The Sky's the Limit

Rather than wake to babies crying or rocky air turbulence, I gently lifted my lids to one of the most majestic sunrises I've ever seen. It broke over an endless horizon with a slice of the moon spooning the clouds and the edge of the plane wing absorbing the orange tint. It was absolutely breathtaking. As I wiped the sleep from my eyes and focused on the beauty of it, a Finnish passenger offered me a warm tea. Her name was Leena. She was returning from visiting her daughter in California but agreed that there was no place like home or in this case, Finland.



Minutes later we landed and shuffled our tired bodies to a motorbus for a 2 hour drive to the country's most famous resort, the Naantali Spa. To regain our strength, the 6 of us (4 writers from N.Y., 1 from C.A. and Maria, our guide) were introduced to spa therapy at its finest. Yes, clothing was optionally but being the inhibited Americans we are (not to mention super sober) we stuck to our speedos. There were a variety of pools to pick from, from Roman to Turkish to Mediterranean, hot and cold. I bounced from one to another in-between short sessions in the super hot Finnish sauna - expanding my capillaries as well as my mind.

My fave was the bubbling outdoor pool accessible by swimming through a mini-lighted tunnel. The weather today is gloomy and sour but swimming in recreational pools like this, with a view of the Baltic sea, doesn't dampen the day any. What makes this place even more unique is a 200-room ship called the Sunborn Yacht Hotel permanently docked next to the landlubbers hotel. The Yacht Hotel is actually only part floating maritime vessel. It was built without an engine room, Captains quarter or cargo area. This is a high-class timeshare like no other.

Yawn..... Oh no, I'm running low on fuel and there's still the local pub crawl and dinner to do. Such a tough life!