Our field trip this week was to Las Aguas Termales, located about 45min by van from Copan. Nine of us from Guacamaya went. The drive was picturesque (yay) but the roads were incredibly rough (boo). Trying to stay in our seats felt kind of like (mechanical) bull riding. Still, it didn't detract too much from the experience and all of us enjoyed practicing our Spanish juntos during the ride. We also passed through some pueblas.
We arrived at the hotsprings and changed into our swimsuits. We were led by flashlight over a bridge, through a small cave, and up a trail until we reached a series of pools, tucked away amidst a forest of trees. Gorgeous!! The small pools were lit by candles, and the entire area was so serene, and admittedly, quite romantic. ;)
Shannon and Ken relaxing in one of the first pools
The water gets higher as you go up the hill from pool to pool because the cool river water mixes with it as you go down. The water was so hot that we couldn't actually sit in the hottest pools, unless we wanted to be cooked like the eggs that some tour guides bring to demonstrate to people how hot it is. We enjoyed ourselves for about an hour, testing our limits on how hot of water we could handle. Most of us were okay in the second to hottest pool.
Shannon, Caro, Veronika and me in one of the "cool off" pools
Later we went to a pool at which the guides said that we could put the barro (mud) on our faces. "It's great for your skin." We obediently began to to rub thick, clay-like mud all over our faces as well as hands and feet. Veronika got particularly creative and crafted herself a lovely nose.
Veronika, Caro, Heather and me with our mud masks
Veronika's mud nose
Barro, Veronika's medium :)
Whether or not it really "worked," we all felt our skin felt "better" after the mud. Though this could be entirely attributable to the placebo effect. But why not harness the placebo effect! It's really about harnessing our ability to heal ourselves, right? :) That's a discussion for another day.
All in all, it was a lovely field trip and a wonderful experience! Thanks Kike and Guacamaya!
Mosquito bite count: 12. Hmm getting up there. Is my DEET working?
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