Today was a travel day. We hoped to get out of Varenna early, and we did get out around 11:15 - not bad knowing that Bormio was about 2 hours away. Figured we'd have time to get a hotel and still climb the Gavia...but that didn't quite work out. We got here and it was raining a bit, and we saw a couple of cyclists coming back to town that were pretty wet and miserable looking. So we checked into our hotel - Hotel Nevada - and decided that today would be a good day to spend at the spa.

We drove a few km up the Stelvio pass (by the way - it was snowing up at the top of the Stelvio today) and went to this place called Bagni Vecchi - it was awesome. Built right into the side of the mountain, there is a huge hotel and then the spa. They gave us a towel, a robe, and a locker, and we spent a few hours relaxing. First, we jumped in the outdoor pool - which, along with just about everything else up there is fed by a natural hot spring. The pool was about 38 degrees celsius and had some jets in the side of the pool and had hot water pouring in from different pipes around the side. It was a little cloudy out, but the rain had mostly subsided. We had a great view over Bormio and the valley below. After the pool, we hopped into a smaller tub with powerful jets. The we went into another soaking pool that had 3 waterfalls of varying strengths that massaged our backs and arms. Next came another warm pool with a bunch of floaties in it. We laid back on those and submerged most of our heads, so we could hear tranquil underwater music and relax. Next we hit some relaxation room and then a little foot soaking/massage room, and then we moved over to a couple of the saunas. The first one was housed in a room dating back to the 13th century, and that one just got us warmed up for the second, much hotter sauna. We hit one or two other things that were like cold showers, then another relaxation room. We skipped a couple of saunas, and then headed back outside towards the Roman Bath. The 'Roman Bath' area consisted of an outdoor hottub (soaking pool) which once again overlooked the valley below. Then we went inside the 'bat caves' (their name, not ours) to soak in the hot pools some more. We found another area that included a mud bath, sauna, steam bath, and shower.

After that we headed in the 'Grotta' - which was a tunnel/cave where the spring actually came out of the mountain. We entered the cave and I felt like I was on a ride at Disney World - like Pirates of the Carribean - but much cooler, or should I say hotter. The cave was only as tall as I was (I had to duck a little) and the water was waist deep. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie - but with out the mice and gasoline and shit like that.

After the Grotta, we had one more dip in the outdoor pool, and then called in quits. It was a wonderful day off the bike. Hopefully tomorrow will bring us slightly nicer weather. We aren't afraid to ride in the rain, but we'd rather not descend the hairpins if they are really slick. I haven't had time to upload my photos from today - so I grabbed one off the internet. Time to go have dinner. Ciao!