Thermomineral baths

It's holiday time here in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the countryside, either walking or simply having picnics on any available stretch of grass. I've been at home most of the time, but yesterday I decided to take the family to the thermomineral baths at a place called Hamei Yo'av, which is about 50 minutes drive from here. As I said, why bother going to the Czech Republic (I had this dream of traveling to Karlovy Vary, aka Carlsbad, for the spa) when we can travel only 50 kilometres to get the same treatment.

The online brochure for the springs here shows plenty of nubile young women, but they were in short supply yesterday. The baths were filled mainly with older people, but of course one doesn't go to these baths to see and to be seen, but rather to relax in the warm (37-39 degrees Centigrade) water. We might have been given contrary information: on my previous visit to the spa several years ago, I had been told that one should not stay in the water for more than 30 minutes, whereas my wife was told that 10 minutes was the limit. I stayed in for about 25 minutes and would have been content to stay for longer. The water is not only warm but also contains various minerals; the smell of sulphur is quite strong when one approaches the baths, but being almost anosmic, it doesn't bother me too much.

After the baths, we went the whole hog and had a relaxing 45 minute massage (booked the day previously; we didn't want to take the chance of turning up to find that the masseurs were fully booked). I've never had this kind of massage before; the only massages which I have had have been of the therapeutic kind in which one's muscles are pulled, prodded and stretched in ways that nature never intended. Yesterday was a much gentler experience, from head to toe. My wife very much enjoys this sort of thing (she had a massage in Eilat when we were there a few years ago when my son and I went scuba diving) whereas on yesterday's basis, I can take it or leave it. The massage and baths were certainly relaxing: I was a bit worried about driving home, and both she and I were falling asleep by 8pm.