The Mud Baths of Vulcano.
In North America (and probably around the world), people pay hundreds of dollars for a “mud wrap” – a skin & body treatment where mud is caked onto the entire body for therapeutic benefits. In the Aeolian Islands… they have the real thing!
Immediately south of Lipari lies the island of Vulcano (named creatively after the fact that there is a smoking Volcano), home to a NATURAL mud bath at the foot of the volcano where sulfur & other gas escaping the earth heat a pool of water, creating a big, brown stinky hot-tub of miracle mud. For 2 Euro per person, you are allowed to enter the bath and soak up all it has to offer. (As an added bonus, they let you take the ‘rotten-egg’ smell on your skin home with you FOR FREE! Can’t wait to get back to Catania and give everyone a big hug!)
The information sign said that the most effective treatments occur in the morning, before eating, when the weather is cool, and after being on the island for two days to acclimatize. We’d been there an hour, had just eaten lunch, and it was almost 80 degrees… perfect! It also explained that for centuries scientists have noted the health benefits of applying the mud to your body – specifically for improving skin conditions, acne, circulation, and even minor sprains & bruises. However, I’m sure without proper showering techniques the medieval users of the mud quickly became outcasts, which in Italian is known as ‘uovimi stinkissimo’ (direct translation: the guy who smells like egg eats alone).
Loving every second of it...
Christie – being a huge spa fan back home – was in absolute heaven… running in to the water and immediately covering her whole body with the mud. I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure and tiptoed into the bath… but at least the water temperature was 28 degrees Celsius (about 94). Reluctantly, I eventually let her give me a face mask like I was her little brother and she was playing dress-up, and it actually felt pretty good… a sort of ‘metro-sexual right of passage’ moment.
... and AFTER!
After our time in the bath, we walked 20 feet to the sea, where similar vents have created what I call the ‘hot tub’ effect in the sea… seawater that is perfectly warm like a bath. We sat in the ocean for a while to finish our time there and let the remaining mud wash-off. If you ever visit the Aeolian Islands, be sure to experience something truly unique on the island of Vulcano.
The warm sea... a perfect end to a truly unique experience.
~ J. Twice
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