Happy feet

What do this season’s women’s sandals and life-enhancing elixirs have in common besides hot weather?

I could argue that health drinks, full of antioxidants and organ-cleansing powers, follow gravity straight to the toes, where rejuvenation is immediately apparent as calluses disappear, corns shrink and toenails glow pink with good health. And what better way to frame such a miracle of transformation than with the hottest summer sandals, from fun pastel-colored jellies to India-inspired bejeweled slippers to updated espadrilles?

Yeah, I could, but it feels like a stretch.

Here’s the real story:

I was in Puerto Vallarta for its film festival in November, though I never saw any of the films or attended any of the events. I blame this on the hotel. It was huge, with grounds and towers and pools named after the zodiac and bars named after every Aztec and Mayan god. I get vertigo at places like this. On the day I was supposed to be watching “The Motorcycle Diaries,” I took a wrong turn in the lobby and ended up poolside.

As I threaded my way through the chaises, I came to a tantalizing passageway. On my left was a straight edge of the pool running about 20 yards. On my right were 30 or so chaises lined up perfectly straight and perpendicular to the pool. And on every single chaise was a woman sunbathing, lounging or reading.

Not wishing to gawk, I kept my head down as I walked past and saw an extraordinary sight. It was like a film strip of feet in all shapes and sizes, with toenail polishes, tattoos, toe rings and ankle bracelets, in an array of sandals from Prada heels to Wal-Mart flip-flops. When I got to the end I laughed out loud, turned and reran the film strip.

I might have done it a third time, but I didn’t want to get arrested this early in the trip.

Several days later I fled south for the safety and comfort of Yelapa, a tiny village reached by a 45-minute open-launch ride. The perfect antidote to Vallarta, Yelapa is tucked away in a small cove with palapas dotting the steep hillsides and fishing boats choking the tiny harbor. Electricity arrived four years ago, and the most challenging activity is swinging in a hammock and daydreaming.

The mountain villagers around Yelapa make a mescal known locally as raicilla. Smoky-tasting and muy fuerte, this local moonshine produces a serene buzz, though every local will warn you that three shots are the limit. In years past, I’d hike to a mountain village called Mal Paso, where Sr. Hoya Cruz would sell me several liters from the backyard still, pure as spring water and as strong as a mule kick. One hundred pesos a liter, as long as you bring your own empty bottle.

Unfortunately, on this last trip, being so out of sorts with high-rise resorts, Rows of Toes and unwatched films, I lost count of my raicilla shots as I sat on the veranda at sunset. The next day I felt as if the mule had danced on my skull and kidneys. I couldn’t straighten up. I had a sharp, persistent pain in my liver that kept me curled in bed. In the 19th century they called it liver fever.

In the afternoon, I dragged myself to the local tienda. The unsmiling, unsympathetic young woman took one look at my wretched state and fetched a bag of dried red hibiscus flowers, a jar of agave honey and two gallons of purified water.

She instructed me to boil a couple handfuls of the flower (called Jamaica and pronounced HAI-mika in Mexico) in water for 45 minutes, strain the liquid into an earthen jar, and then repeat with fresh water. She explained that Jamaica flowers were high in vitamin C and valued for cleansing the liver and kidneys. The agave honey (sold in the U.S. as agave nectar) provided energy and an immune system boost. I also theorized that because the honey and the raicilla both came from the agave plant, maybe it contained a chemical hair of the dog that bit me.

Twenty-four hours later I was back to normal. Forty-eight hours and three gallons of hibiscus juice later I was brimming with vigor and good health.

And my idee fixe on the row of toes and sandals? Well, it never entirely subsided, though I do recall thinking after my hibiscus cure that my toes looked positively radiant.

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Hibiscus Cooler

Serves 6

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers

4 tablespoons agave nectar (found at health food stores)

6 sprigs spearmint, for garnish

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the hibiscus flowers and gently simmer for 45 minutes. Drain, and reserve the liquid. Fiill the pot with 1 1/2 quarts water, add the hibiscus flowers and bring to a boil for another 45 minutes. Strain and combine with reserved liquid. Discard flowers. Should yield about 1 1/2 quarts of hibiscus juice. Sweeten with 4 tablespoons of agave nectar, or to taste. Refrigerate until cool. Pour over ice and garnish with sprig of spearmint.

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Mango Passion Tea

From the Abbey, West Hollywood

Serves 1

12 ounces sun-brewed Ceylon black tea

2-3 drops grapefruit oil (available at Surfas Restaurant Supply & Gourmet Food, Culver City)

1/2 mango, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

Sugar

2 to 3 sprigs mint, for garnish

Mix tea and grapefruit oil in a large measuring cup. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar, or to taste. Put mango chunks and ice in large glass. Pour in tea. Garnish with mint.

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Detoxify Spa Elixir

From Kelly’s Spa, Mission Inn, Riverside

Serves 6

10 Fuji apples, washed and quartered

2 ounces (3-inch piece) ginger root

2 lemons, peeled and halved

2 teaspoons lavender buds (available at Surfas)

Process all the ingredients in a juicer. Mix thoroughly and pour into pitcher and refrigerate. Serve

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Basil-Lime Elixir

From Gingergrass restaurant, Silver Lake

Serves 4

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup water

1 cup tightly packed Thai basil, (available at Asian and farmers markets) picked from the stems

32 ounces soda water

4 ounces Sprite

Combine the sugar, lime juice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes. Cool completely. Combine this with basil and puree in a blender and then strain into a bowl. Pour 3 tablespoons into each 16-ounce glass filled halfway with ice. Fill each with 8 ounces of soda water and 2 tablespoons of Sprite. Garnish with lime or mint.

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Carrot, Apple and Ginger Root Juice

From “The Golden Door Cooks Light & Easy,” by Chef Michel Stroot

Makes 2 cups

5 medium carrots, scrubbed and trimmed

4 medium Fuji, Gala or Golden Delicious apples, quartered, cored and seeded

1 (1-inch) piece ginger root (about 1/2 ounce), peeled

Using a juicer, process the carrots, apples and ginger root until smooth. Serve immediately.

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Styled by Jane Black; food and prop styling: Karen Gillingham; manicures and pedicures: Lisa Jachno for L’Oreal/Cloutier; makeup: Helen Robertson for Lancome at celestineagency.com. Location: Westin Century Plaza Hotel & Spa, Los Angeles.