Hey everyone, as most of you know, my birthday was December 15th. The big 3-2. Yikes. Well, I think Mandi is more caught up in it than me...32 feels much like 31 and 30 but what do I know. As a fantastic surprise, Mandi took me to a Resort location called Ojo Caliente (the hot eye in Spanish?) which is about 45 minutes from Taos. It boasts perpetual warm water mineral springs of four different types, which is apparently very rare. They have flowed for more than 200 years!
This is the entrance sign/fountain...it has a spiral logo that symbolizes Ojo Caliente.
These are pictures of us in front of the resort and in the lobby which was a magnificent hearth room with a huge kiva fireplace (a native American-style fireplace that is for some reason longer burning and way hotter) that provided all the heat for the room. My honey secretly paid the bill and then we mozied on to the changing areas and got into our bathing suits and warm robes that were provided.
The place had 4 large spas, each of which had one of the four different types of mineral water. The first was the "Arsenic Pool" which said it had arsenic and could help with arthritis and intestinal issues. The second was the "Iron Pool" which turned the walls red and definitely tasted like blood. It was said to help the blood and immune system as well as skin. It was my favorite because it was very warm and had a rock pebble floor. The third was the Cliff side pools which had some other mineral and were cooler and probably helped many ailments. The last, and Mandi's favorite, was the "Soda Pool" which had soda in it and was enclosed like a sort of sauna. It claimed to cause relaxation and help your complexion...not bad!
After our spa pool time, Mandi had arranged massages for us which were fantastic! Not as good as the very talkative and very crazy lady at BodyWork in Birmingham, but very nice indeed. It really got us in a relaxed mood which I always need.
One funny highlight of the trip was two guys we called the "Underwear Twins." These were two odd guys with tons of tattoos and piercings that were wandering around and getting in spas in their black briefs! I would have figured a fancy place like that would have rules about attire, but then again New Mexico is a different place. One of them even seemed to strut and pause in a posing position before hopping into a spa...no fun for me and definitely uncomfortable for my honey!
After our massages, Mandi had arranged for a private spa which had a warm burning kiva fire and was open to the sky and cliff-like mountains that but up against the resort. We were completely private and couldn't even hear the other pools. It was so beautiful, relaxing, and of course romantic!
Here we are by the indoor kiva fireplace about to head out. What a fun and relaxing wonderful birthday. I am so blessed that my honey thinks of such wonderful things. Now I just have to come up with something great for her birthday next month! Talk to you all again soon with Christmas updates.
Jason
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