Skiing and Swimming

Unfortunately James was unwell yesterday (Monday) with a bad headache and a cough, perhaps caused by the altitude. He had also been awake all night with an upset tummy and was in no fit state to go skiing. Ewan and Heather set off towards Zurs and after James assured me that he didn’t need me to stay with him, I went up the chairlift and cruised the blues for a couple of hours. The weather had been a bit grey in the morning but by the afternoon the clouds rolled away and the blue skies returned. When I got back to the hotel James was still looking rather pale and wan, but he came down for dinner and by bedtime he was feeling much better.

So this morning James felt ready to go back out on the pistes with Heather and Ewan in glorious sunshine, and by all accounts they had a fantastic day of skiing. 

I had my own adventure; I was keen to rest my dodgy knee so I asked at the hotel reception where in the vicinity I could go swimming. It turns out that Lech’s open air pool is open only in the summer, so the hotel manager (Herr Wolf) advised me to take the bus to St Anton, about half an hour away, where there is a “Wellness Centre.” I followed Herr Wolf’s instructions with ease and enjoyed the bus journey through the mountains to the pretty village of St Anton. I found the Wellness Centre which has both indoor and outdoor pools as well as a “naked sauna” - it clearly specifies “naked” on the sign at the entrance, presumably so that there will be no misunderstandings! The outdoor swimming pool is delightful and I swam my usual 1000 metres, with views of the mountains and the ski slopes all around me. There’s also a large outdoors jacuzzi which has a fast current sweeping around a central island, I loved it. The sun was shining and steam was rising from the warm pools into the cold air; it really was idyllic. 

I got the bus back to Lech in time for an après-ski (or should I say après-swim) drink in the hotel bar with Heather, Ewan and James. James seems fully recovered and was very happy to have been back in action on the ski slopes.