Day 4: Meditation and Marination

Day Four was a non-flying day. After our late arrival at 10000 Waves on Saturday evening, we slept in until it was time to go up to the spa for our scheduled array of treatments. The spa is in a beautiful Japanese style building. We started our treatment with a soak in a hot tub. After that, we met Claire and Wolfgang, our massage therapists, who escorted us to a room with two massage tables. Over the next two hours, we experienced three separate treatments, which dissipated all of the tension of the trip and probably anything left over from the last 20 or 30 years.

First we were wrapped in hot, moist, herb-infused towels and then sealed up in foil cocoons. Our bodies marinated like this while our heads were kept cool with cold towels and we received massage of the head, neck and shoulders. At the conclusion, we showered briefly in brisk, cold water. The next hour was a conventional massage By the middle, my mind was far away and I was drifting in and out of a sleep-like doze. The conclusion was a "Salt Glow" treatment. First we were rubbed with hot oil. Then we were sprinkled with salt and received a brisk rub. Now I know what a lamb chop feels like before going on the grill. We finished with a warm water rinse to remove the salt but leave the oil. Slippery and dreamy, we staggered back to our room and collapsed.

This was an expensive experience but well worth it. 10000 Waves is featured in the book 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die, and I can see why. However, a small caution.

After a few hours of vegetative relaxation, we summoned up our energy and headed into Santa Fe. Lisa had never been, and my previous visit was a drive-by lunch on business in 1981. It is a very pretty city but a little quiet. On a tip, we visited the Loretto Chapel, which features a so-called Miraculous Staircase. It was beautiful, but anyone who has visited our house will understand why we weren't sold on its miraculous properties. We stumbled on to one of the more appealing restaurants only to learn it was already booked for the night. After driving to two other neighborhoods and finding ourselves uninspired, we had a mediocre mexican meal at a rooftop cantina and returned home. One last little treat for me--awake in the middle of the night, I wandered out on to our back porch and experienced a fabulous starlit night, capped by a flaming meteorite.

Day 5 will be back in the air.