Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2006, Page 46

Urðarstekkur Guesthouse
Cheap accommodation just by bus-terminal
at Mjódd
Urðarstekkur 12 - 109 Reykjavík
tel: 557-4095
Classified
Grundarfjörður Youth Hostel
Do nothing, then rest. Or go hiking, swim-
ming, horse-riding, whale wathcing, kayak-
ing, golfing and more.
Central in Snæfellsnes. Open all year.
Tel: 562-6533/8956533
grundarfjordur@hostel.is
“You are going to a spa,” my editor said with
a sly smirk on his face, obviously enjoying the
idea of sending a man for whom the word
“bouncer” is included in any verbal description
– to a beauty parlour. “Apparently, men now
go to spas,” he offered up as an excuse. “It’s the
new squash.”
Well, I am happy to report that the joke is
on him.
I entered Laugar Spa – Beauty and Mas-
sage Clinic, and was greeted by my masseuse,
Anna María. Once my shirt was off and I was
lying comfortably, face down, on the massage
bench, she started describing the therapy for
me.
“We try to focus on what we call holistic
treatments. We prefer to work the whole body,
or several different areas, instead of focusing
on one specific area of the body. We combine
something like back, shoulders and face, or
head and feet,” she explained as she began
working my lower back. “The most popular
treatments are the hot stone treatment, and the
chocolate treatment.” Chocolate? “Yes, we use
a special oil made from chocolate. Chocolate is
rich in antioxidants, it is very good for circula-
tion, and it smells good, too.”
After about 20 minutes of a back rub, with
relaxing music playing at low volume from a
speaker somewhere, I was drifting in and out
of consciousness. I could distinctly feel the
stress and tension of daily life leaving my body:
in that sense, a massage is more akin to exor-
cism than any other bodily treatment.
“More and more men come here to get a
facial treatment,” Anna María told me when
the back massage was over. “It has become a
popular gift from wives and girlfriends. The
golfer’s dream, which is a back and foot mas-
sage, is also very popular among men.”
She gave me a sniff of two different bottles
of massage oils and explained to me that the
facial treatment was really an aromatherapy
treatment as well as a massage. “We let people
choose between different oils. Different smells
have different effects on the body.”
I am also told it takes about seven to eight
minutes for the smell to start working, but
you will immediately recognise the scent that
is most beneficial to your body at that time.
“People always make the right selection; you
automatically prefer the smell that gives your
body what it needs the most,” she said as I se-
lected an oil that smelled vaguely of wood and
jasmine. Its name was impossible to remember
under the conditions of extreme relaxation,
but I was told that the oil is most beneficial to
people who are under a lot of pressure.
Afterwards, I was treated to a facial scrub,
which removes the dead skin cells from the
face, to reveal the new and fresh skin un-
derneath. Then a moisturising cream, with
a distinct smell of hemp, was applied to my
face. The smell was to cause me a significant
amount of trouble later in the day, but com-
pared to the moisturising and curative abilities
of hemp cream, it was probably a small price to
pay.
Although massage and facial scrubs are an
integral part of the operation, the experience
is not complete without a visit to the sauna.
Actually, calling it a sauna is a gross under-
statement. The Laugar Spa offers up a massive
relaxation room containing seven different sau-
nas, each with a special theme based on aroma,
lighting and sound or differing temperatures.
There are ice showers, cold tubs and cold-
water buckets to cool you off once the sauna
becomes too effective.
Also available is the seawater Jacuzzi,
and the six-metre wide waterfall, which is set
against softly formed granite sculptures by
artist Sigurður Guðmundsson. All this may
sound nice, but what really blew me away were
two rooms situated on the opposite ends of the
much larger sauna room. On one end, there is
a special relaxation room filled with La-Z-Boy
chairs and a fireplace.
“This is where people can go to relax,”
Anna María told me. “In here it is forbidden to
talk. It is very popular to get massagers in here
and give people a shoulder rub before entering
the saunas.” On the opposite end is the restau-
rant, where you can get warm meals and cold
drinks. “People often come here to spend the
whole day. Getting a massage, eating, going to
the sauna and taking a swim.” I daydreamed,
briefly, about being one of those people, then
fought the smile and nodded, saying I under-
stood how that might be a pleasant experience.
Spending a whole day at the überspa. I then
tried to drag out my visit, in the interest of
journalism, for as long as possible.
When I eventually left Laugar Spa, I may
not have looked any less like a bouncer. But at
least I looked like a clean and relaxed bouncer.
Seven Saunas and a La-Z-Boy
Spas are for men
by sveinn birkir björnsson
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Grundarfjörður Youth Hostel 46
Kaldbakskot Guesthouse 46
Urðarstekkur Guesthouse 46
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