Getting wet again - but in hot pools!

Sometimes I love this "zen traveling" (ie with no fixed idea of where we are going and very little research on what we will find), or call it serendipity if you like. We had no idea that along our route is the best hot thermal pool complex in the world (well, so we were told, Rotorua in New Zealand might contest that, but apparently Pagosa Spring is the world's deepest at about 300m). But whether or not it really is the best in the world, it was a rather brilliant way to a spend lazy afternoon on a reasonably short driving day. Only an hour from Durango and almost half way to our next chosen overnight stop in Alamosa, is Pagosa Springs. A natural hot spring that comes out of the ground naturally at 144ºF (about 60ºC?) and has to be cooled slightly to allow us weedy humans to bathe in it. Can't even remember how many pools there were but well into double figures, ranging in temperature from blood temp (37º) to 40 odd. Wandering from pool to pool, starting low and getting hotter we managed to while away about 3 hours or so with nothing to sustain us but lots of water and a bag of chips, sorry fries! Bliss! Roughly 20ºC air temperature, and not a cloud in sight, the only thing we had to guard against was sunburn! Hat on again! And all of this alongside the San Juan River, watching mad fools rafting and paddle boarding (!) the white water. No pictures of course, that would require shaking myself from my reverie and probably dropping my phone in the water! There was in fact a freezing plunge pool (this is melt water from the snowing mountains) at the side of the side of the river - I didn't even dip my toes in. This was a day for luxuriating, not proving what an idiot I am. I've done that already. More pictures at the end but this one of Nareesa gazing out to the river rather sums it up!

Beyond Pagosa Springs we stopped at the top of the Wolf Creek Pass for our takeaway lunch (still snow on the mountain passes as you can see)...

...and a quick coffee stop in the middle of nowhere (South Fork, I believe) for the best chocolate cake ever, (and coffee of course)! "What's not to like?", I said.

So only 2 and half hours driving total today and we now find our selves in Alamosa, apparently the potato capital of Colorado. I'll spare you any details on that.

As it happens we also had a fabulous relaxing day in Durango yesterday, with little to do but take the Animas River walk right outside our hotel, spend a pleasant hour in the Durango & Silverton Railway Museum, drink coffee, wander the lovely old town Main Street and end up in the ancient cinema to watch Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore. We seem to always find ourselves in some out of the way cinema to watch a film on these trips and this seems the perfect place to do it. (The film wasn't much cop, but never mind). Last time it was Dunkirk in Buffalo, Wyoming and we have watched a famous subtitled Japanese film in Tromso, Norway before! (Of course, I can't remember the name of it).

Some lovely old shops, bars and restaurants on Main Street, Durango, and so it was we found ourselves drawn to what looked like a fabulous sewing/quilting shop (not that I know anything about such things), apparently featured in an international magazine, to find something appropriate to thank our (ex) neighbour Natalie for all the help in moving us out of house while we galavant around on the opposite side of the Atlantic! That just leaves us several other gifts to find, for the many others who helped us with what could have a been even more stressful but for the kindness of our friends. You know who you are - you will feature here when we find the right things!

Durango is famous these days as a place of outdoor events, from cycling, white water rafting, to skiing and climbing. But is also the start of the Durango to Silverton narrow gauge railway, pulled by steam up the Animas Valley. So why did we not take it? Well, two reasons really; Nareesa would rather stick pins in her eyes than spend all day on a steam train, and rather unbelievably I am scheduled to return here on a motorbike with 2 other idiots in September. We will do it then. Because we are boys!

Tomorrow we complete our crossing of the Rockies and really start heading north. I think we are about as far from Vancouver as we are going to be. I might have to "clock" this rental car. If only I knew how! In the meantime some more pictures of the last 36 hours.

Walking by (well over in this case) the Animas River in Durango

An eejet at the Railway Museum at Durango Station

A man being in idiot in the museum

Nareesa (Nins) at her own Mexican cafe

Nice seats at the cinema

Another one for the railway enthusiasts

It just might be!

And finally