I came by bus, south from Chantada to Ourense. This is my last chance to do some sightseeing before returning home. I’m staying one night at the Barcelo Ourense, which seems brand new. Just across the road is a stop for the Thermal Tourist Train which crosses the river by the medieval pedestrian bridge, turns left and chugs along for half an hour, stopping at all the various thermal pools. Discovered by the Romans, hot water gushes out of the ground into pools, where you can lie and soak yourself till you get wrinkly. There are private spa establishments at Chavasqueira (recently destroyed by fire, though) and further along at Outariz. I intended to visit the latter, but didn’t get off in time, so I proceeded to the next public (ie free) pool. So I saved myself €5.50 by not going to the private one. The public pools were full of oldies like myself (though mostly a lot fatter, I have to say) soaking in the warm water. The whole area was warm and protected, with big blocks of granite or sandstone retaining any sun that fell on them on a slightly overcast day.
An exotic tree has been planted near to the pools
(an Australian bottle brush just like the one at home).
Thermal Tourist Train.
The fast flowing River Miño, seen from the train.
New bridge: similar design to ours in Perth.
Approach to the medieval bridge.
I finished the day at this place, which boasts that it is the No 3 place in the world for G and T , based on the number of gin types that it has!
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