The wind was howling off shore so paragliding didn’t look like it would be in the cards today (we need wind coming from the ocean in order to take off and stay flying above the ridges). Mallory and Rewa were heading over to Sweet Lake to go and bathe in the mud. I had seen some people caked in dried mud before, namely Israeli Tal and the old man Han from the Netherlands. Supposedly the mud’s minerals do wonders for your skin. Jon and I were going to catch up to them but got side tracked by a game of chess where he thoroughly crushed me.
By the time we reached the Sweet Lake beach, the girls were walking towards us and had finished their muddy experience. Rewa explained that it wasn’t so much “mud bathing” as “mud scraping and smearing”. Jon and I hiked passed the small lake on a trail that led into the jungle. I had flown over this area numerous times but hadn’t checked it out by land. After about by ten minutes we reached the small stream where small pockets of white-yellowish mud can be found. Both being mud bathing virgins, we took the advice from others and began using rocks to scrap off the mud while mixing in a bit of water. It turned out to be a fair amount of work but eventually we had enough of the concoction and began to spread it on our skin. Thankfully we are both secure enough in our masculinity to be able to smear the mud on each other’s backs with only the occasional chuckle!
Scraping the mud:
Getting muddied up:
A couple of deer in headlights:
Jon meditating but I was more reminded of "Apocalypse Now":
Drying out:
Consternated Pillsbury dough boy?
We sat and baked in what little sunlight was poking through the foliage. For best results you’re supposed to wait for at least an hour for the minerals to soak into your skin. More people began to arrive including a funny somewhat chubby family from Liverpool. Once dried, we rubbed off the caked on mud to leave a white, talcum powder feeling substance. We decided not to bathe in the slow flowing river pools but hiked back to Sweet Lake to wash off followed by a Frisbee chucking session.
My superhero pose...not sure who I fight with my soft skin powers...
Freaky Jon:
I've got some socks on:
Jon's super hero look:
It definitely made my skin feel softer but I don’t see myself heading back there day after day as some do. To each their own...
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