The Spa Solution : Relief for the stressed-out, from low-cost to luxury : Soaking Up the Legacy of Puerto Rican Hot Spot

Pretend you’re a tea bag. Start out stiff and dry. Then steep in an oversized concrete mug full of hot, mineral-laden water for 15 minutes or so. Remove. You’re limp as a wet noodle. Repeat as needed.

That’s the prescription for relaxation at Parador Banos de Coamo, a Puerto Rican spa located near natural hot springs that have been relieving the aches and pains of generations of Puerto Ricans. Taino Indians--the island’s original inhabitants--discovered the rejuvenating waters centuries ago.

Legend has it that these waters were the fountain of youth the Indians described to Ponce de Leon. The Taino regarded the springs as a holy place of healing, as do many of today’s visitors.

Sitting in the dun-colored, California-esque hills of Puerto Rico’s cattle country, Banos de Coamo was once one of the major resorts in the Caribbean. Clients from all over the world soaked in its springs. Franklin D. Roosevelt took the waters here in the ‘30s.

But the once-glamorous spa met hard times after World War II. It went bankrupt and slipped into decay. The elegant hacienda-style buildings, thick-stuccoed walls and sturdy buttresses quickly surrendered to the predations of time, crumbling like some ancient archeological ruin.

About 15 years ago, signs of new life emerged among the tattered remains of the original 1848 hotel. A parador , or country inn, was grafted onto the remnants of the old resort. Today, its rather stark modern walls rise directly from rich, bougainvillea-draped foundations of a century past. The sight of the new rising from the old is a continual reminder of the spa’s themes of rebirth and rejuvenation.

This is a homey, unpretentious place, utterly devoid of the glitz you’d expect to find at any resort brash enough to call itself a spa.

Under the shady umbrella of the massive, vine-covered tree dominating the spa’s central courtyard, shouting children chase squawking chickens along brick walkways while straw-hatted gardeners fuss over the shrubbery. Lounging about in chairs and chaises, a grab bag of adult vacationers ranging in shape from sleek to sloppy spends the afternoon in a drowsy stupor. A few have yet to leave the rocking-chair refuge of their room’s front porches, and slowly peruse the day’s newspaper.

At the edge of the plaza, near an overgrown, outdoor bar shaded from the sun by a rusty tin roof, three guitarists fronted by a pot-bellied singer wearing a pink bathing suit pump twangy sounds into the thick tropical air. Bar patrons drain beers or pina coladas. A few sip tropical fruit drinks made from wild berries, grapes, limes, tamarind or sugar cane.

Just a splash away from the band, past the coin-operated mechanical blue dolphin ride, a keyhole-shaped swimming pool boils with activity. Sunbathers sprawl. Kids cavort. It’s a scene common to pools the world over--save for the ancient remains of flower-decked pavilions rising toward the sky and the somnolent sway of palm trees, bamboo and mango trees.

But the real action--or inaction--lies down a flight of dark stairs, through a gloomy arcade reminiscent of New World Spanish colonial architecture.

There, a pool of hot water awaits, its mineral-rich waters a liquid balm for ailing muscles and stressed-out spirits.

There’s some argument as to just how hot Coamo’s hot springs are. Local bathers debate whether the waters are warmer or cooler than on some previous visit. Posted signs proclaim the temperature to be 109 degrees, but even at the vents where water fresh from the springs enters the pool, the temperature feels far below that.

But whatever the temperature, the bathtub-warm water is just right for soaking. Curiously, the salty waters are practically empty of bathers, and the resulting sense of tranquillity sets the mind adrift.

Overhead, white egrets coast across a lapis-blue sky. All is silent save for the insistent chirps of birds skittering through the trees and the soft rustle of leaves. A motorcycle occasionally chatters by on the dirt road separating the spa from the Coamo River.

Across the little river, cattle graze, oblivious to soaking sybarites and health-seekers.

The riverbank offers a new view of the spa, and a quick route to more public thermal pools lying just downstream. (The Banos de Coamo pool is restricted to guests of the parador .)

Visible from water’s edge is the surprising sight of the buttressed outer walls of the Banos de Coamo, fortifications embodying almost medieval solidity. Their rusty-pink hue provides a pastel background to the more vivid hues of red flowers and green vines.

At first, those solid walls seem unnecessary, then unavoidable. They ensure the undisturbed sense of ease essential to spa-type relaxation, and they enclose the hot waters, pools and plazas just as an oyster encloses a rough-edged pearl.

GUIDEBOOK: Parador Banos de Coamo

Getting there: American and Delta serve the Puerto Rican capital city of San Juan from LAX for about $650 round trip, with advance purchase. From San Juan, American and Carnival fly on to Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city, which is about 20 minutes by car from the parador . The round-trip air fare is $68. Taxis and rental cars are available at the Ponce airport.

The parador: Parador Banos de Coamo, P.O. Box 540, Coamo, Puerto Rico 00640, is south of La Ruta Panoramica (the Panoramic Route), a network of scenic country byways running east-west from Mayaguez on Puerto Rico’s western edge to Yabucoa on the island’s southeast tip. For reservations at Parador Banos de Coamo, call a travel agent or call (800) 443-0266.

For more information: Contact the Puerto Rico Tourism Co., 3575 W. Cahuenga Blvd., Suite 248, Los Angeles 90068, (213) 874-5991.