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Miracle cure in Caldas de Monchique
• 25 May 2007 •
 THERE’S undoubtedly something special about the water from Monchique. Being a regular consumer of the bottled variety I like to regard it as the elixir of life, although for one Portuguese monarch the ‘taking of the water,’ cost him his life. Let me explain. Caldas de Monchique is a spa town in the Algarve situated at an altitude of 452 metres above sea level. The Monchique mountains are volcanic giving rise to several natural springs that bubble to the surface, containing a mixture of minerals, iron and sulphate, invisibly suspended in the water. A modern bottling plant in town removes any impurities and Monchique water is sold throughout Portugal.
The healing properties have been known about since Roman times when a thermal bath was built named Mons Cicus.
Over the course of 2,000 years, many apparent miracle cures have been attributed to the water of Monchique, where guesthouses were built for the visiting sick. A public hospital was eventually established, staffed by a qualified doctor.
In fact the spa’s reputation travelled Europe wide. In 1864, an English guidebook praised the water of Caldas de Monchique for its sensational ability to heal skin complaints.
Numerous accounts were written stating that by taking mud baths and other water treatments, the sick could make a full recovery. Even kidney complaints, rabies, tumours, syphilis and bladder stones were supposed to disappear.
Men of the cloth, whose word could be believed, made several statements. A bishop said he had regained the use of his left leg and a number of Franciscan monks, returning from missionary work in the Far East, were certain the water had cured them of tropical diseases.
So what, you may be wondering, happened to the king who died? João II went there looking for a cure. At the youthful age of 39 he had developed swollen hands and limbs that would not respond to traditional medical treatments.
He arrived at Caldas de Monchique in the winter with several royal physicians to advise him. Plunging enthusiastically into the water, which rises more or less constantly to the surface at a warm temperature of 30ºC, the king was so convinced of its curative powers that he could be found bathing at any time of day or night.
Meanwhile, air temperatures in Caldas de Monchique can be bitter, sometimes dropping to below freezing. The king contracted a cold but could not be dissuaded from taking his water treatment. As his cold developed into a fever, the physicians who were there to assist him with his enlarged hands and limbs were faced with a monarch on the brink of pneumonia.
Stubborn until the end, João continued to take to the water but finally he became too weak to walk. He was transported by road to the castle at Alvor where he fell into a coma.
According to first-hand accounts the hours before his death were wretched. One man, trying to revive him by pulling his beard, shouted, “Senhor, wake up!”
Another, thinking he was dead, tried to close his mouth and eyes, when the king murmured, “It’s not time yet.” A few moments later, it was.
On hearing of his death, as a tribute to Dom João II, Lisbon City Council issued a dictate. It may seem strange and inappropriate to us today, but barbers in the city were forbidden, ‘to shave a beard or cut any hair for six months.’
Nowadays taking to the waters of Caldas de Monchique is considered to be a healthy pastime but understandably the spa hotel does not publicise the demise of the town’s most famous client. It would not benefit business to promote an advertising slogan, stating, ‘king croaked it in Monchique spa bath!’ |  Return to Top
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