Ischia Thermal Baths

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Today our big adventure was to go to the Negombo thermal baths in Ischia. They were reccomended to us by our young hostel owners and were supposed to be the hip place to go. Getting to Negombo ws not so easy. The hotel owners directed us down the hill 300 meters, then take a right, wait for any bus going east, then get off in Lacco Ameno (where The Talented Mr. Ripley was filmed) and ask someone where to go from there.

We found the bus stop. We let one bus go by because it was jammed full. The next one was packed too, but we hopped on anyway and stood in the exit area. Having no map, we didn't know exactly where Lacco Ameno was, so we just got off at the next populated area. Since most people in Ischia only speak Italian or German, we did our best to interpret the directions given in Italian by an old lady as far as how to get to Negombo. Finally, we saw a sign and we were on our way.

Once at Negombo we attempted to rent towels (we thought they were included in the 25 euros entrance fee) only to find out they costs an additional 9 euros each. We decided to air dry. We found the Negombo map and were very impressed with the 20 or so thermal pools of all different temperatures. We were determined to try every one, so we started at the top and worked our way down. Most of the pools were between 30 and 35 degress celsius (very warm) and were sea water. One of my favorites was a pool in a cave. Craig liked the pool with the waterfalls coming down.

Afterwards we headed down for some food at the cafe and then headed to the beach. Craig jumped in the water but it was too cold for me to get in all the way. We met an American woman and her German husband on the beach who were from NY and vacationing on the island. They rented 4 towels and had to give their Rolex watch as a deposit. Give me a break, they're only towels!

Then we headed to the big pool to get in more warm, salty water and to catch some sun. We also went to the Turkish baths (sauna) and burnt our feet.

After a day at Negombo we walked through Lacco Ameno to the next port. This appeared to be a happening place on the island with lots of shops and restaurants. Then we caught the bus back to our hotel and called it a day.

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