Jorge Amado
By Brazzil Magazine

Mineral Spa Towns

The southern mineral spa towns of Minas are well-developed health resorts whose excellent mineral springs have various therapeutic applications. Of the 13 spa towns, Caxambu, with its century-old Parque das Águas, and São Lourenço, surrounded by the green hills of the Serra da Mantiqueira, are of most interest to the traveler. Been traveling hard and fast? Recovering from a tropical disease? Sick of seemingly idyllic beaches? Overdosing on baroque? If the answer is yes to one or all of these questions, the spa towns await you.

CAXAMBU

Brazilians debate the origin of the name Caxambu. Some claim it is a combination of two African words: cacha (drum) and mambu (music), A cacha-mambu or caxambu is a conically shaped drum from the Congo, which the founders of the city likened to the knolls of the area. Others believe it came from the Indian catá-mbu (water that bubbles), in reference to the medicinal fountains. Most couldn't care less where the name came from.

It wasn't until 1870 that the springs were first tapped. Realizing the curative properties of the waters, medical practitioners flocked to the town. In 1886 Dr Policarpo Viotti founded the Caxambu water company (nationalized in 1905).

The water of Caxambu was celebrated on the international water circuit, winning gold medals long before Perrier hit Manhattan singles bars. Caxambu took the gold medal in Rome's Victor Emmanuel III Exposition of 1903, and another gold medal in the St Louis International Fair of 1904, then the Diploma of Honor in the University of Brussels Exposition of 1910.

These water Olympics were discontinued during WW I, and Caxambu's history was uneventful until 1981, when Supergasbrás and Superágua, private firms, took over the government concession. Caxambu is sold throughout Brazil, and in Miami, Florida, where the US Food & Drug Administration has approved it. Caxambu is the only Brazilian mineral water thus honored.

Caxambu is a tranquil resort for the elderly and the middle class, who come here to escape the heat of Rio and the madness of Carnaval. Some couples have been coming here every summer for 30 years or more.

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Parque das Águas

The Parque das Águas is like a Disneyland for the rheumatic. Given the proper temperament and surroundings, nursing your ailments can be fun. People come to take the mineral waters, smell the sulfur, compare liver spots, watch the geyser spout every couple of hours, rest in the shade by the canal and walk in the lovely gardens.

The park is not only good, it's good for you. Liver problems? Go to the Dona Leopoldina magnesium fountain. Skin disorders? Take the sulfur baths of Tereza Cristina. Anemic? The Conde d'Eu e Dona Isabel fountains are rich in iron. VD? The Duque de Saxe fountain helps calm the bacteria that cause syphilis. For stomach troubles, drink the naturally carbonated waters of Dom Pedro (there's a water-bottling plant on the premises). The alkaline waters of the Venâncio and Viotti fountains are good for dissolving kidney stones, while the Beleza waters soothe the intestines. The multipurpose water of the Mayrink fountains 1, 2 and 3 is good for gargling, eye irritations, and table water (without the bubbles).

The park is open daily from 7 am to 6 pm, and admission to the grounds is $1. Separate fees are required for paddleboats, the rifle range, hydrotherapeutic massages at the bath house, the Jacuzzi, sauna, clay tennis courts, swimming pool, skating rink and chairlift to the top of Morro Cristo.

Other Attractions

The eight-meter-high Igreja de Santa Isabel da Hungria, built by the princess once she conceived due to the miraculous waters of Caxambu.

Take a Chácara Rosallan, an old farm with a flower orchard and fruit grove. Rosallan is famous for two of her fruit liqueurs: jaboticaba and bottled tangerine. Empty bottles are passed over the tiny tangerines and strapped to the tree; the tangerine grows within the bottle and, weeks later, is made into a liqueur.

Getting There & Away

Seven daily buses make the 49-km trip between Caxambu and São Lourenço on a winding, wooded road. There are four buses a day to São Paulo ($9, 6½  hours), and two to Rio ($8,  5½   hours), at 8 am and midnight, via Cruzeiro and Resende.

SÃO LOURENÇO

São Lourenço is another pleasant city of mineral waters. Just south of Caxambu, it's 275 km from Rio de Janeiro, 296 km from São Paulo and 401 km from Belo Horizonte. The principal attraction is the Parque das Águas, featuring waters with a variety of healing properties, a sauna and a lake with paddle boats. It's open daily from 8 am to 5.20 pm. Other diversions include goat-cart rides for children and horse-and-buggy rides for adults.

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Tourist Office

In front of the Parque das Águas, the tourist office is open every day from 8 to 11 am and 1 to 6 pm. Staff have a list of hotels and a map of the attractions.

Post & Telephone

The post office is on Rua Dr Olavo Gomes Pinto. The telefônica is at Rua Coronel José Justino 647.

Circuito das Águas

Volkswagen Kombi half-day tours of the Circuito das Águas (Water Circuit) can be arranged for $20 per person. If possible, organize it the day before. The vans will take up to eight people, and normally visit Caxambu, Baependi, Cambuquira, Lambari and Passa Quatro, but you can also talk (bribe?) the driver into taking you to the mysterious stone village of São Tomé das Letras (80 km away). Taxis and vans congregate at Avenida Getúlio Vargas.

You could also visit Poços de Caldas a city built on the crater of an extinct volcano; this mineral spring town was settled by crystal-glass blowers of the island of Murano, near Venice. There are full-day tours to Poços de Caldas that cost $35 and leave at 7 am.

Templo da Euboise

Members of the Brazilian Society of Euboise believe that a new civilization will arise in the seven magic cities of the region: São Tomé das Letras, Aiuruoca, Conceição do Rio Verde, Itanhandu, Pouso Alto, Carmo de Minas and Maria da Fé. You can visit their temple on weekends from 2 to 4 pm, but you won't be allowed in if you're wearing shorts or sandals.

Entertainment

São Lourenço's nightlife is pretty tame. In the evenings, teenagers and young adults dress up and hang out on the fence and around the entrance of the Hotel Metrópole. The club there has dances, a bar and music video on a large screen. If that's not your scene, there's a cinema on Avenida Dom Pedro II.

Getting There & Away

There are six buses daily to Rio de Janeiro ($7, five hours), six daily to São Paulo ($8, six hours) and 11 daily to Caxambu ($0.75, 45 minutes).

SÃO TOMÉ DAS LETRAS

In southern Minas, 310 km from Belo Horizonte, São Tomé das Letras is a stone village at an altitude of 1450 meters. The name refers to the inscriptions on some of the many caverns in the region. If you're into mysticism or superstition, this is the place to go. Considered by local mystics to be one of the seven sacred cities of the world, the town is filled with hippies, strange stories of flying saucers, visits of extraterrestrials, a cave that is the entrance to a subterranean passageway to Machu Picchu in Peru, and more. This is also a beautiful mountain region, with great walks and several waterfalls.

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