Kapishya Springs is a truly delightful spot run by Mark Harvey (Charlie’s brother) and his wife Mel, a few miles from Shiwa Ng’andu in the north of Zambia.
Unfortunately Mark and Mel were away on holiday when we visited so we didn’t meet them but we can vouch for the lodge, bar and restaurant they have created around the natural springs. And what is more, they have wifi!
It is a most tranquil spot where the water is sweet – and as clear as crystal and as hot as bath water. The Kapishya Springs website urges one to ‘Relax and rejuvenate!’ and to ‘enjoy a wide range of activities for both fun and utter relaxation’… and so we did our best. I published a bog post, we had a very pleasant light lunch and I thought the final luxury would be a massage before we wallowed in the springs.
I made an appointment, wisely it transpired for a 30 minute ‘neck shoulders and back’ massage, spurning the full body treatment which would have taken an hour. I duly checked in at the spa, to be welcomed by a tiny woman who introduced herself as ‘Ebereen’. Her English was almost non-existent, so the session was conducted in silence, punctuated rather often with with my yelps of anguish.
She might have been tiny but my goodness, Ebereen packed a punch. The half hour session was extremely painful! Every time I yelped she grunted with appreciation and thumped and prodded and twanged muscles with even more enthusiasm. I became more and more tense, waiting for the next onslaught, which of course I could never anticipate as she was working behind me. Relaxed I was not and what a relief it was when all action suddenly stopped and she bought me a glass of water with refreshing slices of lime to signal the end of the session.
I slunk thankfully back to the bar/restaurant where John was having a coffee and chatting to the three palaeontologists we had met at Shiwa the previous day. One of them, the large, very strong and fit looking American told me that he too had booked a massage that afternoon. I felt he didn’t take my warnings very seriously, no doubt assuming I was merely an elderly wimp with a low pain tolerance.
However, after a wonderful wallow in the springs we met up again, and he looked decidedly shaken.
‘I see what you mean!’ he admitted and we shared a good laugh about our experience with this minute – and apparently highly-trained – masseuse.
What a bitter sweet experience! I trust there were no lasting after effects from the torture chamber? The water looks idyllic.
No lasting physical effects that I can pin point, Gill…
Hi Marion, this post reminded me of our massage experience in China. Alan and I decided to have a foot massage, and were set upon by a couple of extremely enthusiastic ‘operatives’. Alan has very ticklish feet, so I giggled while he wriggled during the ministrations of his tiny female masseuse. He got his reward watching me being flicked like a sheet by the somewhat larger male masseur I had been awarded. Neither of us have been fans of massages since…
Your posts are such fun to read and the photos are wonderful. I look forward to more.
Marilyn
That is so good to hear, thank you, Marilyn. I am so glad you are enjoying the words and pics. I am rather lucky to have a resident photo expert with more material than I can keep up with!
Being ‘flicked like a sheet’ sounds terrifying. There must be a way of identifying massage masochists beforehand, and if there is we need to find out. Let me know if you discover. Why don’t you start a blog too, with your travels, reading, house in France, dancing… (And scrabble?!!)