Camel from Kyzylkum

North Port

WE WENT TO NORTH PORT in Southwest Florida for the very first time in the summer of 2007. I had heard from my girlfriend Tanya from Buffalo about the Warm Mineral Springs in the area; she went there for vacation and liked it. We decided to check it out. We rented a house near the Springs and spent a week there. It was a good time—our days were consumed by the Warm Mineral Springs, and in the late afternoon we drove to Manasota Beach. The only thing that was strange was that most visitors at the Warm Mineral Springs were Russian or Polish immigrants. Many lived around the Warm Mineral Springs. Also, many Russians vacationed there from other states. Sparky said, “For the first time I feel like a foreigner in my own country.” Nowadays, a lot of Americans can be seen spending a relaxing day at Warm Mineral Springs—they finally came to appreciate this Florida gem, too. Vacation rentals were and still are a very popular business there.

Warm Mineral Springs are naturally formed mineral springs. Its temperature is a consistent 85-87 degrees year-round. The water is low in oxygen (anaerobic). There is a belief that water has been trapped underground for over 30,000 years at depths over 7,000 feet. Under this depth and pressure, the water is geothermally heated to 97 degrees Fahrenheit. When it reaches the surface, the temperature drops to between 85 and 87 degrees Fahrenheit. The underwater survey states that eight million gallons of water a day are running the natural way on the surface and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.

Warm Mineral Springs’ water has the highest mineral content in America and ranks as the third-highest mineral content in the world. There are over fifty-one different minerals found in the rich water at Warm Mineral Springs, each one offering its own unique health benefits that are absorbed naturally through the skin, helping to remineralize one’s body and promote health and healing.

Chemical analysis of the water reveals that Warm Mineral Springs’ water is comparable to the mineral contents of the waters of such famed international spas as Vichy and Aix Les Bains in France, Hot Springs in Arkansas, and Baden Baden in Germany. The Warm Mineral Springs' mineral density results in high buoyancy for bathers, which helps to sustain effortless swimming and the joy of weight-free movement. The only drawback is that the water smells like sulfur because of the mineral content.

In the summer of 2008, we rented a big house in North Port and brought our grandchildren and children with us for vacation. Natasha came with Kyle and Connor, Enzo with his parents Andrew and Amy, and us. Unfortunately, Amy had to go back home to Kansas after two days due to unexpected job demands. We introduced them to Warm Mineral Springs and our favorite, Manasota Beach. Every time Enzo took a dip into the Warm Mineral Springs, he exclaimed, “Stinky water! Stinky water!” Enzo was five years old then, but his “Stinky water!” cry became our secret code for that vacation, and it stays in our memory forever. Even now, when we want to go to the Warm Mineral Springs for a day, one of us certainly will say, “Let’s go to ‘Stinky water!’” The house we rented during that visit included a swimming pool, so our grandkids had an entire week of bliss there.