What's a little bath water between pals?

“So, where do young people here go to hang out?” someone had asked from the back of the van. We hadn’t even seen a sheep, let alone another car, for miles. “The baths,” our guide had shrugged. This was Iceland, after all, where bathing is a local pastime and a tourist pursuit. But the power of a good soak in a communal setting has a near universal appeal. And as the days grow colder and the nights get longer, it’s a good time to ask yourself, when was the last time you got into some hot water with your friends?

In Iceland in November, even as earthquakes and volcano warnings kept our group from seeing the Blue Lagoon, my friends and I still managed to enjoy the country’s geothermal bounty. At the Hvammsvik Hot Springs, we alternated between plunging in to the icy waters of the fjord (I shrieked) and luxuriating in a series of increasingly warm baths. At another lagoon, we bobbed in among other groups of friends, many of whom were happily drinking beers and taking selfies. In both places, I felt a different kind of closeness with our group, a buoyancy that was as emotional as it was physical. 

There's something about hanging out in water, preferably while getting in a good sweat, that makes the body and soul go "Ahhhhhhh." And when you do it with friends, the benefits are even greater. We've have been doing it for thousands of years — just ask the Romans. And in plenty of cultures around the world, from Finland to Japan to Turkey, it remains a popular social experience.