Atlantic Canada's only Nordic spa opens in Chance Harbour

On the edge of Saint John County, at the end of a narrow road dotted with cottages, a cove opens uponto the Bay of Fundy.

A sign and a few small buildings are the only indication that this is AtlanticCanadas only Nordic spa. This rustic business is the Nature Spa Chance Harbour.

The spa was built four years ago by Michel Racine and Line Betournay, a couple from Quebec. They fell inlove with the property when they first saw it in 2010.

When you arrive at the end of the road you discover the ocean and beach, low tide, high tide. Itsspectacular, Racine says.

You need to walk a little bit into the beach and marsh area to discover whatnature is hiding in there: falls, stream, salt marsh, hiking trails, forest, old logging roads.

Racine and Betournay experienced popular thermotherapy spas in their home province. Those spas featuretraditional Finnish saunas, hot pools and cold pools or waterfalls.

The idea is simple, heat a persons innercore, cool it down by submerging in frigid water and repeat.

In 2010, the couple built a cabana and sauna on the beach for personal use and they eventually shared thefacilities with friends and locals.

It wasnt long before the couple met local tourism operators Dave Ryan and WandaHughes and together they realized the property could be turned into a business.

Ryan and Hughes now partner withthe couple, taking care of the business when Racine and Betournay are back in Quebec or away travelling.

In 2011, a building with a washroom, change rooms and private space for massage and other spa services was built. Most recently, a wood-fired hot pool was laid into the forest floor.

Hughes says the business is only open on Saturdays throughout the winter fromnoon until 5 p.m.She says the spa has hosted work retreats, bachelorette parties, a monthly music show and an annualPolar Bear Dip on New Years Day.

The things you can enjoy are the heat and the cold, Hughes says.

From the heat you go intothe cold: the cold water of the Bay of Fundy or the pond that is part of a waterfall that is right besidethe sauna and the hot tub.

Ryan helps stoke the wood-fired sauna and hot tub and transports guests to the shoreline for a dip in the Fundy whenthe tide is out.

Go in the sauna and get yourself just as hot as you can take it and then just go jump in the water, saysRyan.

And when youre walking to the water youre going to say, This is cold, this is crazy, what am Idoing? And when you jump in the water youre going to be cold. But when you come out youre goingto say Im not cold anymore. And then go right back into the sauna.

For Ryan, the business is more passion than work. He says hes taken a dip in the Bay of Fundy everymonth for four years.

Its so relaxing, Ryan says.

Once youve done it, after youve done it, when you go home and go to bed, youre going sleep like youve never slept before because youre going to be so relaxed.