447b Hungarian Hot Springs; Peru's Boiling River; Padova & the Veneto

·52 min·4 clips

Geologist Andres Russo found a river in Peru so hot it boils animals alive, confirming ancient Amazonian legends.

1. Travel with Rick Steves presents three segments on hot spring cultures, a boiling river in the Amazon, and the Italian city of Padova. 2. Hungarian tour guides George Farkas and Peter Poltzman join the program to describe Budapest's hot spring spa culture, which they characterize as a daily local ritual rather than a tourist attraction. 3. Hungary's hot spring culture is integrated into the national healthcare system: local doctors can prescribe spa visits, and the government covers most of the cost through a copay arrangement. 4. The geological basis for Hungary's abundance of hot water is the Carpathian Basin, where the earth's crust is approximately half the normal thickness; Hungary alone sits above roughly 1,000 hot springs and uses about one-third of them. 5. The Széchenyi Baths in Budapest's city park are described as the most accessible option for visitors, featuring nearly 20 pools, a whirlpool, and outdoor courtyards where regulars play chess with floating board sets. 6. The Gellert Baths on the Buda side of the city offer a more upscale indoor experience with Art Nouveau architecture and an oriental aesthetic; the Rudas Baths are original Ottoman-era facilities that become coed party venues on weekend nights. 7. Caller Dan from Concord, California, shares his experience being persuaded by a tour guide to visit Széchenyi, describing it as one of the best things he did in Budapest and noting the shift from older afternoon crowds to younger evening crowds. 8. George Farkas closes the Hungarian segment with a childhood memory of spending summer weekends at a mineral spa cottage with his sister while their parents stayed home — describing it as equivalent to an American neighborhood swimming pool, but naturally mineral-fed. 9. Geophysicist Andres Russo grew up hearing a Peruvian family legend about Paititi — the Quechua version of El Dorado — which included among its details a river that boiled in the Amazon. 10. While working on his geothermal mapping PhD at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Russo asked petroleum companies, government geologists, and university professors about the boiling river; all told him it was an exaggerated folk tale. 11. His aunt — who had done indigenous rights work in the area and was friends with the local shaman's wife — told him she had actually swum in the boiling river; his uncle confirmed her account, describing a river at least 200 yards long, as wide as a two-lane road, and at approximately 190 degrees Fahrenheit. 12. After six months of unanswered contact attempts, Russo traveled into the jungle, and in a face-to-face meeting the shaman studied him and then offered his blessing, saying 'I'm a healer of humanity, you're a healer of the earth' — and gave Russo an oyster fossil as a talisman. 13. The Boiling River, named Shanay-Timpishka in the indigenous language (meaning roughly 'boiled with the heat of the sun'), runs at approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the 117-degree threshold at which water begins to cause pain. 14. Animals that fall into the river have their muscles cooking on the bone as they attempt to swim out, progressively losing strength and sinking; Russo has witnessed multiple animal deaths in the river. 15. On his first morning at the site, Russo asked for tea; the shaman's apprentice handed him a teabag and a cup and pointed him toward the river — he had to wait for the water to cool before drinking. 16. The nearest volcano to the Boiling River is over 430 miles away; Russo spent two years ruling out the possibility that the river was created by an oil and gas drilling blowout, citing Peru's oldest Amazonian oil field located nearby, before concluding it is a natural non-volcanic geothermal feature. 17. Russo's research has identified undocumented extremophile species — algae and microbial mats — living in the river's near-boiling water; he is not yet publicly disclosing specifics to prevent unauthorized collection or exploitation. 18. A heart-shaped oyster fossil Russo found deep in the jungle was shown to the shaman, who told him 'the jungle has given you its heart, so you need to protect it' — a moment Russo describes as highly significant. 19. Hometown guide Christina Pernecoli describes Padova, Italy, as one of Europe's oldest cities, home to a university founded in 1222 where Galileo discovered Jupiter's moons, and where the Fallopian tube and Eustachian tube were named after scholars based there. 20. Padova's relationship with Venice is characterized by a playful civic rivalry — Padovans replaced the Venetian winged lion symbol with a kitten with wings after Venice conquered them in 1405 — and the city is accessible from Venice by a 30-minute train ride without the summer crowds.

As heard by us

Hot springs, a sacred Amazon river, and Padova art give this travel hour a curious, waterlogged sense of wonder.

Travel with Rick Steves treats hot water as both pleasure and pilgrimage, moving from Hungary's mineral baths, where spa days can even be prescribed as therapy, to Andres Russo's search for Peru's boiling river and a brief turn toward Padova's art-filled Basilica of St. Anthony.

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Why you'd press play

For a calm route from Hungary's hot springs to Peru's boiling river, with a stop for art near Venice.

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