Turn Your Master Bath Into A Spa Retreat

Read article : Turn Your Master Bath Into A Spa Retreat

A Spa Sanctuary: Get away from it all and turn your master bath into a spa retreat

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As you slip deeper into the bubbling, effervescent silky water, warming and moistening your body, your fingers trace the limestone tub. The lights dimmed low, you willingly release the pent up tension of the busy week; with work and kids, you haven’t had a chance to get away.

As you fall further into a calming state of meditation, your trance is broken once your mind begins to question when you were last at a spa. A few months ago? A year? Who cares — your bathroom’s your retreat now.

Not surprisingly, many Scottsdale residents have been ditching the hotel-based day spa and creating that spa experience right in their own bathrooms — for years, even — and they only continue to do so, especially with bathrooms growing in size.

But this doesn’t mean day spas don’t spark inspiration for homeowners just looking for an easier, more accessible means to de-stress and get away from it all — in their bathrooms.
“The bathroom is more than just a place to brush your teeth,” says Jeremy Smith of Central Arizona Supply in Scottsdale. “It’s now a place where you can take time to relax.

“What has really made it more spa-like and people creating more of a spa experience has definitely been led by people going to hotels,” Smith says, “and seeing these hotels have changed the way they do bathrooms.”

Paige Snodgrass, a showroom consultant at the Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery in Scottsdale, has witnessed this trend over the past year as well.

“Eight of every 10 clients I work with are trying to make (their master baths) more of a spa,” Snodgrass says. “This is truly a retreat for them.”

Both agree that homeowners are now spending the extra cash on themselves, to get what they want instead of merely what they need, to make more long-term goals with their master baths to make it that “special room,” as Snodgrass puts it.

“It’s the way of thinking that’s changed,” Smith says. “Now it is much more, ‘What do I want in this bathroom for myself?’ ”

Creating the experience can be as minimal as replacing a shower head to a complete, more elaborate remodel.

One shower head to consider is the Raindance AIR Series from Hansgrohe, which is an AIR-injected shower that adds one part air to every two parts water. Depending on the head and finish, you can purchase this item from $120 to more than $5,000.

“With this new technology, it feels like you’re standing in the rain, which is actually relaxing,” Smith says.

Over the past year, one change Smith has witnessed is an increase in freestanding bath sales. He says in the past, 90 percent of Central Arizona Supply’s sales were comprised of regular bathtubs. Now, it has become a battle of the baths with freestanding tubs taking 50 percent of the business.

“Freestanding can free up to two or three feet of space, making your current bathroom bigger,” Smith says. “So, that’s the reason you’re seeing this trend — as well as they’re beautiful, so it’s an aesthetic thing.”

But the regular bathtubs are fighting back — with the Jason Hydrotherapy tub.

“Since (the Jason Hydrotherapy tub) came out four months ago, our tub sales have gone through the roof,” Smith says, “and that has really balanced the freestanding baths we’ve been selling more of.”

Jason Hydrotherapy tubs, priced at $14,790, are unique in that they are the only tubs that use Microsilk, which are oxygen-rich microbubbles. These clouds of oxygen penetrate deep into your pores for a more thorough cleansing, moisturizing your skin. They also keep your bathwater warm, so you don’t have to add more hot water. It’s also “a technology they’ve been using to clean clams,” Smith adds.

Snodgrass calls bathtubs similar to the Jason Hydrotherapy tub “combination tubs.” These tubs have jets and air bubbles, and the purchaser can have the “best of both worlds,” she says. The No. 1 reason why customers will opt for these tubs in their spa bath? According to Snodgrass, it’s all about the health and stress-reducing benefits.

“The main reason people will put combination tubs in their master bath is for the therapeutic reasons to aid in mental wellness and help your mood,” she says.

Other unique products Smith and Snodgrass have been selling in their respective showrooms include the Numi toilet, which comes complete with feet warming capabilities, a deodorizer, a heated seat, an integrated air dryer and more. “People love it,” Snodgrass adds. This product is perfect for those who want to spend more time in their bathrooms.

On the other hand, there’s the Electric Mirror waterproof TV. This amenity can be found in luxury hotels and can help complete the spa experience in your master bath, but it can also help those multitasking individuals maintain efficiency in the mornings.

A master bath remodel into a spa-like experience can range anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000. It just all depends on what you want and how much you want to spend.

“If you want pretty much a car wash in your bathroom or a toilet of the day, then more money will go into it to create that spa effect,” Snodgrass says.

For more information about how you can turn your master bath into a spa retreat:

Central Arizona Supply
16431 N. 90th St., Scottsdale
(480) 922-9191
centralazsupply.com

Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery
8340 E. Raintree Dr., Bldg. A-1, Scottsdale
(480) 556-0103
fergusonenterprises.com

Scottsdale Living Magazine Winter 2012

Inside the Weekend Home of Your Dreams

Read article : Inside the Weekend Home of Your Dreams

May 18, 2017

Your second (or third, or fifth) house should be a place where life is simpler, the design is a little bit more loose, and the shower has glass walls. So we asked renowned designer Russell Groves for tips on how to build your dream retreat.

You made it to "weekend home" status, which means you're a hard worker or you're in finance. Either way, congratulations! Now comes the tough part, where you have to find the perfect place to indulge your leisure time. Somewhere that feels different from your everyday living situation, a house that's comfortable and inspiring in equal measure. And truth is, the best way to get what you want is to create it your damn self. Just like one couple from Palo Alto did when they bought the jealousy-inducing mod-cabin you're looking at here.

When they first saw the place, it was mid-way through construction, had a distinct knockoff French chateaux vibe, and was larger than they were looking for—(12,000-square-feet!)—but the setting, all 250 acres of it, was too perfect to pass up. They were looking for a place to escape bustling city life, entertain their extended family and friends, and experience the outdoors. Russell Groves and his team spent more than two years gut renovating the property. What they—and Groves—aimed to do was open up the space, make the outdoors come indoors, and create an escape hatch "that allows comfort and privacy." Unless you're in the shower. (You'll see.)

"This meant plenty of bedrooms and baths, a large open kitchen, an extra large dining room table, recreational outdoor spaces, and a charming goes home that allows comfort and privacy," says Groves. Now, the home is, in the words of the owners, magical, elegantly causal, open, and peaceful. Some elements of the original facade, including the stone, remain.

Tip #1. Location is Still Everything

Especially if you live in a city—most of Groves' clients are from Manhattan—you're probably looking for space, light, and air. That's not so hard to find. But don't just settle for the any old great outdoors. Hone in on the outdoors that gets you fired up, and work from there. "Adjacency to key elements, such as the beach, the woods, the lake, or the ski slopes is essential," says Groves.

Tip #2. Be a Little Weird

Just like a vacation, a weekend home is a place to break out of your normal routines. Including your default design vibe. "A weekend home provides clients, and us as their designers, with the flexibility and opportunity to stray further from the 'conventional,'" notes Groves. "Since these homes are used less frequently, clients are willing to be more daring and experiment with furnishings, accessories and art that they love, but may not want for a primary residence." Which is how you get a black coffee table made of ebonized petrified wood, or a custom Groves & Co. chandelier in the entryway that "emulated the starry sky," according to owner Adam Weiss. That said, no need to make your house into a fever dream of over designed furniture or accessories. Here, vintage chairs by Mira Nakashima and ottomans accent the living area.

Tip #3. Get High

This is going to blow your mind: when you're higher up, you can see more. "When building a new home, it's best to build on the highest elevation point, sitting the home on an axis resulting in optimal light and views," says Groves. Here, in Napa, the house sits high on a crest of the Mayacamas Mountains, a 130-acre ridge, at an elevation of 1420 feet above sea level, on the valley’s western edge. The view from the pool—during sunrise, sunset, and every sun in between—would make every one of your Instagram followers hate you so much. Aim for that.

Tip #4. Open Up a Bit

Particularly in a vacation house where guests will be wandering in and out through the day, the main hang-out space tends to be the kitchen, for an obvious reason: that's where the food is. Make sure yours is built for function and conversation. "Be sure to include an oversized island that provides ample room to prepare large family meals and for everyone to gather," advises Groves. An island-sized island lets everyone everyone gather around—and if they're smart, they'll take the hint to help with dinner.

Tip #5. Make Your Outsides Feel Like Your Insides

You're here to breathe deep, so don't skimp on the windows, and consider the idea of a wall to be more a suggestion than a requirement. The porch is basically an extension of the living room, and looks out over the valley below. When the 70-foot retractable window wall is open—and it often is, because why wouldn't you if you could?—the rear porch and double-height great room become one big, beautiful chill space.

Tip #6. Recognize that Work Always Comes on Vacation

We all know that "out of office" is a cruel euphemism for "still doing work, just somewhere else," which explains why the owners opted to install a bona fide office into their escape home. By having a dedicated (but still laid back) workspace that's out of the way of friends, guests, and freeloading family members, they can take care of business fast, then get back to the real task at hand: day drinking.

Tip #7. Put Seating Everywhere

Why? Because seating serve the double purpose of looking cool and setting the tone for how you'll use that space. Deep, cushy couches quietly invite people to sit and chat, or read a book. While stools in front of a fireplace (below) announce to guests that this is a house that appreciates s'mores.

Tip #8. Bath Time Can Be Sexy Time

Not necessarily sexy in the sex way, but sexy as in beautiful, relaxing, and, yeah, jaw-dropping. The master bathtub below is marble with a custom marble surround, behind a glassed-in shower with a view—and not just of who's inside. "Our favorite aspect of the master bath is how open it is to the outdoors, with infinite views of the peaked mountain tops," says owner Lynn Callaghan. And the guest bath (above) looks like it comes with an aperol spritz.

Tip #9. Treat Yo Self

It's a getaway home. Bless it with at least one major (and potentially absurd) luxury that you would never shoehorn into your everyday mansion. In this instance, the owners went with a lavish master bath that opens up to a private outdoor spa, offering his-and-hers open-air showers and a secret garden—all linked to the master bedroom, which also has a meditation space. If a Zen stroll through some azaleas isn't your taste, that's fine. It's your house. Install the movie theater/bowling alley/illegal growing room of your dreams.

Tip #10. Look Into the Flames

Whether or not your patio resembles that of a four-star hotel, you want someplace outdoors that you can gather round at night, drinks in hand, while telling old stories about each other that you'd never say in mixed company. And the key to this happening, more than the booze, is the fire. It's elemental, and magic, and extremely impressive if you can start one without using lighter fluid.

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Why Zimbabwe should be your next holiday destination

Read article : Why Zimbabwe should be your next holiday destination

Source: Why Zimbabwe should be your next holiday destination – telegraph.co.uk  13 December 2016

Last month, after years of discussion and a £120 million loan from China, Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls International Airport was finally opened by President Robert Mugabe.

There are no direct flights from the UK as yet, but with a runway capable of handling the world’s largest planes, plus 28 aircraft docking bays which could triple the capacity of the old airport to 1.5 million passengers a year, it looks set to usher in a new era of tourism for Zimbabwe.

When I landed there from Johannesburg a few weeks before the official opening, there was already a buzz in the air – particularly at the Victoria Falls Hotel, where the patio restaurant was full of diners in celebratory mood.

One official told me that between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors are arriving by foot each day on the Zimbabwe side of the falls (which straddle the border with Zambia), a clear sign that the country is back on the tourism map. The number of arrivals should increase dramatically now that the airport is complete.

What can visitors expect? On the one hand, “Zim” is spectacular, a place the BBC’s former Africa correspondent Michael Buerk called “the most beautiful country on the continent”. It has impressive natural features: mighty rivers (the Zambezi and Limpopo), game-filled plains (at Mana Pools), a lake half the size of Belgium (Kariba), a national park the size of Wales (Hwange) and boulder-strewn hills adorned with ancient San art (Matobo).

But it is also a country that has seen horrific genocide, its people brutally suppressed by politicians who have tried to quash democracy, destroying a once-thriving agricultural economy and creating hunger, homelessness and 80 per cent unemployment.

Despite all this, Zimbabweans are positive people, their motto being “We’ll make a plan”. Now that Robert Mugabe is 93, their plan – of a country without him – is gaining momentum. Tourism will be a big part of that.

I have been back to Zimbabwe every year for the past three decades, to visit the country of my birth. On my latest trip, I was amazed by the number of old friends returning to tourism as a way of making a living.

Over two weeks, every camp I stayed in was full of international guests, enjoying an experience every bit as enriching as in any other southern African country – and substantially cheaper than neighbouring Botswana or Zambia.

For those who want to see more of the country, new internal flights on the low-cost FastJet airline, together with private aviation companies, make this possible. I combined flying and driving around the country’s three biggest tourist destinations – Victoria Falls, Hwange and Lake Kariba. Here is my guide to the highlights.

The Explorations Company (01367 850566; explorations company.com) is offering a 12-night trip to Zimbabwe, with three nights at Zambezi Sands, four at Little Makalolo and The Hide, and three at Changa Safari Camp, from £4,790 per person, including flight, transfers, full board and most activities.

Victoria Falls

Why go?

One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, this is the world’s greatest mass of falling water. Some 5,633ft wide and 343ft tall, the falls are as impressive today as when David Livingstone wrote that “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”.

On the Zimbabwean side there are far more viewpoints (16) than in Zambia, including one above the thundering Devil’s Cataract and four facing Main Falls, where at peak season more than 27 million cubic feet of water fall per minute, drenching onlookers.

Because Victoria Falls has been a hub of tourism for decades, there are lots of activities on offer, from bungee jumping, abseiling and white-water rafting to diving with crocodiles. For the less adventurous, there are craft-shopping trips and sunset cruises.

While first-timers might prefer to stay in the town – at the relaxed Ilala Lodge (ilalalodge.com), the glamorous colonial Victoria Falls Hotel (victoriafallshotel.co) or the family-friendly Victoria Falls Safari Lodge (africaalbidatourism.com), new camps have been built just a 45-minute drive out of town – a welcome option for those who prefer to get away from it all after they have seen the falls.

The place to stay

Zambezi Sands, a bush camp on a remote stretch of the Zambezi river, was created by conservationist Mark Butcher. He has been protecting Zimbabwe’s wilderness for decades, both as a national parks ranger and through his community-based Imvelo Safaris group (imvelosafarilodges.com), to which Zambezi Sands belongs.

Butcher knows the falls area intimately and can arrange almost any activity, from fly-fishing for tigerfish to photographing lunar rainbows over the falls at night.

On this tranquil bend in the river, hippos snort and luminous blue kingfishers swoop. In the surrounding Zambezi National Park, plentiful wildlife roams. Days can be spent on game drives (mainly for elephant), walking through forests of Jackalberry and palm, fishing or canoeing with naturalists or affable camp managers.

This elegant, contemporary camp operates like a friendly boutique hotel. Its eight enormous Bedouin tents are on timber decks, with a plunge pool, outdoor shower, living area and bathroom with roll-top bath.

The big communal living room has colonial-style furnishings, the wide deck outside features a firepit (a cosy spot for stargazing) and the outdoor dining tables are in the daytime shaded by big cream umbrellas. The food is fresh, inventive and presented with pride by 27-year-old chef Frankie Banda.

Best of the rest

For real luxury, Matetsi River Lodge (andbeyond.com) offers the best of all worlds: big elegant rooms, a wine cellar and spa, as well as water activities and game viewing.

The 13 new tents at the Victoria Falls River Lodge (victoriafallsriverlodge.com) are airy and contemporary, with private plunge pools – but views are of the outskirts of Livingstone in Zambia, so the camp doesn’t feel remote.

The Elephant Camp (theelephantcamp.com) is highly recommended, but it is in the bush rather than on the river.

Hwange National Park

Why go?

This game park is not just huge – 5,625 square miles, about nine times the size of Greater London – but also boasts a wider variety of wildlife than anywhere else in Africa. As well as an estimated 50,000 elephants, in herds as large as 400, it is home to more than 100 species of mammal and 400 types of bird – a biodiversity to match that of the Kruger National Park in South Africa or South Luangwa in Zambia, but with fewer people, camps and cars.

What game you see depends on the area. In the hillier north-west (near Sinamatela, Nahimba and Camp Hwange), wild dogs are common. In the centre, near Main Camp, lions are frequently spotted, including prides that have perfected the art of elephant hunting. In the south-east, grassy vleis attract a staggering range of game.

Over four days in the central area, staying at three camps, I saw elephants, lions, a cheetah with three cubs, big herds of buffalo and giraffe, as well as relatively rare sable, eland and roan, and birds ranging from a giant verrose owl, with its distinctive pink eyelids, to the tiniest golden shaft-tailed whydah, trailing long glossy feathers to attract a mate.

The place to stay

Of three camps recently refurbished by Wilderness Safaris (wilderness-safaris.com), the smallest – Little Makalolo – has the most charm. (The others are Davidson’s, with a stylish new thatched lounge and pool, and the totally rebuilt Linkwasha, which has swanky new tents with sliding glass doors.)

Sleeping just 12, Little Makalolo is contemporary in style, with six mesh-walled tents containing shabby-chic furnishing. It feels more like a friendly little bush home than a luxury camp, and is set beside a watering hole where so many wild animals congregate that at night you are accompanied to your tent by an armed ranger.

Tents feature deep copper basins, outdoor showers open to the stars, comfortable beds with crisp white linen, and strong reading lights (a rare but much-appreciated extra).

Best of the rest

The Hide (thehide.com), a homely thatched camp built by the Preston family in 1992, is set on a private two-square-mile concession on the park’s edge. Its 10 thatched A-frame rooms are well laid out, with shaded verandas, practical shelving and, in the honeymoon suites, outdoor baths and double showers.

Head guide Nicholas Gaunje has worked for the family for 13 years, and imparts knowledge with sensitivity and dry humour, whether on a walking safari, a sleep-out in the Dove’s Nest treehouse, or a night drive (allowed on the concession).

He remembers the days when rhinos were frequently spotted in the area. “We haven’t seen any for about three years,” he says. “If it continues like this, the Earth won’t have any left.”

Lake Kariba

Why go?

This is one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world, like an inland sea covering an area roughly the size of Wales. When it was created in 1958 to generate hydroelectricity, more than 1,700 animals were rescued by conservationists from the rising waters and relocated to the adjacent Matusadona National Park.

Today the 540-square-mile park teems with wildlife and has just three places to stay within it: Rhino Safari Camp (rhinosafaricamp.com) in the north, a haunt of fishermen; Spurwing Island (spurwingisland.com), a favourite with families; and Changa Safari Camp, a smart new camp on a peninsula in the east.

Lake Kariba is a place where there is little to do but take in the big skies, the spectacular escarpment that stretches all the way to the Rift Valley, large expanses of water and the rich diversity of wildlife on its shores.

Activities revolve around water: watching birds, elephants, buffaloes and sometimes lions from a small speedboat; taking an atmospheric sunset cruise; kayaking (while looking out for hippos and 14ft-long crocodiles more than a century old) and fishing for bass, catfish and prized tigerfish.

The place to stay

Changa Safari Camp (changasafaricamp.com) is located  on the shores of Matusadona National Park. Owners Kevin Higgins and Angus Preston are keen conservationists intent on eradicating poaching, which is prevalent here. This they hope to achieve through their new NGO, the Matusadona Anti-Poaching Project (MAPP), and by attracting tourists back to enjoy Zimbabwean wildlife.

The camp – 23 miles from the main Kariba harbour – can be reached in 40 minutes by Avoca Transfers’ 16-seater speedboat, or in 20 minutes by plane to Fothergill Island. Whichever option you take, the journey there is an adventure in itself; we saw elephants before we had even reached the camp.

Like the Hide, Changa has been designed by people who understand what makes a safari pleasurable. The eight tents – two of which can accommodate a family of four – are large and well spaced out, with shaded verandas, comfy living spaces and bedrooms enclosed by big mesh windows which keep out bugs without cutting off the views.

There are several places in which to socialise, too: a bar shaped like a boat for sundowner G&Ts; a plunge pool surrounded by shaded bandas; a living area with a library and squashy sofas; and a dining space where the chef creates delicious buffets, from Cape pickled fish and Neapolitan meatballs to inventive salads and fresh fruit platters, all served with South African wines.

Most guests spend their time either out on the water, G&T in hand, or walking on the shores with an armed guide, seeing elephants, buffaloes and occasionally lions.

Best of the rest

Hire a houseboat. Arguably the most glamorous is the Matusadona (mv-matusadona.com), sleeping up to six.

TC - AquaSpa Majuro Shower Bath

Read article : TC - AquaSpa Majuro Shower Bath

TC - AquaSpa Majuro Shower Bath - Left or Right Hand OptionThe AquaSpa range is a High Powered Whirlpool System with an Air Spa System Also

The innovative AquaSpa system offers all the benefits of a whirlpool system (aquajet) with additional air spa jets.

Strategically placed air jets in the base of the bath produce a constant stream of bubbles that gently, but firmly, act on your skin and work deep down into your muscles to ease away all your cares.
Water Purity is maintained throughout the bathing cycle by the Ozone sanitizing system, while a variable power control allows fingertip adjustment to the force of the jets.

All Baths in the range come complete with a front and end bath panel and bath waste as standard

The Hanoi is a Shower/Bath designed in a "L Shape" to provide standing room for Showering. The bath is 1800mm Long and is 800mm wide but increases to 900mm wide in the showering section.  

The bath has No tap Holes and needs to be used with either a wall/deck/floor mounted bath/shower Filler ( Sold Separately). 

Bath Features

• 1.2 HP Pump
• Touch Control Panel
• Digital Radio
• 6 Body Jets
• 8 Spa Jets
• Massage Intensity Control
• LED Underwater Light
• Water Level Safety Sensor
• Ozone Sanitizing System

Product Details

• Dimensions - W1800mm x H640mm x D800mm & D900mm 
• No Tap Heads
• Waste Included
• L Shape Shower Bath
• Left or Right Hand Option
• Front and End Panel Included

Please select left or right hand option from drop down menuThe Bath/Shower screen is sold separately

Note - Please note images are for display only, you will need a wall/deck/floor mounted bath Filler to fill bath.

Bruce Beresford-Redman's prison diaries - CBS News

Read article : Bruce Beresford-Redman's prison diaries - CBS News

Produced by Josh Yager, Paul LaRosa and Ana Real

"48 Hours" first told the story of Bruce Beresford-Redman in 2012. His wife, Monica, was murdered in a Cancun hotel while his family was vacationing. Bruce returned to the United States to take care of his children, but when Mexico charged him with his wife's murder, he was extradited there to stand trial. Nearly three years later, he is still on trial.

Where does the case stand and how long will Monica's family have to wait for justice? "48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts confronts Beresford-Redman about the charges against in him in his first sit-down interview.

Video diary: "My name is Bruce Beresford-Redman ... I'm in a Mexican prison, where I've been on trial now ... for more than two years and nine months. I am accused of the murder of my wife, Monica ... for a crime I did not commit."

In a video diary he made for "48 Hours", Bruce Beresford-Redman says not a day goes by that he doesn't "miss and think about his wife."

Monica's family misses her too.

"I wish I could believe that he didn't have anything to with my sister's murder," said her sister Jeanne Burgos in a 2012 interview with Troy Roberts. "It's for the love that we have for her and all the memories that we have about her ... that we are here today demanding justice."

Bruce Beresford-Redman

48 Hours

Recording diary entries in his cell inside Cancun's Benito Juarez Prison and elsewhere around the prison compound over a period of four months, Beresford-Redman says he wanted people to "understand what can happen, to get an idea of, what things are like here in Hell."

Video diary: "Making these video has really made me much more visible here ... which is really not a great thing for me...My existence in here has become a very basic struggle to simply survive."

"For many years I worked in reality TV and the reality of reality television, even at its best ... it's a world that is created. Being in here is real ... it is real and it sucks. .. it's noisy and it's smelly and it's sweaty and hot and cramped ... it's extremely uncomfortable.

"This is not an easy place to be I really don't have any, any what you could call real friends here ... and it's impossible for me to really have anybody in here that I can trust."

Riots there are not uncommon. In his video diary, Beresford-Redman documents the effects of being tear-gassed during an uprising.

Video diary: "It's Friday ... I've heard some pops and then I smelled the tear gas ... I'm getting kind of a choking sensation now ... and my eyes are just burning...it's just really strong ... itchy ... burning ... oh, god, it's awful."

A NEW REALITY

Living behind bars has been the reality for Beresford-Redman since "48 Hours" first met him in February 2012.

"This is not the United States. I really don't know this system. I don't know how it works," he told "48 Hours."

Back then, Beresford-Redman was housed in the high security wing of the Benito Juarez Prison -- a cell block full of drug traffickers and assassins responsible for countless murders around Mexico.

Now, he's in general population where he has more freedom. Beresford-Redman agreed to make video diaries to document his day-to-day life. It is a rare glimpse inside a Mexican prison.

Video diary: "Being incarcerated anywhere, but I think maybe especially here, time just gets warped ... it is almost impossible to live in the present because the present is just absolutely miserable."

"I don't think that I could possibly convey what it feels like to have not seen my children, not held my children, for nearly three years now."

"Everything that I worked my life to build is gone... If I'm convicted, I am facing a sentence of 30 years..."

Beresford-Redman says he spends a lot of time reliving time with his wife and kids -- "just times when I was free."

Bruce and Monica Beresford-Redman

Images of Monica -- lovely, vivacious and headstrong -- haunt Beresford-Redman.

Video diary:"I've had a lotta time to think back on things and to remember things from the past..."

For more than two years, "48 Hours" tried to get permission to do a sit-down interview in the prison. That interview between correspondent Troy Roberts and Beresford-Redman took place earlier this year.

"How did you meet Monica?" Roberts asked.

"Monica owned a restaurant in and a nightclub in -- in West Los Angeles called Zabumba," Beresford-Redman replied. "I randomly went there one night for dinner. And this beautiful woman served me great food ... it was a fun place. And I ... went back to try and get her attention ... and I sorta never left. ...Monica was the most beautiful, engaging-- just-- she was great. She was so cool, and -- very quickly I found that my relationship with her was different than any relationship I'd ever had before and I was in love with her and she was in love with me and it was terrific."

Monica's sisters, Carla and Jeanne Burgos, say that when Bruce and Monica first met back in 1997, they seemed like a happy couple. The Burgos sisters spoke to "48 Hours" in 2012.

"She had life. She was very outgoing and self-confident," Jeanne said. "Bruce was a very well read person. He can be very eloquent ... but not necessarily the emotion."

After marrying in 1999, the couple had two children: Camilla, now 10, and Alec, now 7.

Monica had the restaurant and Bruce had his career, which was taking off in a hurry. He was a top producer on the CBS program "Survivor" and also worked on several hit reality shows for other networks and cable outlets.

As the money poured in, the family moved to a $2 million house in Los Angeles. With the more lavish lifestyle, came some unexpected challenges.

"Things became difficult?" Roberts asked.

"At times, sure," Beresford-Redman replied. "Both Monica and I worked a great deal. ...I worked during the day, she worked at night ... there was a period of time when we were sort of passing one another."

If that sounds like a recipe for marital discord, it was. Beresford-Redman began an affair with his longtime casting director Joy Pierce. At times, the two had trouble keeping their hands off each other, even in front of Monica's sister, Carla.

"I went with him to a party," she said. "It was a club ... we got there ... she jumped on his lap ... and I was ... you know..."

"You were stunned," Roberts noted.

"Yeah," Carla replied.

Beresford-Redman was struggling with the affair on an emotional level. He considered telling his parents, David and Juanita, and eventually confided in his mother.

Asked if she encouraged her son to break off the affair, Juanita told Roberts, "I did. I said, 'You know, that's the only smart thing to do. You will hurt yourself. You will hurt Monica.' ...I got the impression that he had really fallen in love and it was going to be very difficult for him to break it off."

After Monica angrily confronted her husband, Beresford-Redman wrote her a brutally frank e-mail. It was written on March 4, 2010 - only one month before the couple was to leave on their ill-fated Mexican vacation. In the e-mail, Beresford-Redman laid bare the painful truth, writing: "Joy and I were lovers." Monica was devastated.

"My relationship with Monica was good," said Beresford-Redman.

"You can't paint a rosy picture on this, right? Roberts asked. " I mean ... you guys had problems."

"Like any marriage, like any family, we had -- we had issues, certain issues," he replied. "But we were -- we were happily married and we were in love with each other ... We were good."

Beresford-Redman wouldn't talk to "48 Hours" about his affair, but in an e-mail written to Joy Pierce in the spring of 2010, he outlined the steps a furious Monica had taken against him: "She...denied me access to my children ... she shut me out of my home ... and liquidated all my money, " he wrote.

"It was a point where she had decided to get divorced from him," said Jeanne.

But Beresford-Redman did all he could to change Monica's mind. He promised he'd break off his affair with Joy and told Monica he would change his ways. Monica agreed to go with him for the family vacation they took every year for her upcoming birthday. This time, they traveled to the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

"And how was the trip, initially?" Roberts asked Beresford-Redman.

"It was good. It was -- it was really fun, you know," he replied.

"So you and Monica got along well during this trip?" Roberts asked.

"Yeah, we had a really good time," said Bruce.

That's hardly the way Monica described the trip, according to her sister, Jeanne, who says she spoke to Monica by phone the day before she was murdered. Jeanne says Monica was upset about Bruce's cheating.

"I told her, 'Monica, don't worry. You know, come back here, just move on with your life,'" Jeanne said. "...you're just going to build up your life again and you're going to be happy again."

The next day, April 5, 2010, was to be the last day of Monica's life.

"She was gonna do some shopping-- and then she was perhaps gonna go to a spa," Beresford-Redman explained.

"And when did you grow concerned?" Roberts asked.

"Probably 10:30 or 11:00 that night," he said, sighing.

Bruce's concern was made all the worse because he says Monica had not taken her cell phone so he could not call her. Police later discovered that she did not take her passport or a room key, either.

"Was that surprising that she didn't take her phone when you were alone with kids?" Roberts asked.

"No. No, not really," Beresford-Redman replied. "When Monica was off the grid, she was off the grid."

She didn't take her cell phone? She left the kids all day with him? She never does that, ever," Jeanne told Roberts.

Video diary: "One of the things that I remember from the night that Monica was first missing was my children sleeping. I had given them baths and I had put them to bed ...and I thought, 'OK, I'm gonna go outside and I'm gonna take a look. I'm gonna see Monica walking back towards the room."

But Monica did not come back to the room -- not that night and not ever. The long, upward trajectory of Beresford-Redman's once-successful life and career was about to end abruptly.

A LOOK INSIDE PRISON LIFE

When Bruce Beresford-Redman left on his family vacation to Mexico in 2010, he probably never thought home would turn out to be Cancun's Benito Juarez prison.

The prison, where he has spent nearly three years on trial for his wife's murder, houses more than 1,800 men and women in a compound originally built for 700.

Video diary: "When I walk around the prison, no matter where I'm going or what's going on, I am constantly aware that this is just a hostile environment for me."

"I'm completely shut down. I'm simply in survival mode," Beresford-Redman told Roberts. "To make it in here, you cannot indulge in human sentiments. ... you really have to deaden part of yourself and just survive."

Video diary: "My Spanish is still not very good ... So I'm always paying attention ... and you're never really able to relax."

It's a pressure cooker of criminals and contraband that often boils over.

"You're with people who have demonstrated poor impulse control and a number of them may have mental problems,"Beresford-Redman explained. "It's not uncommon to have fist fights ... screaming matches ...it is a very dehumanizing situation."

Bruce Beresford-Redman his cell at Cancun's Benito Juarez Prison.

48 Hours

Video diary: The cell that I'm in is a very small cell ... it's designed for three men. And there are 10 of us in here. There have been as many as 17... This is the bathroom of the cell. All of these buckets are full of water. The water here runs only for a couple hours a day."

"I come back from my workout and I take my first shower of the day ... I shower four times a day ... I wash my clothes ... I do everything I can to keep myself clean and healthy. It's a real struggle ... This place seems like a really great place to incubate a plague. Despite my best efforts I managed to get a rash that everyone else here had that just swept through this place like wildfire."

The cell is open to the elements -- rain and relentless heat. He says the smell from open sewers is blinding, adding that "the whole country -- it feels like is just steaming."

Video diary: This is my bunk where I sleep. I've awakened probably seven or eight times now with a cockroach on me someplace.

Among the personal items Beresford-Redman keeps on a shelf above his bed -- his favorite picture of his daughter and son.

Video diary: "This is breakfast this morning ... brown liquid with some beans on the bottom there I think ... I have gotten violently ill eating the prison food... I have been able to supplement my diet ... with-- food brought from outside. I befriended-- an inmate in here. He has since been released. But his family still comes to see me once a week with some home-cooked meals and some snacks and some other things, so that I don't have to rely entirely on the prison food."

To pay for his food and other expenses, Beresford-Redman's parents send him money from their retirement nest egg. Less fortunate inmates have to rely on meals in buckets served by new prisoners known as "talachos."

Video diary: "They are as close as you can come to slaves. You can buy your way out of it, or you can do your talacho work for your first year here."

"The guards basically maintain a perimeter on the outside and their concern primarily is making sure that nobody gets out... The prisoners discipline each other ... and it's much more dangerous, because there's really nobody to come to your help, to your aid, if you are in trouble in here."

Danger is all around, but he says Mexican prison also means a freedom he never had in American prison, where he spent 18 months awaiting extradition.

Video diary: "In many ways, this is like a very small village that they just threw razor wire around. There's churches in here, there's a mechanic shop in here ... guys making hammocks."

Some of the women prisoners are even allowed to have their children live with them. Three times a week it's visiting day.

Video diary: "...this place is full today of families ... on visit days. From 8:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon the prison ... fills up with families and wives and kids...

"Family is extraordinarily highly valued here and the prison administration and prisoners themselves and the gangs in here have enormous respect for the visits."

He says visit days make him sad, "a little melancholy." There are no family visits for Beresford-Redman.

Video diary: "I would not allow them. I don't want them to be confronted with how I am forced to exist in here."

So Beresford-Redman hasn't seen them in nearly three years. His lifeline is phone calls to his children, Alec and Camilla, who live with his parents in California.

Video diary: "To hear my kids' voices, to hear my parents' voices ... is the best, most human part of my day. ... I have not been able to be a father to Camilla and Alec for ... years now. It is devastating. It takes all of my energy just to keep going."

But there's no choice. Beresford-Redman, his family, and Monica's sisters are all navigating an unfamiliar landscape: justice in a foreign country.

"There's no question that the Mexican legal system is different from ours," said Sonya Tsiros, U.S. Consul General for the Cancun area.

Tsiros says she is closely following the Beresford-Redman case - and that by Mexican standards, it doesn't surprise her.

"Has Mr. Beresford-Redman complained to you about the length of this trial?" Roberts asked.

"He has raised that issue," Tsiros replied. "And we're following through on that."

"Do you have any sense of what the prison conditions are like?" Roberts asked.

"I would say that the prison conditions are not up to what we would consider standards in the United States," said Tsiros.

Beresford-Redman, at least, has a bed. "48 Hours" found another American, 38-year-old Johnny Mintu, from Seattle, who, incredibly, sleeps on the floor under Bruce's bunk. It's not uncommon in this prison.

Video diary: "From time to time ... when I just really need some privacy and a little bit of quiet and just a little more space than I can get in my cell or in the rest of the prison ... I book a conjugal room."

Most inmates rent the room for sex. Beresford-Redman says he rents it for peace and quiet.

Video diary: "You're not supposed to be in here by yourself. But I just put down the name Jane Doe and nobody's ever checked."

Trying to recreate life outside the bars is only a temporary escape.

Video diary: "I cannot afford in here to appear on the outside as absolutely broken as I feel on the inside."

As the sun begins to set, the prisoners are locked in for the night.

Video diary: Another night here ... another night in paradise ... then I just lay down and try to go to sleep...

It's a sleep, he says, that is haunted by the memory of his murdered wife.

Video diary: "I still miss her all the time and I still think of her all the time ... I never lose sight of the fact that this is really Monica's story."

Monica's story is a murder mystery. And for Beresford-Redman, it's a real whodunit.

THE DAY MONICA DISAPPEARED

With so much time on his hands, Bruce Beresford-Redman says he thinks often of the day Monica disappeared.

"As soon as I was awake, I called the hotel desk, I guess, and I said you know, 'My wife didn't come back yesterday. Do you know where she is?'" Beresford-Redman told Troy Roberts.

Monica Beresford-Redman

After reporting that she was missing, he called Jeane Burgos, Monica's sister.

"When Bruce called you to say that Monica was missing what went through your mind?" Roberts asked.

"My sister missing? Monica? Monica's not a person that gets lost, she doesn't get lost," Jeanne replied. "She's a person that she goes anywhere and she makes friends and she knows what she's doing."

A worried Jeanne immediately flew to Cancun to help with the search, but the next day, hotel workers found Monica's body in that sewer situated near the family's hotel room.

"How could someone put a person in the sewage. Very, very, very horrible," she said.

"How did you learn that her body was discovered?" Roberts asked Beresford-Redman.

"I was at the hotel ... I was sitting there waiting ...and they brought me back to my room," he replied. "I had no idea what was going on. ...Finally someone told me that they had found Monica's body.

It would have been her 42nd birthday.

Video diary: "I could not make sense of that. It just didn't seem possible."

Bruce Beresford-Redman became a suspect almost immediately because investigators thought his story of Monica's disappearance defied logic. They didn't believe she would leave the children behind without taking her room key, her passport, or even her cell phone. What's more, Beresford-Redman had visible scratches on his body.

He says the injuries to his hand occurred after a boat ride as he tried to carry his children up a steep incline.

"It was rocky and slippery and I had to lift the kids out and then climb out myself and I scratched my hands a little bit," he explained.

As for the scratches to the back of his neck?

"We were diving ... and I surfaced and there was a nylon rope and it was just a rough nylon rope and it abraded ... the back of my head a little bit and that was it," he told Roberts.

Police also learned that two English teenagers had reported hearing screams coming from Beresford-Redman's room very early on the morning Bruce said Monica went shopping.

Jen Heger covered the story for Radar Online.

"A female screamed crying for help," Heger explained. "The next morning, the teenagers told their parents about what they had heard to the concierge. The concierge called the hotel room to see what was going on and Bruce said that Bruce and Monica were arguing about the children and that everything was fine."

Beresford-Redman maintains that he and the children were simply playing a loud, boisterous game. But now his every move was coming under scrutiny.

Asked why he had a "do not disturb" sign on the door all day, Beresford-Redman told Roberts, "Well, I was in and out all day with the kids. We were napping and doing stuff and didn't wanna be disturbed. It's as simple as that really."

"The Mexican authorities believe that Bruce wouldn't allow the maids to clean the room that day because there was a dead body inside and that dead body belonged to his wife -- Monica," said Heger.

The police theorized that Beresford-Redman had suffocated his wife and, later that night, went looking for a place to stash her body.

"We also know," Heger continued, "someone went in and out of the room nine times in the middle of the night."

Beresford-Redman says he was nervously checking to see if Monica was about to return.

"I was in and out of the room many times to take a look to see if I could see her, to walk down to where the footpath is visible and to take a look and return to the room," Beresford-Redman told Roberts.

Back in Los Angeles, Monica's sister, Carla Burgos, thought back to the last time she had seen Bruce and how agitated he seemed to her. It was just two days before the family left for Cancun.

"I've seen him before they traveled and he was totally angry and crazy. I said, 'Don't be around him ... Monica, please listen to me, get out,'" she said.

"Why do you think Monica's family is convinced that you killed her?" Roberts asked.

"I really don't know," Beresford-Redman replied. "I understand their pain. I understand their sense of loss. After my children and myself, their loss is the greatest ... however, why they wanna blame me, I don't know ... that I don't know."

Monica also had life insurance. Her husband was not the beneficiary, but the children stood to inherit $500,000 each. All in all, investigators believed they had a strong circumstantial case but there remained a huge question -- how could Beresford-Redman kill his wife, and then dump her body while taking care of two young children?

"They were in one hotel room and it was not a suite. It was one room," said Heger.

There was scant physical evidence against Beresford-Redman except for a very small amount of blood investigators found on the bedroom pillow and a balcony railing.

"When people look at you with suspicion, how do you feel?" Roberts asked.

"I've been accused of a horrible, abhorrent crime and I'm innocent," said Beresford-Redman.

"You did not kill Monica," said Roberts.

"I did not kill Monica," Bruce replied.

But the police were convinced Bruce Beresford-Redman did kill Monica and they had no other suspects. The hotel, which says it kept written logs of everyone entering or leaving the grounds, reported it had no record of Monica leaving that day. And if there are security cameras at the Moon Palace, no recordings have surfaced.

Video diary: "My best guess would be that somewhere in the course of her day, she ran into some people that she should not have run across ... I think perhaps she attracted the attention of someone who was very dangerous."

While Beresford-Redman was cooperating with police, his children were taken back to Los Angeles by a friend of Jeanne Burgos. She also arranged for her sister's body to be brought back, even though Beresford-Redman had already paid for Monica to be cremated.

"Why do you think Bruce moved to have Monica cremated?" Roberts asked Jeanne Burgos.

"I think it's pretty self-explanatory," she said.

"Why do you think?" Roberts pressed.

"To get rid of any evidence," Jeanne replied.

Beresford-Redman stayed in Mexico for about a week after Monica's body was found. Authorities took his passport and insist they ordered him to remain in the country. He says his lawyer told him he was free to return to the United States.

"48 Hours" correspondent interviews Bruce Beresford-Redman

48 Hours

"This is what I find a little difficult ... is that they're investigating your wife's murder and you go home? Why wouldn't you stay here?" Roberts asked.

"Well, because I have two small children who were at my home. They just lost their mom and I believed at the time that I had done all I could do to help the police so I went home to be with my children," he replied.

Having no passport, Beresford-Redman got a ride to the Mexican border near Laredo, Texas, and simply walked across using his driver's license for identification. From there, he took a train rather than fly back to Los Angeles. His unorthodox journey raised suspicions.

"You didn't go back to the United States to escape possible arrest?" Roberts asked Beresford-Redman.

"No, I went home to be with my children. I was at my home. I was not hiding. If I'd been trying to evade I would have attempted to evade. I went back to the United States and went directly home," he explained.

Beresford-Redman cared for his children for seven months. But in November 2010, Mexico declared him a fugitive and issued a warrant for his arrest. He was taken to a federal jail in Los Angeles where he stayed for more than a year until he was finally extradited back to Cancun to stand trial for the murder of his wife.

"Bruce probably feels that he is trapped in the worst reality show he could ever imagine," said Heger.

SEEKING JUSTICE IN MEXICO

In February 2012, Bruce Beresford-Redman -- outfitted in a bulletproof vest -- was extradited back to Mexico in a scene straight out of a movie.

Video diary: "I was taken by the U.S. Marshals to the airport ... I was brought here in the middle of the night in a rainstorm..."

"I hoped that my trial would end quickly when I got here," he told Roberts.

That is not what happened. Essentially, the courts in Mexico move at their own pace. There are no juries and in many courtrooms on any given day, there's more than one trial going on at the same time.

Video diary: "The courtroom that I'm being tried in looks like a very busy shipping office above a warehouse someplace."

Criminal defense lawyer Pat Fanning lives part-time in Mexico and has experience with the country's judicial system.

"They just don't have the resources to do the things the way we do," Fanning told Roberts. "Here, it's more like a municipal office in the United States where you'd go to get your driver's license, where you'd go to pick up a birth certificate or something."

U.S. Consul General Sonya Tsiros says the differences are more than cosmetic.

"There's not a trial, per se, in that there is one period of time in which a judge hears all of the evidence. ... It's done through a series of written presentations to the judge," Tsiros explained. "It doesn't occur ... in the same fashion in the United States."

But as the trial has dragged on, what once seemed like a strong prosecution case appeared to evaporate in court. Testing revealed that the blood droplets found in the hotel room did not belong to Monica. That raised questions about where Monica had been killed because she had suffered a substantial head wound.

"Our experts ... say it is not possible to kill someone and produce that type of injuries without leaving blood," said Jaime Cancino, who is one of Beresford-Redman's lawyers in Mexico. "If that have happened there... it would produced a humungous quantity of blood."

In court, prosecutors could not even produce the Q-tips investigators used to collect the blood. Most everything else they took from the family's hotel room as potential evidence turned out to be contaminated by mold and water damage while in police custody.

And some of the physical evidence presented at trial helped Beresford-Redman. Footprints found near the crime scene were not Bruce's. It also came to light that Monica's fingernails were not tested for the presence of DNA because her body was so decomposed.

"There isn't much direct evidence and the evidence they do have has been contaminated, largely," Roberts noted to Fanning.

"Well, it has in -- in large part. But you still have, for example, that they were havin' marital troubles ... that he had a girlfriend ... the life insurance policy on her for half-a-million dollars," he replied.

But in court, even the circumstantial case against Beresford-Redman appeared weaker than advertised.

Some witnesses, like the English teenagers who reported overhearing screams coming from the Beresford-Redman room, did not appear in court. Beresford-Redman says other witnesses did not repeat the stories they had first told police.

"It's clear to me that they have no idea what happened to my wife," he told Roberts. "There was witness, who was a housekeeper, I think. And he came in ... and before anyone asked a question, he said, 'I wasn't there that day. I didn't see anything. I don't know anything and I don't know why I'm here as a witness.'"

Another person not called to the stand or even part of the case was Emily Hamilton from Baltimore. She says she was nearly raped at the Moon Palace one month after Monica was murdered. And her attacker, Hamilton says, was a hotel worker delivering food to her room.

"He threw me on the bed. ... He had his arms around me. I was trying to force him off and I remember feeling pain ... 'cause I thought I could fend for myself, but he was too strong and overbearing ... and that's when I yelled for my friend Casey and she came back in and that's when he was pulling up his pants and that's when he ran out of the room," said Hamilton.

"So you must've been frightened out of your mind," said Roberts.

"Very much so," Hamilton replied.

That worker was fired. In the United States, it's likely he'd be a suspect in Monica's murder, but that possibility was not raised in Beresford-Redman's trial. However, in 2013, an independent criminologist was appointed by the court to review all the evidence against Beresford-Redman.

"He reviewed the case, he visited the crime scene, he did all the things required to make his report," Beresford-Redman told Roberts.

After six months, the criminologist released a bombshell of a report. His conclusion: Monica was not murdered in her Moon Palace hotel room and there was no physical evidence linking Beresford-Redman to her murder.

Video diary: "I naively assumed at that point that the prosecution would drop the charges and would focus their investigative efforts elsewhere ... and nothing has happened. Charges aren't dropped. My trial continues with no end in sight. I'm still here..."

"If you're gonna convict me, convict me so I can appeal. Otherwise just give me a ruling so I can go home," said Beresford-Redman.

"Do you think you're being unfairly singled out?" Roberts asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "It feels at times to me like they don't wanna do anything with me. I'm stuck and ... in many ways I feel like I'm without a country."

Sonia Tsiros says members of the U.S. consulate have visited Beresford-Redman on 19 separate occasions.

"U.S. citizens who are arrested in a foreign country are subject to the laws of that foreign country," Tsiros explained. "We can't intervene in court cases and we can't request special treatment for U.S. citizens."

"Can you use the influence of your office to move things along?" Roberts asked.

"If there's due process violation, we can raise those. But we can't intervene in -- in a case," she said.

"I'm broken inside. I have lost my wife. I lost my children ... I've lost everything else," Beresford-Redman told Roberts. "I'm on emotional autopilot, just surviving every day in the hopes that I will finally at some point get outta here but that is a diminishing hope."

Of course, he is not the only one who's lost a loved one.

"Everybody loved her," Carla Burgos said of her sister, Monica. "She was so awesome, so full of life. She was so fun, so smart. Everything,"

Each side hopes for justice ... and that may soon be coming because after nearly three years, the last witnesses will finally testify.

A LAST HEARING

After years in a Mexican prison - and in legal limbo - Bruce Beresford-Redman's trial finally may be nearing an end.

Video diary: "It's a Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow I will be taken back to court, and I am told it will be the last hearing in my trial...

"It's very difficult for me to get my hopes up... because I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop ... and so often it seems to drop on my head."

He says the trial so far hasn't made any sense. Lost or contaminated evidence, missing witnesses and agonizing delays. It's his first court date in about three months.

On this day, he's set to face the prosecutor's final two witnesses -- hotel employees who may have witnessed Bruce and Monica arguing the day before her murder.

"How many times have you appeared before this judge?" Roberts asked.

"If I had to guess, I would say probably, 40, maybe 45 appearances in court over two-and- a-half years. At the many of those appearances, however-- the witness doesn't show up, and we stand around for a little while and they reschedule the witness for another eight weeks or 10 weeks down the road and we all go home again," Beresford-Redman replied.

But these witnesses actually do show up. Today, it's the judge who doesn't.

Like many of the other hearings, this one goes ahead anyway with the judge's assistant presiding.

Video diary: "...the witnesses arrived ... no one including the prosecution seemed to have any idea what they were going to say..."

Incredibly, the final two prosecution witnesses sound like part of the defense team. Both tell the court they've never laid eyes on Beresford-Redman or his wife.

"We didn't hear them arguing," one of them told "48 Hours" after the hearing. "We didn't even see their faces."

With no more witnesses on either side, Mexican law requires the judge to conclude the evidence phase of the trial within about five days; but that doesn't happen.

"Why don't we have a verdict?" Roberts asked Pat Fanning.

"Because we're in Mexico," he replied. "That's how things are done here and nobody gets excited about it."

For nearly three years, "48 Hours" has asked Mexican authorities to go on the record about this case. But they refused.

Back in prison, it's hard for Beresford-Redman not to hope.

Video diary: "Yesterday was a good day...and you sort of take them as they come..."

"I am absolutely confident that if -- if there is a ruling according to the facts, that I will be exonerated," he said.

"And when will that happen?" Roberts asked.

"Well ... that I don't know. That's my problem," he replied.

But the Burgos sisters insist Bruce is right where he should be. And justice for Monica demands that he stay there.

"If he really killed my sister, which it looks like he did, I want him in jail. But it doesn't make me happy to see him in jail," said Carla Burgos.

Video diary: "I spend a lotta time in here looking over the barbed wire ... I can see birds and green trees and life outside -- oh this Hell...

"It's really time for me to go home. It's time for me to be with Camilla and Alec. It's time for me to try and put back together some kind of a life for them and for myself."

His parents, meanwhile, are trying to keep life in California as normal as possible for Alec and Camilla, but it's not easy -- they're 81 and 76.

Juanita Beresford-Redman has been keeping a video diary, too:

"It's ... about 8:30 in the morning. The children have gone off to school. It's reasonably quiet at the moment.

"Camilla's birthday is coming up ... and she asked me yesterday did I think daddy might be able to home for her birthday this year... and I told her honestly, "No honey...he's not gonna make it this year."

"Is it your fear that this may go on indefinitely?" Roberts asked Juanita.

"It is a fear," she replied. "I can't see why it's gone on this long."

Carla and Jeanne Burgos tried and failed to get custody, but they have regular visitation with the children.

"We love those kids more than anything in this world," Jeanne said. "It's not what is good, what is bad, it's what is the best for the kids."

"We are a family, but we're not their father... we're their grandparents," Juanita said. "We love them, but, it's not the same."

"I will never make my peace with being incarcerated for something I didn't do. I will never rest or stop fighting. I may lose continually, but I'm never gonna stop ... because this is crap," Beresford-Redman told Roberts.

But as memories and milestones slip past, all Bruce Beresford-Redman can do is watch, wait, and wish his children well.

Video diary: "...I love you guys, I miss you. Be strong and ... and all I want is for you guys to have the best life you can."

Prosecutors should be submitting their closing arguments in writing by the end of November.

Napa Valley Spa Day: Mud Bath in Calistoga!

Read article : Napa Valley Spa Day: Mud Bath in Calistoga!

Have you ever had a mud bath? Have you ever heard of something or saw a picture or video of something and just decided you had to do it? Well that was me after I saw a picture of a friend on Instagram taking a Napa Valley mud bath. Last summer I went on a girl’s getaway to Napa Valley. While planning our trip, I mentioned to the ladies that we should do a spa day. There are amazing spas all over Napa Valley but Calistoga is known as the mud bath capital of the U.S.! The mud in Calistoga contains volcanic ash. It is mixed with mineral water located in the hot springs. This combination is thought to be very healing and nutritious for the skin. I just learned there is actually a name for this-“fangotherapy”. These are treatments that involve mud.

Napa Valley Spa Day: Mud Bath in Calistoga!" width="740" height="555" />Indian Springs Calistoga

Our Napa Valley mud bath adventure began when we checked into Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. It is a beautiful tropical oasis in Calistoga. The resort itself consists of a lodge, bungalows and cottages of Spanish architecture. They have several pools including the Olympic size mineral pool. SF magazine named the pool at Indian Springs “2016 Best Pool”. It was recently remodeled and offers poolside dining and beverage service. In addition, Sam’s Social Club offers American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We checked into the spa which offers massages, body treatments, facials and of course-mud & mineral baths.

Napa Valley Mud Bath at Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga!" width="740" height="900" />

From our arrival at Indian Springs spa the service was impeccable. It was a party of 9 women but they handled all our appointments with ease. A few of the ladies in our party decided to be brave and try the mud bath. We were first directed to a changing and relaxation area. One of the things I loved about this property was the indoor outdoor feel. The relaxation area was located outside with water fountains, creeks and palms trees. Prior to our mud bath, we were asked to rinse off in the shower and remove…everything! Yes it is a bath so you were expected to do it naked. However, you are not in a private room. There were 4 mud bath tubs in a large room with showers located on the back wall. Fortunately, one of my friends was in the bath right next to me. We really bonded that day lol. The mud was very heavy and very warm. Once inside the tub a spa assistant covered us from neck to toe in mud and even smothered some on our cheeks. We were told to relax in the bath for 15-20 minutes. And guess what-it was relaxing! After the bath we were escorted to the showers. The mud was surprisingly easy to wash off. My skin didn’t initially feel any different but the treatment did not stop there.

Napa Valley Mud Bath at Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga!" width="740" height="900" />Don’t I look pretty? 🙂

Napa Valley Mud Bath at Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga!" width="740" height="900" />

After the mud bath and our showers we sat in a mineral bath in an adjacent room. After the mineral bath we were led into a steam room for about 10 minutes. This was followed by a room in which you were alone, laying on a bed cooling off for about 10-15 minutes. I can’t even explain to you how pampered and relaxed I felt at that moment! And yes, my skin did feel incredibly soft. And, the spa day kept going! It was time for my massage. After my 50 minute massage I joined my friends at one of the outdoor pools surrounded by gorgeous plants and mountainous views of Napa Valley. I honestly did not want to leave!

Napa Valley Mud Bath at Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga!" width="740" height="900" />

If you are ever in Napa Valley I highly recommend going to Calistoga for a mud bath. The Indian Springs Resort & Spa is the perfect place to have this experience. Have you ever had a mud bath? If so where?

Be sure to read my other helpful posts on Napa Valley wineries and restaurants if you are planning a trip there!

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Our Vizzini Acrylic Baths

Read article : Our Vizzini Acrylic Baths

A relaxing bathing experience in an exotic bathtub can melt away the challenges of the day. A bath tub adds elements of elegance and luxury to any bathroom. At Renovation Kingdom, we offer a huge range of designer baths including freestanding bath tubs, standard tubs, spa baths and more.

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Turn your Bathroom into a Spa, by Joseph Pubillones

Read article : Turn your Bathroom into a Spa, by Joseph Pubillones

As Americans hustle and bustle to make ends meet and the work hours extend well beyond 40 hours per week, stress is an all-time high. Stress is responsible for triggering incidents from panic attacks to illness and even cardiac arrest. This is why the spa business is booming at an alarming rate. While some business folks may get the occasional perks of downtime to book a day at a spa, most American families do not have the luxury of time. Bringing the concept of the spa to your home is becoming quite popular.

Creating an at-home getaway is the goal when transforming your bathroom into a spa. There are several factors to consider in such a home improvement project. To get your bathroom to capture the spa feeling, you will want to capture as much room as possible. You will need more room to accommodate a luxurious tub to soak in, a large shower with massaging jet sprays, or perhaps a steam unit to transform your shower into a steam bath, a bench inside the shower, and a place to sit down and relax.

Give good consideration to plumbing fixtures and hardware. These valves and controls are important because they are tactile items, which affect the way you perceive your spa-bathroom. They are also effective to express a sense of luxury and relaxation.

The colors that are used in spas are deliberately chosen to reduce stress. The colors that are most used as those inspired by the sky, ocean and earth. These colors are usually very light. While they may seem washed out, these colors that are dusty and seem to insinuate another are the best. Like a soft white with an aqua green shimmer, or a beige that reflects salmon paired. These pale colors work the best when paired with white, gray or espresso cabinetry and trim.

Today's new spa-bathroom combinations also make a statement with tiles and stone treatments. The more exotic the marble, granite or quartz, the better. Sometimes great slabs are book-matched for an incredible organic pattern on walls and floors. Mosaics are historically tied to baths since pre-Roman times, and today with advances in technology, micro tiles can be laser cut and assembled to create the most incredible and fantastic patterns and designs.

Other items to be considered in the design of a spa-bathroom:

Candles: For burning at specific times, can be soothing. I would suggest a subtle aromatherapeutic scent. Small votive around your bath area can be beautiful, but also give off a relaxing glow.

The Best Linens: Accessorizing you bathroom with a nice bathrobe, thick absorbent towels, and bathmats are both useful and make your slippery surfaces safe.

Flowers and Plants: Are a great invigorating element of nature to add to your spa-bathroom. Plants are great because they help clean the air and give off oxygen.

Music: Part of the spa experience is too soothe your body and soul. Music is the best therapy to aid in relaxation and stress reduction. Spas pipe soft music everywhere for a reason. Add a couple of new jazz CDs to your repertoire and you are well on your way.

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Fla. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.