Scandal

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ICELAND DAY SEVEN 🇮🇸I. Scandalous photo, skinny dipping at Reykjadalur thermal river

It's always a hassle to start a more descriptive blog entry. 

And so, for reasons unknown to me, the first piece of prose concerns the art of communal bathing. The article is to an extent outdated, not necessarily Europe focused, but thought provoking nonetheless? 

Excerpts of the rehashed article from Aeon (Jun. 5, 2018):

'For most of the history of our species, in most parts of the world, bathing has been a collective act. In ancient Asia, the practice was a religious ritual believed to have medical benefits related to the purification of the soul and body. For the Greeks, the baths were associated with self-expression, song, dance and sport, while in Rome they served as community centres, places to eat, exercise, read and debate politics.
But communal bathing is rare in the modern world.
...
It is difficult to imagine a more powerful counter-image to the dominant picture of modernity than the archetypal bathhouse.
...
Living in a society where actual nudity has been eclipsed by idealised or pornographic images of it, many of us are, independently of our will, disgusted by hairy backs, flabby bellies and ‘strange-looking’ nipples. The relatively liberal attitude towards such issues in countries such as Denmark, where nudity in the bathhouse is the norm, and in some cases mandatory, exemplifies how the practice might help renormalise a basic sense of diversity and break through the rigid laws that regulate the so-called ‘normal body’.
The bathhouses of the future, by reinventing the historical social functions of their ancient originals and combining their most attractive aspects to build a new model, would compensate for the erosion of public spaces elsewhere.
...
It’s churlish to simply disregard the public bath as an object of classical nostalgia. Communal bathing is a near-universal trait among our species and has a meaning that extends far beyond personal hygiene. There are pragmatic reasons to re-invent the practice, to be sure, but its anthropological diversity suggests that there might be a more fundamental need for this ancient and deeply human art'.

woeano at Tbilisi History Museum (Georgia):

Chekalina, Women’s Bath, second half of 19th c, unknown artist. My entire trip to tbs was worth it because of this paintinggg* #tbilisisulphurbaths #sulphursprings

Talking about current day communal bathing. 

In Europe. 

An updated article (Nov. 13, 2018, though originally from 2012) from Cheryl Howard on visiting (and experiencing) a Berlin sauna:

'I learned a lot about myself that day. I found that I was capable of getting naked and being absolutely comfortable doing so. I saw how being naked in a sauna or spa is not such a big deal. I felt proud to have overcome my fears and accomplish my bizarre personal mission'.

Gold

Travelling overland with a van of sorts, invariably one comes across the odd hot spring. From northern Greece by Nebendemweg (Jan. 21):

Direkt neben dem Fluss ist das Quellwasser trotzdem so heiß, dass wir den ganzen Tag darin verbringen könnten

They also mention imminent large investment here, alas. 

I looked it up. Neoskosmos (29 Aug. 2018) notes:

'Kavala in northern Greece is set to become home of one of Greece’s most high-end resorts, a project estimated to cost more than 30 million euros.
The resort, located at the Loutra Eleftheron site in the northern port city of Kavala will feature a five-star hotel with 155 rooms, 13 luxury villas and state-of-the-art spa facilities'. 

The nail in the coffin so to speak. A November 2018 report states fences going up. 

Back in better times:

astritis77

#λουτραελευθερων#loutraeleftheron

An interesting article by the Greekreporter (Feb. 25) which just highlights the potential (disaster?) ahead:

'Greece is gradually discovering the potential tourist goldmine of its plentiful, and in most cases little-known, natural hot springs.
Due to Greece’s unique geology, there are more than 700 natural hot springs dotted all over the country — and 84 of them are officially recognized as having healing properties.
Yet only a handful are properly equipped to offer a complete range of spa services. In contrast, western Europe has literally hundreds of health resort spas which cater to millions of visitors every year.
...
The Greek Reporter presents ten outstanding natural spas located across Greece'.

More develop news for Hellion hot springs. ThinkGeoenergy (Apr. 30) has translated an article for us on the geothermal potentials of the area around Kamena Vourla (Lamia, central Greece):

'A recent meeting highlighted the potential of geothermal energy exploitation in Phiotidis, a region north of Greece's capital of Athens. It pointed to the opportunities by geothermal for heating purposes for residences, baths and agricultural purposes'.

Cases

More vaners. 

Mb470 has a slightly dated (Dec. 13, 2016) overview of Italian and Spanish soaks visited. Their top 5:

1. Piscines Carletti (Viterbo, Lazio, Italy),

2. Segesta (Castelmare, Sicily, Italy),

3. Santa Fe (Granada, Andalucia),

4. Saturnia (Grosseto, Toscana, Italy) and

5. Petriolo (Grosseto, Toscana, Italy):

Late last year (Dec. 2) they also visited Mazarron (Murcia, Spain):

'Am Morgen, wenn es noch kühl ist trifft man sich im Becken und quasselt, manchmal hätte ich schon gerne mehr Ruhe für mich. Am Wochenende kann man dies aber komplett ausschließen. Spanier und Marokkaner schlagen hier auch mal Zelte auf. Anwohner kommen so gut wie keine, der Ort um die Ecke ist am Reißbrett entstanden und ausschließlich für Briten wie es scheint'. 

Nice intro to this soak.

More Spain. 

Tierrassinfronteras heads for south Andalucia's Alhama de Granada (Mar. 29):

'A todos los amantes de las aguas termales gratis y en la naturaleza, ¡los baños de Alhama de Granada son un rincón único y maravilloso en la provincia de Granada que hay que visitar! Un espacio donde relajarse y disfrutar de estas aguas calientes que brotan de la tierra en torno a los cuarenta grados, con tres piscinas de acceso libre y completamente gratis'.

Hit google translate, it's another very informative article.

aboutavan

And this is where we woke up, not in the pool! But close to it, the first ones in for a morning soak 💕 the water here is around 40 degrees C 🙏 there’s a cold river running along next to it that’s JUST deep enough to lay down in, I’ll do a blog post incase anyone wants to visit 🤟#hotsprings#travel#saturday#saturdayvibes

Aboutavan. Besides having a blog on above, he notes another, probably  the aforementioned Mazarron.

A Spanish entry on Santa Fe (not far from Alhama), by Family on the Rock (Oct. 24, 2018):

'En resumen
Recomiendo las termas de Santa Fe pero que sepáis que a parte de las pozas no hay nada más y prepararos a conocer personajillos de la vida. El sitio es frecuentado por muchos furgoneteros, hippies, personajes varios, familias, gente mayor con problemas de huesos, artritis etc… en definitiva un poco de todo. Esto hace el sitio muy entretenido la verdad :D, os podéis imaginar, charla y entretenimiento no te falta. Nosotros pasamos una tarde estupenda y dimos con gente muy divertida'.

travel_with_me_92

Taking a shower at this awesome natural hotspring in santafe! The water is 35 - 40 degrees celcius. Cant get any better!#rvliving#rvlife#vanlife#vanliving#thermal#thermalpools#hotspring#naturalhotsprings#shower#nature#rubbertramp#skinnydip#happy#happylife#freedom#freelife

Further afield. Geekyexplorer (Jan. 2019) shows all the hot springs of Saõ Miguel (Azores, Portugal):

'While a major highlight of the island, visiting one or two thermal springs should be enough [not] to have the experience during your Sao Miguel itinerary.

But which is the best hot spring for you?'

A very good and informative overview.

Free

In Natural Habitat, a Russian website, I found this focus (Jul. 8, 2017) on Gil Su (or Dzhily-Su), north of the Elbrus mountains, south of Pyatigorsk, Russia. A translated snippet:

'This bath here is like a pilgrimage center for those who want to heal (the conquest of Elbrus for mountain lovers is another pilgrimage). A visit to this bath is usually on schedule - men enter it at one time, women go to another. There may not be adjacent baths (which, in general, is logical, because it is a Muslim region, where there are several other laws and traditions) ... No one takes money for visiting the bath yet'.

'The main mineral source in Gila . At the moment, only three men bathed in the bathroom. However, it happens, and 10-12 people come by'.

Note though (see thermalsprings.ru which btw is an excellent source on European hot springs ...), temps are only 22.4 C!

  

Jumping now to Italy.

Lamiacittanews reports (Apr. 14) on the problems with the hot springs in Viterbo (Lazio, Italy) where the courts have ordered the organisation running the San Sisto springs to comply with it's order to allow free access to all, to dismantle certain structures and discontinue it's own operations. 
The article goes on to note all other attempts by authorities to cease control of the waters by the current organisation were all futile.

Likewise the same source (Apr. 24) reports on the nearby Bullicame spring, opening which would be May 1.

andy.johanesen at Saturnia:

Out of all the hidden gems off the beaten track we’ve stumbled across, this one is up there with our favorites. A private thermal river the colour of blue Gatorade was a perfect way to relax and unwind.••Taking a trip down memory lane and looking back on our trip thus far. So many good memories and photos we haven’t even looked through yet! Comment below what country you would like us to share next? 🌎

More German, an article (Jul. 10, 2018) on Germany's 4 thermal hot springs:

'Der Fachbegriff für eine heiße Quelle ist hydrothermale Quelle oder auch Thermalquelle. Um in Deutschland als heiße Quelle zu gelten, muss das Wasser am Austrittsort mehr als 20°C warm sein'. 

Baden-Baden, Aachen, Wiesbaden and Therme Erding are highlighted.

Steaming

Cangeotravel (Feb. 13): 

'Geothermal energy is a cornerstone of Icelandic living. It’s used to warm homes, power greenhouses, and heat the country’s 200-plus sundlaugar (swimming pools) and spas, which are wonderful places to relax, to be sure, but also social spaces where locals gather to catch up. Take these five must-not-miss opportunities to dip into Iceland’s mineral-rich waters'. 

pasco.photography at Reykjadalur:

That moment in Iceland when I bathed naked with 8 beautiful women in a steaming hot river 🏞️ Thanks@maison_fish:::#iceland#icelandic#geothermal#naked#retreat#skinnydip

The Reykjavik Grapevine (Mar. 6) has some distressing news for Iceland(ers):

'It was with some alarm, then, that Icelanders received the news that they needed to start conserving the resource that many considered infinite. In the tail-end of January, officials sent out a press release asking people to reduce their consumption of hot water to ensure there was enough to continue heating homes through a particularly bad cold spell. This was not a long spell, maybe a couple of weeks, so the fact that it was enough to test the limits of our hot water capacity raised some uncomfortable questions.
Some pools went so far as to close their hot tubs temporarily— if there is one thing you don’t want to do, it is to get between an Icelander and his hot tub. But the pools, numerous as they are, aren’t the major consumers of geothermal heat.
That would be the homes, offices, factories and other buildings that require a constant stream of new and warm water during the winter months.
90% of the geothermal water consumed in Icelandic houses runs through our radiators. Only a tenth is used for showers, baths, washing clothes and dishes, etc. This would lead one to believe that rates of usage would be rather predictable.
Veitur, the provider of hot water in the capital and surrounding regions, says the distribution network can actually handle much more than current demand, but they underestimated the increase in usage and are rushing to increase overall production capacity. Their spokesman was quoted in the media as saying they would soon bring online new boreholes that would increase capacity by 30%'.

johnprolly at Laugarvellir (?):

Searching for this spot for 3 hours on backcountry F roads, only to get to it at 2am in the midnight sunset/sunrise was worth it… the best hotspring I’ve ever been to. See more in my stories.

Gadventures (Apr. 11) has an abc of Iceland hot springs. Note: it's only that, an a, a b and a c.

WakeupReykjavik has 10 must visit natural hot springs (Mar. 27) on the island:

'We would like to share with you some of our best local secrets – our absolute favourite natural hot springs in Iceland'. 

And then a final parting shot: the way to soak by pcolladoo at Fontpedrouse (southern France):

🏔🌱 boniques