I found an empty table outside and unpacked my food, chilled chicken sandwich, apple, grapes, coleslaw, and fried potatoes. There was even a little tiny wooden fork in the bag so that you had something to eat the coleslaw with. Thoughtful.

I piled some of the coleslaw onto the sandwich and dug in. I must have been hungry because I'd devoured half of it before I realized it. I paused and took a sip of my drink.

Gods above, who would have thought that iced strawberry-mango juice with soy milk was so dang good. I could literally feel my spirits cheering up just at the pure pleasure of drinking it. There was just something about the drink that made me happy.

Not that my lunch was bad, it was just a normal packed lunch like dozens I'd had in the past. This drink was something new and pleasing. It made me want to try all the combinations of fruit and milk.

The question was did I want to spend more time at the bar ordering these drinks and staring out at the scenery? I was here for the hot springs it seemed silly to just sit at the bar and not go back in for another soak if I was here.

Then I remembered. The beach and the pool would also have these bars. The pool was just right up the lane and within walking distance. I had brought my swimsuit thinking I would need it for the spa. I could enjoy the sunshine and more of these drinks poolside. If I got too warm I could go for a short swim then order more drinks.

I didn't have any sunblocking cream with me though. Would they have some at the pool? I could probably ask Karen if she knew. I didn't want to have to go all the way back to the hotel to buy sunblocking cream. I also didn't want to spend the rest of the trip burnt up looking like a cooked Goblin Crab.

I decided that if I couldn't get any of the cream that I would just stay at the spa, but if I could get some cream I'd walk over to the pool.

Lunch eaten, I made my way back to the front of the building to ask Karen.

I had to wait for her to appear from herding one of her clients to their next appointment. When she did get to the desk she smiled a huge smile and in exchange for a few coppers she was able to give me a wooden pot of their specialty made sunblocking cream. It wouldn't turn you as white as other creams and was guaranteed to remain on while in the water. I'd have to reapply after four hours. Which was longer lasting than the sunblocking cream I was used to.

The normal stuff left chalky white residue all over your skin, washed off in the water, and had to be reapplied every two hours or so. If this stuff really was all that Karen claimed it was, it might be worth it to buy a few more pots before we went home. It wasn't that much more than a normal pot of sunblocking cream and the extra cost seemed worth the money. If it worked.

Why the spa had a ready supply of sunblocking cream to purchase was simple. They had an outdoor hot spring. While the temperatures might be warm the heat did nothing to protect people from the sun. Patrons who spent most of their hot springs time outside would probably be just as sunburnt as someone who spent their day at the pool in the water.

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Karen made some effort to get me to consider buying pots of their mud masks and other skin creams, but she was rather busy and didn't put too much effort into it when I indicated that I'd be back again and would consider it at a later time. I would consider it. While I didn't think the mud did much for my skin if they were able to make sunblocking cream better than what was currently on the market they may have made a better skin cream as well.

I briefly wondered if they would be interested in buying my bars of soap. I'd talk to someone about it later. If I could make enough money selling my soaps I wouldn't need to worry about working part-time jobs.

I changed into my swimsuit and put my regular clothes over top. The green spa outfit went into a bin with a bunch of other clothes that would be laundered and reused. The robe was free for me to keep. It was requested that I remember to bring it with me next time I visited.

The walk to the pool was sweaty work. While there was a breeze the sun was high in the sky and it was hot. The slight chill the air had had in the morning was gone. I was glad I'd decided to go to the pool instead of going back into the hot spring in this weather. I was really looking forward to those iced drinks.

Nearing the pool I could see that the bottom had been laid with fitted grey stone. It formed more of an artificial pond than a pool. Though it didn't have any of the algae or fish poop a pond would have. It was very clean, just like a pool. It just happened to look more like a pond. All round edges and gentle slopes into a deeper end.

The same grey stone paved the area around the pool. Lounge chairs and thatched straw umbrella tables were set up along the perimeter.

There was a small building and through the glass front I spotted the drink bar. There were a few tables and a couple of couches in there as well. There was a sign that indicated that the changing rooms and lockers were also inside the building.

I stepped inside and it felt like all the sweat gelled to my body. Like the spa, they had some sort of cooling system in place. Having a glass front, you would think that the building would be warm inside. It must have been some sort of magic. Maybe they used ice cores and made the entire building refrigerated? Most commercial restaurants had an ice core refrigerated pantry of some kind. I think they just took that idea and decided to refrigerate an entire building.

Shoes and street clothes went into a locker. I wore my new spa robe over my swimsuit. They had towels available but I was partial to the robe. I also kept my knitting bag and snacks with me.

First stop, the bar.

I ordered a new soy milk drink. This time with coconut and banana. Yum.

Drink in hand I set up my stuff outside. I chose a lounger that had a small table beside it and was also very close to the building and the bar.

I sipped at my drink in between putting the new sunblocking cream on. Karen had been right. It really wasn't as chalky white as the normal stuff. There was still a white film, but it wasn't very noticeable once it was rubbed in. It didn't smell all that great though. It reminded me of metal and medicinal herbs that you drank when you were sick. Oh well, you couldn't have everything and maybe eventually they'd figure out a way to make it smell nice.

The sun was nice. I had a bit of sweat break out on my lip but overall it was a nice pleasant warmth with the breeze.

There weren't that many people at the pool. Most of them probably went to the beach. I could go to the beach at any time I wanted at home. It wasn't as appealing to me as it was for inlanders. The pool was novel though. There wasn't much need for pools when there was a beach close by. What was the point? If you wanted to swim you could jump in the ocean. A pool would be an absurd luxury even for the wealthy.

More people would probably grow tired of the crowding at the beach and decide the pool was a better alternative eventually. Right now, on this first day, there were only ten people. Ten people for this huge pond sized pool. We were so spaced out it was as if we might as well have been alone.

I was finally able to relax. Something I hadn't really been able to do at the spa. Deep breath in, and out. Sip my drink, and just relax.