Pampered Travelers

Today Carol's nephew Jordan and his girlfriend Lisa took us to the Ojo Caliente spa between Santa Fe and Taos. There are six different hot mineral spring soaking pools there: (1) Iron, (2) Soda, (3) three Cliffside pools (which included one Lithium pool), (4) Mud, (5) Arsenic, and (6) the Large Pool. We soaked in all of them except the arsenic one. It is hard to describe how lovely it was to be soaking in a hot mineral pool while the temperature outside was in the 40s with a view of the mountains all around us (including one peak that was right above us in the pools). Ojo Caliente also offered both a dry sauna and a steam room. Pat tried both; Carol opted for the dry sauna.

They had luxurious dressing rooms there where the lockers came stocked with bathrobes and towels. Every single thing there was just lovely. Because the spa is a sacred place and a place for meditation, we were asked to only speak in whispers while there. Staff members walked around with large, round signs saying "Whisper." That made the space very peaceful and relaxing.

After 4 hours of soaking and sauna-ing, we were hungry since we had all skipped lunch. We got dressed and went out to eat at Paragua in Espanola, New Mexico - which was on our way back to Santa Fe. Jordan said it was his absolute #1 favorite "new" Mexican cuisine restaurant. And they did not disappoint! I had their enchilada suprema and a black berry margarita. Both were right up there at the top of my list of favorite Mexican dishes I have ever eaten. To top it off, their sopapillas were big, puffy pastry pillows that tasted fabulous. I practically licked my plate.