Korali means coral, that’s a fitting name for a pool. I have been told about this Korali thermal mineral water swimming pool quite a few times, as it is the closest mineral pool to Sofia and easily accessible by public transportation or a taxi for a relatively short distance. Well, I was honestly a bit scared by some online reviews and my family just had never found the time to go there earlier, so only when I was about to leave Sofia in less than two weeks, I finally made up my mind to check it out. Now I wish that I had come here sooner and more often.
It is a swimming pool, and people are required to tie their hair before entering the pool. There are shallow and deep areas in the adults pool, and people do swim in it. Well, it is not in any standard shape and is relatively small in size. More often than not, people just like soaking in the thermal mineral water, myself included. In winter, the kids pool and the water slides are closed. Some people go there often, and they could tell that I was new there. They were friendly and would strike up a conversation with me. There were about a dozen of people in the pool when I went there, and they said that there would always be people using the pool. This pool is open all year round under all weathers (now when I think about it, I am curious if they close it in thunderstorms due to the potential electrical shock hazard). The winter hours are from 9 am to 7 pm (the sunset is around 5 pm so it would stay open even after it gets dark). They said that it was especially nice to come here on a snowy day. I can imagine that in summer it could get a bit crowded here. Winter is actually a more relaxing season than summer.
The reviews that I was scared about were that there was no locker or shower, etc., but it turned out to be not true, or maybe the people who left those reviews didn’t figure out where those things were. The ticket office is a room on the right in the house, and the cashier lady very kindly showed me downstairs where the changing room was. There are lockers using a 4-digit code that we choose so that we don’t even need to wear any bracelet of keys. The shower is very nice, and there’s a separate room of WC. The women’s section is on the right, while the men’s section is on the left. There are also hair dryers. If that lady didn’t show me where things were, I would be at a total loss, too. I should say that this place is not too big, though, so maybe in summer, if people ran out of locker or shower space, that could be a bit frustrating.
This place is a public swimming pool, not a luxury hotel or resort, and we do need to bring our own towels, shower gel, etc. Those reviews were true and I was prepared. Anyway, during the pandemic, we want to minimize the contact as much as possible, too. From the house to the poolside it could be about 20 meters, and we need to manage it ourselves as the path is outside. A frequent pool user would wear a thick and long bath robe with a hood over their swimming suit, that’s the best gear, especially in winter. We should also prepare a pair of slippers to walk in and some snacks. The pool-side store only has bread slices in winter. I’ve heard that there are a lot more food items in summer. I think that in summer, the chairs beside the pool are charged for some fee, but in winter, no one cares, and people can find any empty place to put their stuff on.
The thermal mineral water here is originally at 47 Celsius degrees (117 Fahrenheit degrees) and is brought down to 30 Celsius degrees (86 Fahrenheit degrees) in the pool. There is another thermal bath managed by others right next door at the higher temperature, and people can’t and shouldn’t stay in that hot water for too long.
Speaking of mineral bath, I can’t help thinking back about Japan. Some Japanese friends say that they like to go every week. In Japan, some baths will use the original mineral water, and some will be mixed with herb-based medicinal recipe, etc. to have different healing effects. Given the very diverse composition of the mineral water in Bulgaria, I heard that there is some research on using the water for medical purposes using that water’s composition, beyond it just being warm, smooth, and comfortable to stay in.
This Korali pool is at the north end of Lake Pancharevo, which is the long lake that we passed by on our way to Peak Musala and we noticed the power plant at its south end at that time, which reminded me of Lake Glenville in western NC. It turns out that Lake Pancharevo was artificially created in 1956 and dammed to generate electricity. Those two lakes are really alike. The water source for Lake Pancharevo is mainly from a river on the Vitosha Mountain and the Pancharevo mineral springs. The lake is used for drinking, irrigation, power generation, and recreation, etc. for the Sofia area.
From the pool, we can see Lake Pancharevo, the surrounding mountains, and the sky. I love the mist above the pool, too. There was a kitten in the poolside store and it looked just like a cute fur ball.
On the way back to my apartment, the TU-Sofia’s buildings were lighted up, and there was a traveling carnival set up in the park. The holiday is here.
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