Warm Mineral Springs

I am on a visit to the West Coast (of Florida). I have come to spend some time with a good friend, who I only get to see 3 or 4 times a year. We talked, ate and spent hours floating in Warm Mineral Springs.

According to their website:
“Warm Mineral Springs is believed to be the “Original Fountain of Youth” sought by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. Believers to the healing powers of Warm Mineral Springs say that the highly mineralized waters help ease back pain, gastrointestinal illnesses, various skin diseases, sinusitis and many other ailments.”

When you get there, the first thing you notice is the smell. The Springs water has more mineral content than any spring in the USA and third highest in the world! And, you can smell the sulfur. The old timers will tell you how the smell is not nearly as strong as it was 20 years ago. But, after a while, you don't notice the aroma anymore.

It is a picture out of old Florida with a vast lawn with palm trees and Spanish moss festooning the trees. Adirondack chairs circle the 1.4 acre water filled sinkhole (or cenote).



The amount of minerals in the water adds buoyancy, making it easy to walk around the perimeter in water up to your neck. One lap is about and eighth of a mile. But, if you pass under the rope boundary, the bottom falls away to 230 feet with an opening to the connecting the Floridian aquifer.

Swim noodles are the order of the day here. You float around, gaze at the beautiful blue sky, chat with other bathers. You hear the call of birds, drone of insects and conversations in other languages often with an eastern European accent. You float around passing through warm and cool spots in different areas of the pool with clumps of algae floating by. The passage of time goes unnoticed. Eventually you come out of the water. There is a great sense of relaxation and the feeling of aaaaah.

And, you will sleep like a log.

I'm off to bed now.