Spa day and a countryside drive.

Paul was on a course this past week so his sister, Gwenny, and I met up on Wednesday went to a Elysium Wellness Resort/spa.

It was pointless that Gwenny and I went in 2 cars to go to the spa so I drove to Gwenny's house to fetch her and then we could go to the spa together.  Getting to her house in Zoetermeer wasn't a problem but I got a wee bit stressed out from the traffic getting there.  Also the satnav took me via a route that I didn't recognise so I thought I was lost (which was rubbish of course).  I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally started to recognise where I was.

Whilst at the spa Gwenny and I had a lovely massage - it was so good that we almost fell asleep.  It was a matter of "can you let me stay here fore a couple more hours?" - but of course we didn't.  Instead we made most of the day, going for a swim, going to a sauna, jacuzzi and more.  By the time left I felt almost 'legless' - very relaxed!

I got Gwenny to drive us back to her place and then I would drive back the rest of the way to Rijsbergen.  As we were passing a traffic light and turning left into a dual carriage road the car suddenly 'died'.  There was not a peep from the engine.  Quick as a flash Gwenny hit the hazard light button before trying the car's ignition.  Fortunately the car started after a 2 or so tries.  Whew!  We got back to Gwenny's house but we were worried that the car might stop again altogether so I had strict instructions to telephone Gwenny if the car broke down; and she would come out to fetch me or get a recovery vehicle sent out to me.  Fortunately the car behaved herself and I had no problems getting back to Rijsbergen.  I sent Gwenny a message though to say that I had arrived.

Today's route, more or less.

Today we took a drive to Monschau in western Germany, near the Belgian border.  Paul's mum mum came with us to get out of the house and have a change of scenery.  There have been reports of snow but not where we were so it was a good time to see a bit of snow.  We took a nice winding route, trying to avoid some of the motorways.  It was getting quite late by the time we got to Monschau so we didn't get out and wander through the town.  It is a bit of a pity because the centre of town is still in the old medieval style.  I'm looking forward to visiting and exploring Monschau properly another day, if all goes well.  Unfortunately we didn't stop to take photographs during our drive - the scenery was very pretty.

Hell's Gate and a hot spring soak

A snapshot of our whereabouts today but not the actual road route 

Today we visited Hell's Gate?  Eh?  😳  Fortunately it is not the biblical hell.  It is a geothermal area not far from from our hotel.  I have been there on a ship's tour as tour escort but tours are usually rushed so I was glad to visit the area with Paul at a more leisurely pace.  We were able to see the whole geothermal area for a change, rather than half of it - as has been the case.  There were hot springs, bubbling mud pots, hot steam vents and a sacred river, the river water being hot.  The area had a pungent and permeating smell of sulphur but once we got to the river area where there was plenty of trees - the sulphur smell disappeared.  The trees absorbed the smell and their trunks and branches had turned an orange/rusty colour over time.

After our walk around the geothermal area we went to the mud spa area.  We smeared ourselves in sulphurous mud and soaked in a hot spring pool for a bit (this part was timed for about 20 minutes per session).  After that we rinsed off the mud and went to another hot spring pool and relaxed until it was time to dry off and go for our massage.  The therapists were good - no pain, no gain - ironing out any muscle knots in our backs and legs.  But it was worth it.  Painful but we felt very relaxed and tired afterwards.


We headed in a meandering manner to our next lodgings, Rotorua Farm Stay which is just over half an hour drive in south-westerly direction from Rotorua.  Unfortunately we overshot the farm because the GPS on the satnav was accurate but not quite accurate enough.  We turned around, used another satnav programme and found the farm which is, I gather, more of a smallholding rather than a large farm with a horse, a few sheep, cockerels and hens with their chicks, ducks and a dog.

Our host warmly welcomed us, as did her young son, and showed us to our room and offered to show us around the property.  It was getting late and we were very tired so we declined and will maybe take up her offer another day.  Our host's husband arrived home from work a bit later on and we were able to meet him before we headed to bed.

Although we have showered, we stink of sulphur.  It will take a while for it make its way out of our skin.  Oh well.

Tomorrow is another day.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Panoramic view

Panoramic view

Having got all muddied in the sulphur mud spa and then nearly finished
washing it off, Paul realised that the video camera had been pointing in the
wrong direction... He's not trying to hide anything with his hand, just adjusting
the camera for a bit of video footage.

Hot spring pool to relax in with a good view of the geothermal area