Hot Springs here I come!

There wasn't much on the calendar for Easter Saturday, so I decided I would check out one of the local hot spring spas. The one which caught my eye and got good reports on the travel blogs was La Gruta.

I decided I needed something in my stomach first, and popped into Cafe Contento for a caffe latte and a bagel with cream cheese and home-made jam - interesting combination but it works.
The tourist office girl had told me where to catch the bus, saying it leaves on the hour "en punto". Arriving at the street, there were people waiting all along. I hung with a sizeable group, never thinking I should ask where they were off to. I arrived at 11.44, and finally around 12.35 an ancient bus trundled along. Getting on, I asked for La Gruta, "no" the driver shook his head. Wrong bus stop! Reminder to self: ALWAYS ASK.
I walked a little further along the street and then saw another bus approaching. Yes this one was mine, but no, it didn't leave until 1.20. The previous one had left at 12.30, but because it had been parked there when I first arrived, I hadn't noticed it.
I was angry with myself for wasting an hour and a half of quality spa time, and decided I wasn't going to bother, I'd just check out the markets and maybe do it another day. I followed the market right to the end and ended up, of course, on the street where the bus leaves. It was by then 1.18 and I decided that was fate.

The hot springs are on the road from San Miguel to Dolores (pains) - quite appropriate to have soothing water on pain street. It was about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop, but once inside I forgot all the hassles.

There were 5 different pools, each a different depth and temperature. The last and hottest is reached through a tunnel, and it is completely enclosed except for a few small holes where the light comes in and steam escapes to the outside.
I visited this cave twice but wasn't able to stay long, the combination of the heat of the water and lack of air made me struggle to breathe. It was nice to hop between the various pools and cool off when you needed to. One of them had a spout of cooler water splashing into the pool; people took it in turns to stand under the spout and have it massage their back and shoulders. Cheaper than the massage I saw advertised at 250 pesos for 30 minutes.
The waters supposedly have minerals which help with all sort of rheumatism-type illnesses. I can't say I felt any miraculous results, but it was certainly a most pleasant way to spend an afternoon.