Flying at space is a hard thing. It is hard to get there, as evidenced by the three rocket failures in less than a year, and it is hard on the body. For one thing, the absence of gravity causes muscles to atrophy and bones to lose mass. Astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) spend hours every day exercising to counter the effects but when they get back down to earth they still feel weak as kittens and need months of rest and rehabilitation to get back into shape for the next flight.
Anton Shkaplerov and the Royal Thalasso Spa personnel
While Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov was completing his second tour on the ISS as a member of Expedition 42-43, he kept an eye out on the planet below for the best place to do his rehabilitation. The distinctive shape of the Greek island of Crete is easily recognizable from orbit and it stood out for being largely unobstructed by cloud. When Anton received an invitation to the Aldemar Royal Mare Luxury Resort in Hersonissos, Crete, with its award winning Thalasso and Spa Center, he and his medical team decided to accept. After all, Anton had had an extra long stay on orbit because one of those rocket failures delayed the Soyuz flight back by nearly a month, and he was going to need the very best facilities and the most attractive surroundings for his recovery. He was also born in Crimea, which is known as Hersonissos, so he was keen to go to another place with the same name as his birthplace.
The island of Crete as viewed from the space.
Photo credit: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center
As Anton himself said in an interview, “[the Thalasso and Spa Center] offers a variety of treatments. It’s a different type of massage, thalasso-therapy based on seawater and algae, as well as various massage jets. All this is necessary to maintain the body in good shape.”
Anton enjoying the spa services as part of his rehabilitation program. Photo credit to Anton Shkaplerov’s Instagram account anton_astrey
Questioned about how he would rank the Royal Mare Thalasso and Spa Center, from one to ten, he said, “I would give it a solid top ten, because the center has everything a person who was in space could possibly need.” Apart of the Spa center services Anton enjoyed and other resort amenities such as the resort’s tennis court, the table tennis and a lot of other activities. Anton stated in his interview: “All these things were helpful for my recovery.”
Anton Shkaplerov is enjoying the sport amenities of Aldemar Royal Mare. Photo credit to Anton Shkaplerov’s Instagram account anton_astrey
Asked about his future plans, Anton said, “This was my first trip to Greece, but I do really hope that we will return to Crete and it would give us great pleasure to stay in this hotel again. We love to travel and we want to see all of Greece, the islands as well as the mainland. I hope that it will happen very soon.” On a satellite phone call that he had with the Russian cosmonaut that is right now in ISS he urged him to visit Crete and our resort and spa services as part of his rehabilitation program. Royal Mare Thalasso is listed among the 10 best Thalasso Centres worldwide and voted as World’s Leading Thalasso Resort for 8 consecutive years.