One of my few friends in Taos County is moving out of state, so we've been taking in a lot of what makes this place unique before she goes. Today she took me to Ojo Caliente hot springs and spa.
This is the first time I ever went to a hot springs. There was one near where I lived in Northern CA called Harbin Hot Springs that my friends went to a lot, but I never did. Then it burned down.
I can now see the draw. It was a very rejuvenating and relaxing day, and that's surrounded completely by tourists.
I can only imagine how much more healing and restoring the experience would be if it could happen weekend after weekend, year after year, in the company of mostly friends from the area. It would be a real community focused around rejuvenation in nature. And that's what Harbin was more like, because people in that area can afford treats like this. Taos is a poor place, so mostly it's tourists at the paid hot springs.
Would You Like Some Arsenic With That?
I was surprised to find a couple of hot springs there featuring arsenic. Supposedly it's quite good for you! Well in small enough doses anyway.
I wound up soaking in about 5 different pools, plus the wet sauna (very short stay, because I could hardly breathe and way too hot!) and dry sauna, my favorite. I also got a massage that was 50 minutes that honestly felt like a full 90 minute massage.
Then I treated my friend to lunch, which for me was fish tacos and truffle fries with lemonade. For her was a watermelon gazpacho she sent back (had roasted tomatoes in it!) and a chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. It was delicious and our waiter was divine. I left him a hefty tip for his being so entertaining, informative, and accommodating, though he might have mentioned the roasted ingredients in the gazpacho. Very different taste than what "watermelon" brings to mind.
I loved looking up at these cliffs (I forget the exact word for them) from the natural pools.
It was also fun chatting with other visitors in one of the pools (the really hot one). We had all traveled a lot and had interesting stories to tell. Very friendly people. Other pools were filled with people who seemed to be meditating. So in those I pretty much just focused on the feeling of the water and beauty of the surroundings.
On the way out we came across a few nests of baby birds, including this one.
Then on the drive back I finally got to go across the Rio Grande Gorge bridge and stop for photos. Here are a couple of the terrain and one of me. (That's a dashiki I'm wearing, so very loose. I'm not nearly that big LOL.)
All in all it was an incredibly healthy, relaxing day. It was a long ride to get there, but few cars were on the road. It is definitely someplace I will go back to.
I also learned of a number of other great hot springs from the tourists there. So I may be entering a hot springs life phase!
Are there any natural hot springs where you live? If so, do you tend to go to the "wild" ones or the ones that have been made a part of a spa?
Would you ever go to one alone (particularly part of a spa) or only with a companion?
Oh you should have made some more photos of the nest!!!
I made some others, but this one came out best. It was pretty far up and not very large.
A hot springs phase sounds like fun @indigoocean.
I went to a lot of hot springs when I lived in The States but only wild ones that you had to hike to. Most of the time I was on my own or with my young daughter.
I also went to some in New zealand. A particular favourite was a beach where you could dig your own! 😁
Digging your own sounds really intriguing. Were you supposed to fill it in again afterward, or were there just all these dug holes all over the place from various visitors? Cool that you would go to them alone sometimes. On the one hand, I can see it being easier to be at a wild one alone because there aren't all couples around you and just you with no one to talk to. On the other hand there is some safety concern in that situation that there isn't at a spa. But life is for living.
The holes didn't last very long @indigoocean because they were dug in sand. As soon as you got out they started to fill in again because of the moving water.
It was in my younger, traveling days. The longer I was away the more relaxed I got and the less I worried about safety.
Also, I would say that culturally I think about safety less than seems to be the case in the American culture. 😊
Sounds like a fantastic experience. I never made it our to ojo but have a deep love for hot springs. I heard about harbin hot springs, but never visited.
Something deeply wholesome about mineral waters from the ground. The interaction of elements in a deeply nourishing manner. There's one near Redding thats on the River that is divine. Hot spring to cold river. yum yum.
You're making me wish we already had our sauna done. Welcome that heat to heal from within.
You are so fortunate to have that in the works. It's going to be such a great respite from the cold, plus very therapeutic!
There are quite a few hot springs in Hungary, but none containing arsenic, I never knew that was supposed to be good for you!
The hot springs here usually contain minerals :)
Yes, I was cool with the iron one and the mud one, but the arsenic ones gave me pause. And get this, they even had drinking fountains where you could drink the water that had arsenic in it! They say it's good for your digestive system. I decided to pass on that one.
I do not know those places, I hope that one day I can give myself that gift, but I enjoy reading and I sigh and I am full of that magic that gives you to read beautiful things and this publication was. What impressive images, you too. Enjoy all that, you're young and enthusiastic, you deserve all that and more.
I hope that you also get to visit a hot springs someday. I can't believe I waited this long! It really is worth some effort to get to. My friends used to drive 2-3 hours to get there. I always thought that was too far. LOL
Wow!
What a wonderful place! I want to be hidden in these clouds, So no one could find me!
LOL That's a cool idea. Would be fun to be among the clouds for a bit. I guess that's part of why some people skydive.
Hmm, my answer is that you are beautiful. 😄
Thank you.
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