Optional

Continuing with our Sascha soaking saga in Georgia, he now heads more westwards, to the the the small town of Vani.

There doesn't seem to be much on offer in the town, though of course the only reason why Sascha would want to come here, is for a local hot spring. Sascha is hooked:

'Definitively my favorite hot spring in Georgia and my first geyser soak [ever]'. 

And though we are near Vani, Sascha continues:

'It is located a bit in the middle of nowhere and I found the geyser only after many discussions with locals (who often were not even aware of the spring)'. 

Concerning users / usage:

'However, it appears that the geyser is quite common amongst young locals in the evening. As there is no shadow at all, the early morning or evening soak is indeed a good option. Wild camping should be possible, if you don’t want to stay in a guesthouse in Vani'.

The soaking experience itself: 

'The water of around 43°C sorts out of a geyser and flows in 3 pools. Two of them are sufficient deep to soak the whole body. There was some littering around the pools but once in the pool, the littering is not any more visible and the pools itself are very clean. Some sulphur smell, the ground of the pools are shaped by the minerals of the water, some sand can be found. The surrounding itself was quite beautiful, wild horses were passing by and mountains are visible by far. Bring enough drinking water with you; the sun exposure is extreme when visiting the geyser at 11 a.m. like I did'.

Getting there:

'How to get there: take the road from Vani center to Baghdati [town] for around 7 km. Then take a gravel road to the left for about 1 km. On your right side, you will find the geyser.
GPS coordinates: N42.104196° – O42.586213°'.

Dumped

Taking a more holistic view or in other words delving into the internet, let's see if there's more info available.

There's not much: you'll find the odd photo here or there on instagram (following), other than that it seems to be a dusty neglected corner of the internet. 

Visit Kutaisi notes:

Close to the village of Bzvani [or Vani?] there are a few hot sulphur spring pools which posses healing qualities. Some of them are open to everyone, available free of charge and practically the only visitors are local people. One of the pools is located in particularly beautiful spot – in a field, in the middle of nowhere. The silence and surrounding meadows create a tranquil atmosphere which makes you feel like you the only one in the world. When you look to the South you will see amazing views of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.

Thermalsprings.ru also reports on Vani:

'Location : left bank of the river Rioni terrace, 1.8 km to the north from the road Bagdati-Vani, between the villages of Vani and Amagleba. From the road to get there can be a simple machine.

Infrastructure: no.

Description : 100 m from the riverbed Rioni, there are 4 source close - to look for. The water is very nice warm, not hot, shallow pool. Near the river Rioni, can be washed after bathing. But the place you should choose, as where the local road builders dump trucks loaded with pebbles'.

lukoninastia taking the waters recently:

Ванны на горячем источнике ранним утром @startkayak Рома и Наташа - просто кладезь интересных мест в Грузии #georgiatrip #georgiaonmymind #earlymorning #hotsprings

The local government website also mentions the hot springs, but not as a big attraction; apparently tourists should visit Vani for it's history. It's wording (translated):

'Resort "raising [a translation of ამაღლება]"The balneological resort is located in Imereti lowland on the left bank of river Rioni, 8 km from Vani, 80 m above sea level. Mineral thermal waters contain sodium, chlorine, carbon dioxide, and celery. They are treated by: chronic arthritis, hypertensive diseases, atherosclerosis, radiculitis, cardiosclerosis'.

The geyser is not the only hot spring in the area. Theculturetrip in an article named

'7 hot springs in Georgia you must visit'.

notes the  Sulori Spa resort:

'Located in Vani municipality, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) away from the city of Vani, this resort took its name from the Sulori river. During Soviet times Sulori was a favoured visitor spot, and hosted hundreds of visitors each season. Today, the hotel is still going strong, with 32 individual bath rooms. People usually come here to treat conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system, peripheral nervous system, and metabolism to name a few'.

Other than the above there's not much to add. 

Alegria

Καλό Σαββατοκύριακο! Happy weekend!! #natural #spa #nofilter #thermopylae #nature_greece #volos_lens #natural_gr #hotsprings  

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Most of Europe is now in the last few days of nice temperatures (or the temperatures have already gone south). 

I myself will need to go south (hopefully the Azores island of Sao Miguel); my holidays are still ahead.

Just a taste of what's ahead for myself:

[palm_tree] [herb] [monkey] #açores #caldeiravelha #hotsprings #nature #waterfall #azores #jungle #travelgram 

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Included in this news update is a number of great photo's just highlighting the many ways it's still possible to enjoy natural hot springs as you prefer.

Barricades

The Italian language Tuscia Times reports (Jul. 25) on a sit-in outside of Viterbo's Terme dei Papi establishment. 

Questions which the protesters want answered are about the distribution of natural waters from the many natural hot springs surrounding the town of Viterbo. The protesters were hoping that publicly managed soaks would not be the last in line to receive waters with commercial operations taking the lion's share.

Answers were forthcoming from the Terme itself but all concluded that it was the city council which needed to clarify it's position. The protestors are hoping the city keeps to it's legal accounting of the commercial establishments..

Nel #buco del #negombo #ischia #lacco #terme #hot #water #term #vivalavida #vivalitalia 

From the isle of Ischia, Italy, source.

On Facebook I came across a report in Greek of a Russian delegation visiting the northern Greek island of Samothrace. Included on the itinerary is a visit to Therma with a hot spring with

'a temperature of about 95 degrees Celsius'.   

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From earlier this year a list of Budapest's best baths, naturally heated:

'For those heading to Budapest, we have but one piece of advice: take a bath! It’s not an insult, (worry not; we’re sure your hygiene is impeccable) but when you’re visiting the ‘City of Baths,’ it would be a crime to miss out on Budapest’s historic, refreshing, and invigorating pools'.

Sascha's soaks

Kalameny, Slovakia

The warm spring of Kalameny (33°C) is easy to find and well known by locals. You just head to Lucky, then to Kalameny and cross the little town. Behind the town, you follow about 500 m a rural road that heads to the forest. The warm spring is on your left side. It is a beautiful area, where hiking trails start and several possibilities for picnicking exist. It is recommended to go there before afternoon, because at about 3 p.m. there is more shadow than sunshine on the site.

The pond is about 50 cm deep and the warmest place (i.e. 33°C) is at the source. The rest of the pond is about 30°C. The good thing is that because of the low temperature, you can stay for hours inside. Changing the clothes is possible in the car that people usually park directly in front of pond. Not very romantic, but practical. 
My evaluation: 3 of 5 stars

Linger

The Guardian (Aug. 22) has a tale of Icelandic swim and soaking spots:

'Bathing outside in naturally heated water is part of Icelandic life'.

It describes how a family travel around Iceland seeking out what are known as hot pots. It's a very nice introduction to Iceland's many hot springs and guides us to some of the known and unknown hot springs. For instance Heydalur:

'Heydalur has various hot pots, a swimming pool surrounded by cherry trees and roses, and saddles hanging inside a big shed, but at 6.30am I get out of bed for a more solitary experience at a nearby hillside hot pot. To reach it I have to cross a river before it becomes too high to ford (more snowmelt comes downstream during the day, even with the midnight sun). It is a one-person pot surrounded by round stones and dripping moss and it is perfect: with the voo-voo-voo calls of unseen ground-nesting birds, snow-capped mountains on one side, a fjord on the other, and bubbles of gas coming up through clear water'.

The article refers to the Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS) which on August 20 additionally listed 4 places to swim in Iceland, most of them naturally heated. The current list is getting longer.

The OSS website actually contains many links to some great natural swimming locations. A definite like for this site. 

 

Stay classy, Iceland! #iceland #myvatn #ne #hotsprings  

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More news from Iceland: Iceland has a new hot spring.

On the 31st of July grapevine.is reports on Holuhraun:

'Holuhraun has created a hot spring that people have discovered is actually perfect for bathing in.

Vísir reports that the spring in question is located near the Svartá River, and is more akin to a river than a creek, on account of being about 30 metres deep and a few metres wide'.

Then the icelandreview (Sep. 21):

'There is a new kind of hot tub in our country, with an adjacent whirlpool, in amazing landscape. The designer, however, is not likely to present it at any international conference of hot tub developers. The reason: her name is Mother Nature.

“The hot tub must be the world’s largest, “ said Hörður Jónasson, guide, about the new bathing spot in the Holuhraun lava field, Vísir reports.

“This is a unique, world class bathing spot,” Hörður continued.

Warm, glacial water (melting water from Dyngjujökull glacier) flows north from the south end of Holuhraun, under and through the lava and comes out at the north end. This is a large amount of water, 35° to 40° C warm [95°-104° F].”'

The grapevine.is responds (Sep. 22). It has a travel report on Holuhraun:

'Holuhraun was, until recently, off limits; the eruption spewed out toxic gases that sat over the area, and blew over different parts of Iceland.

...

But when the eruption was over, rangers were surprised to find that a river thought to have been swallowed by the eruption had reappeared. Somewhat incredibly—”like a gift from the land,” in Sæmí’s words—the water was heated during its journey through the lava to Holuhraun’s eastern edge, emerging at around 38-42 degrees, which also happens to be the bathing temperature of Iceland’s geothermal hot pots.

...

We linger there for hours, without really noticing the time go by'. 

 

Relax... #hrunalaug #fludir #hotpot #hotspring 

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Joy

Then to finish this posting, a couple of soaking pictures from Spain, starting with the northern thermal soak and mud pot of Tiermas, followed by the Andalusian hot spring of Baños de la Hedionda: 

 

#yesa #termales#urtermalak 

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La alegría es contagiosa y siempre consigue descubrir una solución donde la lógica solo encontró un explicación para el error #thebestplaceintheworld #nature #precioso #bikini #river #río #azufre #pielsuavita #cute #nice #love #morena #like4like #tagsforlike #barro #sevillana #losbañosdelahedionda #romano #vayafrío

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