| Soulshine Resort & Spa in Placencia, Belize, Central America | |
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We found our own Margaritaville in Central America - at Soulshine Resort & Spa in Placencia to be exact - just a short, scenic plane ride from Belize City. It was during the travel lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas - one of the very best times to travel, in my opinion. My husband and I and a couple from Ireland had Soulshine to ourselves. Soulshine and Placencia brought Margaritaville to mind because of the casual and laid back atmosphere. It's a place where you could easily find yourself saying, "don't know the reason, stayed here all season." And many have - like Soulshine's owners and the ex-New Yorker at the Pickled Parrot Bar and Grill in town.
We walked into town and "cruised on back home" a couple of times. We kayaked to Lighthouse Caye and snorkeled. We could have kept very busy with the many tours offered - Monkey River, Cockscomb Basin (the only Jaguar preserve in the world), Caves Branch (caving and cave tubing), and the cayes to fish and scuba. Most of the time, however, we just felt like relaxing in the hammocks on the dock where we could see 3' barracuda, flying fish, red starfish, seahorses, neon yellow fish, neon blue fish, rays and more. A little conversation, a little reading, a cool Belikin/Margarita/Pina Colada, break for a massage...what could be more relaxing? And isn't that the real essence of a spa? A place to relax and connect with yourself? That brings us to the resort's name - Soulshine. It was named after The Allman Brothers Band's song, "Soulshine." While most of the bluesy lyrics really don't connect me to this place in Belize, "Let your soul shine" and "you got to let your spirit take control" does take me right to the intention I often have when I visit a spa - reconnecting with myself.
We were met at the sleepy Placencia Airport by Jose and Stephanie, the spa director. We walked down the runway with our luggage to the nearby lagoon where a boat had been tied to a mangrove tree. We loaded the luggage and climbed aboard. Jose steered us through the Placencia Lagoon toward the Caribbean Sea. In about 10 minutes, we sighted Soulshine Resort on a point of land flanked by thick mangroves on one side and a canal on the other. We entered the canal and pulled up to the dock. Stephanie escorted us to the main building while Jose took our luggage to our room, a thatched-roof cabana. As Stephanie signed us in, she got herself a glass of water. The large plastic mug she used was from the Blue Rocks, a minor league baseball team in our home town of Wilmington, DE in the USA. She didn't know how it came to be at this resort in Central America. It is a very small world.
Stephanie showed us around the property. The main building housed the bar, lounge, dining room and gift shop. Just outside was a covered outdoor eating area next to a pool. Towards the mangroves was a building that housed the small fitness room. Towards the lagoon was the one-room spa building, a whirlpool, palapas, and a good-sized dock where you could find us most of the time swinging in the hammocks under the thatched roof.
Our room was large, simply decorated and quite comfortable. It had a king-size bed, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, two terry robes, and a shower in the bathroom. There were both a ceiling fan and air conditioner. We chose to use the air conditioner only to create white noise. A little further down the canal, there was a bar that had karaoke night until midnight one night. Otherwise, we found the fan adequate.
Here are some highlights of our time at Soulshine:
Spa Treatments - We both chose massage. I went first. The spa building contained a massage table and two baths that sort of overlooked the lagoon when the front of the room was open. There was a nice sitting area out there, also. Stephanie was both the Spa Director and massage therapist and gave a very nice massage to the tunes of Sade. While Jeff had his massage, I relaxed in "my" hammock.
Other treatments offered at Soulshine at the time of our visit:
Soul Soothers
Soul Refiner - Bathe in a relaxing floral & herb tub, followed by a detoxing herbal body wrap. Made complete with an aromatherapy 60-minute massage.
Let your Soul Glow - Stimulating Coconut Glow treatment, followed by a Caribbean Papaya Facial. Indulge in a 60-minute massage. 2 1/2 hours.
Soul Wonderful Purification Pack - Moor Mud Wrap to tone and purify your skin. An invigorating 60-minute deep tissue massage. Soak away the toxins in your 30 minute tropical bathe. 2 1/2 hours.
Let Your Soulshine - Luxuriant Body Polish to cleanse and refine your skin. Honey facial followed by a foot pampering treatment.Body Treatments
Body Polish - Luxurious body buffer, exfoliates deep cleanses and refines the skin. Leaves the whole body soft, smooth and glowing. 45 minutes.
Seaweed Wrap - This full-body wrap rings the therapeutic virtues of the sea to you. Seaweed, which is rich in vitamins, nourishes, aids in cell development, provides a smoother, more supple texture and appearance and allows the skin to build up its own natural supply of moisture. 60 minutes.
Coconut Soulshine Glow - Scrubbed from head to toe. Treat yourself to an invigorating rub, utilizing local fresh coconut, cornmeal and warmed almond oil. Your body will be remineralized, your nervous system stimulated and your skin will be silky smooth. 45 minutes.
Moor Mud Wrap & Soak - Mineral rich earth is a natural and effective treatment used since ancient times to soften, tone and purify the skin. After a stimulating body rub, warm moor mud is applied and you are wrapped. As you lay warmly wrapped, your skin will be gently massaged with warm herbal oils. Followed by a 30 minute relaxing bath. 90 minutes.
Herbal Body Wrap - Warmed from your private tub, you will be dry brushed and then enveloped in hot, fragrant herbal soaked linens. The result is deep relaxation and the elimination of toxins. Leaving your body soft and clean. 60 minutes.Massages
Swedish Massage - can relax, increases circulation, removes metabolic waste products. One of the primary goals is to speed venous return from the extremities. 60 minutes.
Sport Massage - focuses on the muscles relevant the the particular athletic activity. Also can include pre-event, post-event and maintenance techniques that promote greater athletic endurance and performance. 60 minutes.
Deep Tissue Massage - releases chronic muscle tension through slower strokes and more direct pressure or friction applied across the grain of the muscles. 60 minutes.
Hot Rocks - Use of volcanic rocks in conjunction with therapeutic massage to met away aches and pains and promote relaxation. 90 minutes.Soulshine Facials
Seaweed Facial - A naturally exfoliating facial that refines and cleanses the pores. This treatment is especially effective for toning and evening skin complexions.
Papaya Facial - A pure and natural facial that utilizes local papaya. Includes gentle face, neck and shoulder massage. Scalp will be massaged with warm herbal oils. Hands and feet are also treated to a mini massage.
Soulshine Honey Facial - Designed to pamper you. A facial that stimulates circulation while soothing and nourishing your skin. Includes scalp massage with warmed herbal oils. Hands and feet are also treated to a mini massage.
Moor Mud FacialYoga Sessions
Available upon request.Meals - The food was great! - delicious with more-than-generous serving sizes. While a great multi-course meal was planned for every night, we were the only ones dining a few nights and we were able to request meals of local dishes. China and Angelica, the chefs, fixed us out-of-this-world seafood chowder followed by a wonderful main course of fish. We ate very well.
Placencia - We walked into town, visited the internet cafe, had a drink and lunch at the Pickled Parrot, walked along the famous sidewalk, bought some souvenirs at Guatamalan shops, walked along the only sand beach in Belize, and had a gelato at an ice cream shop. We walked back to Soulshine along the canal. When we reached the end of land, we pressed the bell for the water taxi to take us across the water and to the resort.
Kayak/Snorkel - We kayaked a couple of miles out to Lighthouse Caye to snorkel. The view from the lighthouse was great! There was an amazing amount and variety of sea life - coral, tube worms, nurse shark, barracuda, spiny lobster, puffer fish, stone crab, queen parrot fish, jacks, needlefish, trumpetfish, queen conch, sea fans, starfish, blue tang, red snapper, gray angel fish, sergeant major fish, and much more. On the dock we watched pelicans and frigate birds dive for fish while stingrays glided a few feet away. When we first got to the dock, the bottom of the water looked green - like it was covered with seaweed or algae. But when a stingray swam by, the green parted to get out of the stingray's way. The green was thousands and thousands of small fish - so many, we could not see the light sand beneath them. Just fantastic!
Yoga - We got up early one morning to do yoga with Stephanie in the fitness room (so, unfortunately, did the sand fleas!). Yoga's a great way to start the day and we enjoyed our lesson. Soulshine has plans to build a separate yoga building near the spa.
Hammocks - As mentioned before, there were many times when the most compelling activity was to lay in the hammocks - day or evening.
Like any paradise, it wasn't perfect. If the breeze was not blowing, the sand fleas were miserable regardless of the amount or brand of bug repellant we tried. If you are looking for a sandy beach right out your front door, Soulshine's not that place. The beach is on the other side of town - a 10-15 minute walk away. However, we found the hammocks on the dock just fine.
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