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In the midst of a tenaciously humid summer, a trip to the beach or the lakeside, and the oppressive car journey it entails, particularly if the air conditioning has inexplicably decided to go haywire 10 minutes in, is no farce, which is why we’ve plunged into the best pools that the world has to offer whether you’re just been go-carting on sand dunes or walking through a rainforest.
1) Singita Sweni Lodge, South Africa
Facing the river which catalysed its name and the spartan landscape of the Kruger National Park beyond, jumping into this translucently blue pool, which spontaneously envelops itself into the surrounding landscape, sounds to us, like an inimitable adventure all by itself, something which the presence of wildlife nearby, think wildebeasts, lions and elephants only amplifies.
Address: Sweni River, Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, Kruger Park, 1350, South Africa
2) Wara Copiapo, Chile
Imagining ourselves riding across the extraterrestrial waves of sand which crash together in an unconstrained cacophony to paint the Atacama Desert’s implacable contour, already has us opening our laptops and scheduling those flights. Whilst we cannot speak for everyone, this pool carved into the surrounding mineral and surrounded by cactus plants, presents itself as more than an excellent reason to find a common ground.
Address: La Cristiana s/n, sector Cerro Negro Chamonate, 1530000 Copiapó, Chile
3) Belmond Reid’s Palace, Madeira Portugal
Outdoor swimming doesn’t get any more so than a plunge into this pool, carved into a rock-strewn cliffside and facing the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean. Of course, if doing laps becomes monotonous, you could always walk, or run some feet and dive into the deep blue instead.
Address: Estrada Monumental 139, 9000-098 Funchal, Portuga
4) Hacienda Uayamon, Yucetán Peninsula, Mexico
Positioned inside the crumbling foundations of a once magnificent, epochal feat of architectural work, this pool, created by flooding the interior, gives you the opportunity to float in the intermediary of the past and present, surrounded by delicately swaying hammocks and faintly illuminated lanterns. Sound relaxing yet?
Address: Km 20 Carretera Uayamon-China-Edzna, 24530 Uayamón, Camp., Mexico
5) Borgo Pignano, Tuscany
For those looking to pursue, the Dolce far niente lifestyle this summer, this pool, carved from an epochal limestone quarry, and overlooking the sweeping olive groves, vineyards, fields and forests which decorate Tuscany’s landscape is for you.
Address: Loc. Pignano, 6 - 56048 Volterra Pisa, Italy