Relaxing in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland, May 23

Today we spent the bulk of the day in a unique Icelandic place, the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal mineral baths.  It was quite surreal.  The man made lake is about 40 minutes outside of Reykyavik and is fed by the nearby geothermal plant.  To add to the surrealism of a huge, blue, steaming pool inside lava walls next to a weird power plant which was steaming away, the weather was cold and foggy with freezing rain!  We thought twice as we left the parking lot to walk down a rather long lane  of lava, freezing and thinking about going outside in our bathing suits.

The process is a tad complicated.  We each got a bracelet to open a locker.  For the price of admission, a whopping $75 each, we also got a towel and a bathrobe.  If we had brought our own towels, it would have been about $20 cheaper!  Oh well, live and learn.  Showering before and after was strictly enforced, at least on the women's side.

When we first got in, the fog, rain, steam and wind made it almost impossible to see across the huge pool. We wandered between warm spots and chatted with other guests.  The water comes from 2000 meters underground and is unique in its composition of silica, sulphur and algae, supposedly good for the skin.  Volcanic mud was available in vats to smear on your face, which, of course, we did.  We took a break and sat in the "relaxation room" and rested.  When we went back in, the weather had cleared somewhat.  We began to see glimpses of the sun, the rain stopped and the wind died.  Suddenly, we could see the entire pool.  It was still surreal though.

The temperature of the water is between 98-102F on average.  It is changed every 40 hours and supposedly does not harbor any harmful germs.  Whatever, it was heavenly and so relaxing, a perfect final day of our amazing tour.  I am becoming a huge fan of hot springs and baths, like David out in Montana who goes to ones in the mountains.

Note:  before we left in the morning, we briefly visited "the Pearl" another unique Icelandic place.  The Pearl holds the hot water for the town in huge tanks.  But, they also designed the building to house a museum and a fancy rotating restaurant.  The viewing deck overlooking the city is free and we took a few photos in the freezing rain!  We also drove into the fishing village of Grindavik before going to the nearby Lagoon. And, we visited Ikea where I bought a pillow for the plane and we also bought some snacks.

Finally, we went back to the same fish restaurant as last night because it was that good.  We both had fish and chips.  I had Icelandic tusk; Mark had cod.  We split rosemary potatoes and I had an orange salad.  The batter for the fish was made from spelt & barley and delicate.  Yum!  We had a great char with three young British girls on holiday together. A nice ending dinner for our last night in Europe!

More ending thoughts to come in a few days as we reflect on the trip, so, followers please visit again after a day or three!