Posted on 12/14/2001 11:41:03 PM PST by jslade
SATURDAY DECEMBER 15 2001 Cherie stops Blair being stick in the mud BY TOM BALDWIN, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
THEY rubbed fruits and mud over each other’s bodies. They screamed and went through a “rebirth”. Then they made a wish for world peace. All in all, it made a change from everyday life for a nice English couple, Tony and Cherie, trying a New Age experience on the Mexican Riviera. They emerged refreshed even though the bit about world peace did not really work out.
It seems that the Prime Minister and his family had quite a holiday in August as they relaxed, for once, away from the glare of publicity. Journalists who accompanied them on a trade mission to Latin America were told only that the Blairs were staying behind for a private family holiday near the tropical resort of Cancún.
However, the Maroma Hotel, where rooms can cost up to $1,260 (£865) a night, has since proudly displayed a picture of the Blairs above its reception desk. Staff still talk about the “wonderful” experience of caring for Britain’s Prime Minister and his wife, who mixed amiably with other guests and tipped generously. During their stay at the hotel, the Blairs were particularly impressed by the Temazcal, a Mayan steam bath, where they took part in a “rebirthing ritual” wearing nothing but their swimming costumes.
Mrs Blair, whose enthusiasm for New Age and alternative therapies is well known, initially went to the Temazcal on her own. But she so enjoyed the experience that she persuaded a slightly shy Prime Minister to join her the next evening.
The ceremony took place at dusk: Mr Blair and his wife, wearing bathing costumes, were led to the Temazcal, a brick-coloured pyramid on the south end of the beach.
According to the hotel brochure: “The Temazcal ritual is equally beneficial for the mind and spirit. Led by Nancy Aguilar, the participants are invited to meditate, feel at one with Mother Earth and experience inner feelings and visions.”
Ms Aguilar told the Blairs to bow and pray to the four winds as Mayan prayers were read out. Each side of the building is decorated with Mayan religious symbols: the sun and baby lizards representing spring and childhood; a bird to signify adolescence, summer and freedom; a crab to represent maturity and autumn; and a serpent — the most sacred in the Mayan Indian culture — to symbolise winter and transformation.
All that is even before you get inside. Within the Temazcal, a type of Ancient Mayan steam bath, herb-infused water was thrown over heated lava rocks, to create a cleansing sweat and balance the Blairs’ “energy flow”. Ms Aguilar chanted Mayan songs, told the Blairs to imagine that they could see animals in the steam and explained what such visions meant.
They were told the Temazcal was like the womb and those participating in the ritual must confront their hopes and fears before “rebirth” and venturing outside. The Blairs were offered water melon and papaya, then told to smear what they did not eat over each other’s bodies along with mud from the Mayan jungle outside.
The Prime Minister, on holiday just a month before the September 11 attacks, is understood to have made a wish for world peace. Before leaving, the Blairs were told to scream out loud to signify the pain of rebirth. They then walked hand-in-hand down the beach to swim in the sea.
Despite being a Roman Catholic, Mrs Blair has had a long interest in alternative therapies. She has been photographed wearing an acupuncture needle in the top of her ear as well as a “bio-electric shield” pendant filled with “magic crystals” to ward off harmful rays from computers and mobile phones. She has also been a client of Bharti Vyas, the New Age guru, whose holistic therapy centre in London she officially opened last month.
However, the involvement of her husband in such matters has previously been unknown. Those close to him suggested yesterday that he “probably went along with it to please Cherie”. A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: “I’ve no idea whether all this is true. The Prime Minister, as you know, is in Belgium for the European summit. However, what I can tell you is that, like any other couple on holiday abroad, they enjoyed doing what the Romans do.”
Or indeed, the Ancient Mayans.
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