FORTE VILLAGE – SARDEGNA
Back Buzz and so buzz-worthy
While staying in Sardegna we did a day trip to the famous Forte Village in Santa Margarita – Pula. It is about 20 minutes from our villa in Chia where I was staying with friends during the European summer.
When we got there, Nancy was expecting us as non-guests of the hotel. She showed us around before starting our Thalassotherapy treatment, that would take at least three hours.
The Thalasso del Forte is a unique place. You are removed from the every day stress and the toxins that bombard your body everyday, you are there to have a fantastic experience! And that is exactly what it was. To start with it was like being on another planet, out of space somewhere. Tiptoeing passed many doors in the SPA, before reaching the pool area was like a SCI-FI movie. Therapists moved about in uniform, escorting clients to their designated rooms for treatment. This brought images in my mind of a futuristic makeover.
During my time in all the pools, I felt harmony and inner peace. Every area of a different pool was silent and serene. Voices became whispers, body and mind went into relax mode, stress was easing up and I was enjoying the personal experience and benefits of every treatment.
The treatments are of a technical nature, I have decided to give you, the reader, Forte Village‘s explanation to help you garner an exact understanding of my incredible experience.
Thalassotherapy is an ancient practice that uses seawater and the sun to cure numerous muscular, respiratory and skin ailments and to improve well being. Seawater is the most complete mineral water in nature. The Thalasso del Forte has revolutionised thalassotherapy in Europe by making the classic method even more effective with the introduction of different temperatures and saline densities. Each pool offers its own unique sensation.
Pool 1: Sea Oil, temperature (35◦C) Chemical properties: hypertonic supersaturated magnesium chloride solution. Salt concentration: 30 Bé (1 degree Baumé = Bé, corresponding to 12.08 g/l of sodium chloride). The immersion time in this pool is 10 minutes and is the beginning of the treatment cycle. The high salt concentrations reduce one’s actual body weight by 10% and therefore bring relief to the supporting joints and relaxation to the muscles. The high concentrations of magnesium salts that are absorbed into the organism by the skin stimulate a series of beneficial processes inside the cells.
Pool 2: Aloe Vera and Mint, temperature (35◦C) Chemical properties: hypertonic supersaturated magnesium chloride solution with aloe vera extract in solution 10%. Salt concentration: 30 Bé (1 degree Baumé = Bé, corresponding to 12.08 g/l of sodium chloride). The immersion time is 10 minutes. The curative properties of Aloe use go back to 1500 BC. The Egyptians and Chinese made use of it in their medicine to cure ulcers, wounds, skin diseases and entozoic parasites.
Pool 3: Salt, temperature (35◦C) Chemical properties: hypertonic sodium and magnesium chloride solution. Salt concentration: 17 Bé (1 degree Baumé = Bé, corresponding to 12.08 g/l of sodium chloride). The immersion time in the water is 10 minutes. The elevated salinity of the water brings further relief to the supporting joints and even more relaxation to the muscles. The latter is also promoted by the water temperature that, in addition to dilating the peripheral vessels, also contributes to psychological relaxation.
Pool 4: Energy, temperature (30◦ – 35◦C) Chemical properties: hypertonic sodium and magnesium chloride solution. Salt concentration: 0,9 Bé (1 degree Baumé = Bé, corresponding to 12.08 g/l of sodium chloride). The immersion time in the water is 20 minutes. This pool also provides a series of specific hydromassages. Four elements are combined with each other: water, a mixture of gas, pressure and movement. Hydromassage ‘invigorates the cells’. The treatment is not suitable for pregnant women.
Pool 5: Balance, temperature (25◦ – 30◦C) Chemical properties: hypertonic sodium and magnesium chloride solution. Salt concentration: 0,9 Bé (1 degree Baumé = Bé, corresponding to 12.08 g/l of sodium chloride). The immersion time in the water is 20 minutes. This pool is in contrast with the previous baths; the water temperature is lower than that of the other pools which causes the blood vessels to contract. Compared to pool 4 the hydromassage is now less intensive; however, gas bubbles provide a massage that is evenly distributed over the whole body, giving a moderate but significant stimulating effect on the skin.
Pool 6: Wellbeing, temperature (20◦ – 25◦C) Composition of this pool is sea water (0,8 Bé) The immersion time of the last pool varies. The large size of the pool and the possibility to do intensive exercise, for example swimming against the stream, confer special role to this pool that combines various therapeutic methods with each other – heat treatment, massotherapy and kinesitherapy .
By the end of my treatment I felt as if I really had been on another planet. The overall feeling of wellbeing and happiness continued to stay with me throughout the day. The SPA manager Zorica Nicholas said this may happen and that I must go with the flow.
It was time to come back down to earth after a full experience at Forte Village. There are eight top-class hotels to choose from should you wish to stay for a few days. My wish would be for something similar to be created here in Cape Town.
After all, we have all the ingredients for a Forte Village in the Mother City, right here on earth.
QueenB!………Abuzzing off
forte.village@fortevillage.com
www.fortevillage.com
