Mud baths and thermal pools

In the desert there are multiple little oasis towns with thermal waters that sprout from the ground, creating life in the desert. Mamina is one of those towns in the interior from Iquique where we went for a very relaxing weekend in the sun and pools. We stayed in a cabin with a beautiful view of the valley and the town that had it's own thermal hot spring pool. It was the most relaxing weekend ever. You just float in the warm waters and the relaxation seeps into your bones...and at night the stars are incredible.

They also have something called Barros Chino, which is a thermal pools mud spa. You go to the thermal pools resort and they put you in a room without a roof and give you a bucket of mud from the natural thermal pool that smells like rotten eggs. You completely coat yourself in the mud (in your swimsuit of course) and lay down on the wooden beach lounge chairs in the sun until it dries. Then you either cake on another layer or if you've had enough of it, you go out to the hot spring and rinse it all off. It's supposed to make your skin really smooth and  refreshed...I'm not sure if that happened or not but it was definitely an interesting experience!

Overall, Mamina was kind of a boring town but a great place to get away and relax for the weekend.