The hot, sulphuric springs of Thermopylae are a 15 minute drive from where we live, in Moskhori. Which explains why I have only been once in my entire 25 years here in the village! Oh well, I went on the first day of this year and it was wonderful. The springs are almost completely as nature intended-in the rocks-you step through mud and then down some dangerously rotting wooden steps to get into the pool. This means that no-one who is actually in serious need of therapy can benefit from them-you have to be very able-bodied to get into the water. The upside of the total lack of organization is that they are free-you just stumble and slither in. The temperature of the water is about 40c. People come from miles around to bathe here and some park caravans and stay for a while. Of course they are right by the site of the famous Battle of Thermopylae, where Leonidas and the Spartans said 'Molon Leve' (Come and get it) to the Persian invading forces in 480BC.
