to stand under it forever! But I obviously didn't...I had to get home and make dinner after all.
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