OJO CALIENTE - AMERICA'S OLDEST SPA?

“Through the years, Ojo Caliente has been steeped in myth and legend. Long before the Spaniards described the "hot eye” of a subterranean volcanic aquifer and even before the early native peoples gathered at these ancient springs, the waters have been steadily flowing to the surface. These ancient people, believed to be the ancestors of today’s Tewa tribes, built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs. Posi or Poseuinge, “village at the place of the green bubbling hot springs” was home to thousands of people. The Spaniards, in their quest for gold and the fountain of youth also discovered the springs. In 1535, explorer Cabeza de Vaca wrote” The greatest treasure that I found these strange people to possess are some hot springs which burst out at the foot of a mountain... so powerful are the chemicals contained in this water that the inhabitants have a belief that they were given to them by their gods. These springs, I have named Ojo Caliente.” Explorer Zebulon Pike, while under arrest in 1807 for exploring New Spain without permission, was marched to Santa Fe and passing through Ojo