This website has the distinction of focusing on what remains of the natural state concerning hot springs of Europe. Most news is bad news, i.e. another source falling victim to development. Thus the re-existence of a lost hot spring is some good news.
On the Canary island of La Palma lies the town of Fuencaliente. Despite this being a direct translation of hot springs there were none.
Lapalma-island.com:
'Fuencaliente means “Hot Spring”. The southernmost municipality takes
its name from the hot spring which seeped out into pools on Echentive
beach. It was famous for curing all kinds of sickness, including leprosy
and syphilis, so Fuencaliente used to attract sick people from all over
Europe and even South America. That’s the setting for “A Star in the
Water”, one of the stories in “The Seer’s Stone“.
And then Volcan San Antonio erupted in 1677 and buried it under 40 metres of lava'.
Apparently it was rediscovered in 2005 deep down in the earth and a tunnel was built to assist in finding the water.
But only just recently have the public been allowed to access the tunnel (source) which gives access to a few small, what best could be described as, puddles. Wonder what the future plans are ....
I'll be heading to south Spain later this year. It's always fun to seek out what lies ahead. Who has heard of Cuevas Hammam Abuelo Jose near Guadix, Andalucia? Well, it might not be totally what I'm looking for, but north of the Sierra Nevada are a number of wildish hot springs to visit. Coming to you soon?
I'll have to look this place up:
'Termas de santa fe. Granada, Andalucia. #dragon #festival #granada #santafe #termas #hot #water #onelove #burnbabilon #chillout #relax #takeiteasy #yah #jungle #paradaise
#fucknormal #freeparty #rave #kaotik #fyahburn #runaway #roadtozion #happiness
Sascha
Coming up as a regular feature in future postings here, we will have the honour of reviews from around Europe by Sascha: let's term them Sascha's soaks:
Sascha's soaks
Ischia, Italy
On Ischia,
there seem to be three natural hot springs. All the other are commercial ones,
whereas some of them are very beautiful and definitively recommended. Two of
the three natural hot springs are only usable at low tide.
When I was there, I
could see the hot water coming out of the sea, but there was not enough hot
water to soak. The one which remains, is on the sea near Sant Angelo (Sorgeto).
The water comes out of the rocks at 90°C and flows into the sea. In some areas
cold water needs to be mixed up, on other places the water keeps the same warm
temperature. Unfortunately, this spot was too touristic for me, as you can see
on the picture.
My evaluation: 3 stars (I prefer pools with a constant
temperature in a less touristic spot).
Around the continent
Further afield: Abkhazia. Apparently
named Kyndygsky (or Kyndyg) hot spring, the water is boiling hot. Used
to be a lot more primitive, seems that new Russian money has arrived. But
where are the soakers?
Кындыгский горячий источник 
вот так выглядит днем 
Скважина считается высокотермальной, температура на выходе около 100
градусов. Настоящий кипяток. Вода течет по системе желобов и постепенно
охлаждается до температуры приемлемой для человеческого тела. Здесь
можно принять мощный напористый горячий душ и искупаться в нескольких
бассейнах. Также есть лечебные грязи. Вода хлоридная,
кальциево-натриевая pH 7,5.
Armenia
Where does Europe stop / start? The picture below is from a muddy hot spring in Armenia (source). On the edge of Europe? The hot spring of Hankavan is not really muddy, more sulpheric.
#hotspring #thermal #mudbath #Estonians
France
Via my tumblr site, Noel sent me a dozen or more photo's from a visit to Rennes les Bains:
'Rivière
salé de Rennes les Bains. Cet endroit se nomme “La fontaine des amours”
Elles se trouve à Rennes les Bains dans le sud de la France. Sur les
bords de celle ci se trouve un lot d’inscription datant de 1800 voir
1851. Plein de messages d’amours y sont gravé dans le roc et les arbres
bordant cette rivière. Beaucoup de couple y viennent de nuit var il y a
de jolies bassins étagés. Non loin de là à moins d’un kilomètres se
trouve une source chaude ferrugineuse ainsi qu’un lavoir que l’on nomme ”
les bains forts”
Source chaude des bains doux de Rennes les Bains dans le sud de la
France. Cette une eau chaude à 33° en permanence été comme hiver. L’eau
sort en dessous des anciens thermes. Le 26 septembre 1992 il y a eu une
très grosse inondation qui à littéralement nettoyé le rivages. Cette une
eau thermale de très bonne qualité…'.
Hungary
CNN
(June 27) has a presentation on Hungary's best spa's, all based on
thermal waters. The article also seeks to warn it's readers:
'There's an
emphasis on health and well being, so many of the facilities are more
functional than plush'.
What's wrong with functional?
Iceland
Did we know that Iceland is hiding hot springs from us unsuspecting folks? My1stimpressions:
'Hidden
in a canyon of lava stones difficult and dangerous to reach for those
who are not used to, there is a hot spring of clear blue water waiting
for you. The
place is like a hidden forgotten paradise on Earth. At times it gets
really full of locals who use to go there to bath and drink in company.
Sometimes they enlight candles in it, making the atmosphere even more
magic. They
say young Icelanders are allowed to get down there only when they are
teenagers, and imagining the adventure that means at that age makes you
feel jealous of them.
Tourists
are not allowed. The place is in a private property whose landlord has
allowed locals to bath in it. Only locals. No tourists please. That’s
what makes this place special. It is still a place where you can find
the pure Iceland'.
But the you used, is not you!
'RÚV reports
that construction workers for the tunnel found themselves in the
position of having to act as lifeguards as well. About half a dozen
tourists were spotted – and photographed – bathing in a steaming creek
of water near the construction area.
While
the heat of the water is a comfortable 40°C, it is not one of Iceland’s
many natural geothermally-heated creeks and pools. Rather, it is
run-off from the drilling of the Vaðlaheiði tunnel, near Akureyri'.
The Iceland Review (July 18) keeps us abreast of the legalities of admission fees in Iceland for the use of what are essentially nature's gifts:
'The magistrate in Húsavík has placed an injunction on the collection of
admission fees at the hot springs by Námaskarð and the Leirhnúkur-Krafla
caldera, by the Association of Landowners at Reykjahlíð'.
'Travel agencies have been warned not to take tourists to certain areas
near Lake Mývatn after an injunction was placed on fee collection in the
area, in particular to the hot springs near Námaskarð and the caldera
of Leirhnjúkur-Krafla where the landowners at Reykjahlíð have been
charging for admission over the past month'.
The gloves are off?
Italy
A bit off-topic (well not really): the Guardian
(25 April) gives us a Top 10 Wild swimming locations in Italy. Great
natural places to be. It includes Terme del Bullicame in Lazio near the
Tuscan border.
Talking of Tuscany, if you're interested in other uses of geothermality you need not to look any further than there. The novel part, as reports thinkgeoenergy (July 23), is that geothermal steam is now an integral part of the process of brewing beer with names as double malt Magma, Sulfurea pale ale and the Weiss Geyser!
'A huge range of products have been created thanks to EGP’s geothermal
energy in the small towns of the Tuscan hills. A number of agricultural
enterprises in Monterotondo Marittimo use steam from EGP’s plants in the
production of their pit-aged cheeses, just like pork meat factories do
for the aging of their Cinta Senese sausages. The geothermal menu also
includes vegetables: each year Parvus Flos, a cooperative in Radicondoli
near Siena, produces more than 12 tonnes of organic basil that is
cultivated in 20,000 square metres of greenhouses heated with steam from
EGP facilities'.
Spain
Day Four: I spent the whole day swimming in the hot springs just outside Valencia! It was amazing!! #valencia #spain #hotsprings #eurotrip
Not really hot, the Fuente de Los Baños springs delivers waters at about 25 C. Weekends see big crowds.
Turkey
Earlier this year, Nomadikat visits Bursa, Turkey and does the hamam at Karamustafa Kaplicalan. Her account:
'"Turkish
baths are a traditional thing," Mehpare explained, "Not many young
people go anymore. Turkish Baths are not at all hip – they are
considered to be somewhere our grandparents go." She went on to explain
how some doctors prescribed visits to the Turkish Baths for various
medical conditions, from arthritis to herniated discs. That explained
why a lot of women were not in the best shape, and watching a bunch of
half-naked women scrub one another was not exactly the scene from a stag
film that one might imagine.
At
first, I wore my bikini, as I initially did not want to go topless. I
was slightly uncomfortable, and a bit plagued by my American nudiphobia.
This would be cured, though, by the time I went for my massage. All
of the women at the bathhouse were totally topless. It was normal
practice to be almost nude'.
Eventually though she loves the experience though hates the lack of hygiene.
#valentinesday #friends #trip #slovakia #kalameny #snow #mountains #winter #wild #hotsprings #lake #adventure #fun #alcohol #party #amazing #beautiful #vsco #vscocam
#hotspring
