vale la pena: Hot Springsss

Tim's friends from his summer trip, Mick and Ula randomly showed up at our house last week. I had given then some info about GTO through email, and gave them my address and number in case they needed help while here. Turns out they totally stumbled on our neighborhood and stopped by.

Mick is a tall thin Australian with thin, reddish hair, and Ula is a blond Polish woman, with a killer climber's body and is sweet as azucar. I thought at first they were my age, but after spending time with them, I'm pretty sure they are much older, kept young by their youthful spirit and sense of wonder and travel. Since January, they have traveled from Calgary, all over Canada, Alaska, all the way down the coast, through the US (where they met up with Tim and Nate) and are now exploring Mexico for a bit before heading through Central America. Their ultimate goal is Tierra del Fuego, the most southern point at the tip of South America.

If the fact that they have traveled since January, and will probably be traveling for another year doesn't make you jealous, you should see them together. They don't act like two people who have been in a van together for the past 11 months, they are totally tranquillo, respectful, adorable. I immediately had this sense of anxiety while we were hanging out — realizing later that it was because it reminds me a lot of tim and I in our best days. Doing outdoor adventures together, competing, playing a lot. Bitter sweet memories indeed.

They invited me this past Sunday to go to San Miguel de Allende, a 1.5 hour drive where supposedly you can encounter a lot of wrinkly, white haired gringos with loads of money. They had heard about these hot springs just outside of San Miguel, and were curious to check them out. I decided I could use a break from being cooped up in the house with the crazy dogs and self-help books. We had coffee and headed out around 9 am, stopping once to pee behind a cactus. This is Mick and Ula, and the van they have been traveling in for the past 11 months:

Inside the van, which is about as big as my bedroom, they started a list of all the places they had been on the chalkboard. There were so many destinations, they got bored with the idea and the dates trail off...

We drove around el centro in San Miguel for a bit, lost really, and made an important stop at a street vendor to buy homemade coffee-flan and cake. We passed this beautiful open portico:

We wandered around the city, I daydreamed about re-visiting and all the great food I would eat.

We slowly made it through the narrow, cobblestone streets, back to the main road, which was paved all of 5 miles, then turned back into dirt. We followed the dirt road to the sign that said, La Gruta and pulled in. The entrance already had me super excited: GREEN THINGS!

We walked around a bit, looking for the changing rooms, and caught sight of one of the many pools:

First stop, a very shallow foot-deep pool, where you could stick your head under a nice stream of water and get a free shoulder massage.

Or your back, or your feet which Ula enjoyed thoroughly...

Next, the search for the warmer water! We found a little pool, water was neck-deep and slowly made our way towards a this enticing entrance...

An amazing trek, you walk slowly through the cave in water that's getting warmer and warmer for about thirty feet; you can start to hear and feel the the sssssssssssteam... The destination: A cave room about thirty-feet wide and 20-feet tall, that serves as a massive, covered hot tub. (And a nice make-out room for mexicans, who seem to find it totally appropriate on every corner of the planet! But still not as much as Buenos Aires. Morgan can verify, we saw more locked faces than not.)

People lined up to stick their heads under the waterfall that shot from the side, and there were tiny natural spotlights shining down through the steam. I decided I HAD to get my camera, and nearly dropped in on the way in, but once it fogged up the shots took on a cool affect.

This is walking back towards the entrance, the lens is all fogged up...

My favorite shot of the day!

We walked back out the cave and decided to read in the grass for awhile, realizing how much I missed it. The sun was perfectly warm. I'm so thankful to be going through a breakup in GTO, where everyday is sunshine and blue skies, it's such a healing enabler. After a bit, we went for food at the restaurant, Mick and Ula being adorable.