“This is the most relaxing thing I have ever done,” said Sophie as she reclined in the bath next to mine. The warm night air had a slight humidity to it as we lay in the water looking up at the stars.

“I can see why they say the hot springs have healing properties,” I replied.

“Yeah,” she said and paused. “It really smells like farts, though.”

We laughed away under the Californian night sky and tried not to breathe in too much of the sulfurous stink.

We’d booked flights from England to the United States a few months before, enthusiastically emptying our bank accounts. Having majored in creative writing, specializing in travel writing, I needed adventure, and my