We arrived in Mainit in the middle of the afternoon, after a bouncy ride in a jeepney and a nervous walk across a swaying rope bridge. It was just a tiny mountain village in the north of Luzon island, the most populated one in the Philippines. Its claim to fame was its hot springs, so we dropped our backpacks in the simple guest house and headed out to find them.

There seemed to be hairy black pigs, cows and puppies running about everywhere in the muddy lanes, and drowsy men playing cards in the shade. Soon we found the first lot of thermal pools, so hot we boiled eggs in them, which we ate with our feet dangling in a larger and less scorching pool and an audience of 32 small children.

The warm water felt wonderful, so we waited until nightfall and headed back clutching soap and towels. No one was around, so we stripped off and leapt in for our first hot bath in months. It felt fantastic and the steam rising from the water just added to the atmosphere. A few dogs wandered past, a few villagers stopped by for a dip, and we just wallowed happily and smiled.

We left the next morning, cleaner and more relaxed than we’d been in ages.