Saturday was our last full day in Iceland, our flight out was Sunday morning. On tap: the Blue Lagoon and getting to know Reykjavik a bit better. Our plan was to drop off the rental van first thing in the morning (no reason to keep it as we were staying at a hotel) then take the rental company's shuttle service to the Blue Lagoon, spend a few hours there, then take a bus back to Reykjavik for some sightseeing and dinner.
We got the day started pretty early. The tickets we purchased (months ago) for the Blue Lagoon were for a 9 am arrival and it is about 45 minutes away from Reykjavik. We had to sort out the camper van return before that, so we were on the road by 7am. We were all a little sad to say goodbye to our camper. We had a great adventure with her, and won't soon forget it. The Blue Lagoon is less than 15 minutes away from the rental office and they were nice enough to give us a ride there with their airport shuttle.
The blue Lagoon is pretty special. As I understand it, there is a geothermal power plant a mile or so away
(you can see it as you arrive) that draws heated water from
the earth to make power. The effluent is shipped to the Blue Lagoon to
provide it with hot water for their pool. So basically it is a big pond full of industrial runoff. Of course it is not that at all. Imagine a powder blue pond, waist deep, surrounded by volcanic rock. The water is a super relaxing 38-39 degrees Celsius (about the temperature of a nice hot bath) and steamy vapors rise form the water's surface. The day we went it was overcast and chilly with a light drizzle adding to the overall surreal atmosphere. Saunas, swim up bars, cascading waterfalls, spa treatments, and a quiet grotto / cave, it was all there, and the cold air allowed you to stand up from time to time to remind your body how nice it was to be warm and relaxed. Remember, we were coming of a ten mile hike the day before, so the our bodies basically melted into the water. There were other amenities, it is a top notch spa and the facilities were great, but we were pretty happy just floating around and relaxing. A facial treatment was included with our visit and we did give it a try. The lagoon's waters are rich in silicates, and the treatment we got was basically a handful of silica mud (which was sold for a small fortune at the gift shop) which we smeared over our faces. Not sure if it did anything for me, but we all had a laugh putting it on and taking it off. If one were cynical, one could look at the Blue Lagoon as a giant tourist trap. Yes, there were loads of tourists, and yes, it was quite pricey and more fancy than I'm used to. However, there is a reason there are so many people that visit, the place reallyfantastic.
The Blue Lagoon
We took a bus back into town, changed at the hotel then headed into town for some sightseeing. First we stopped at Reykjavik's famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a small hot dog stand in the center of town. I guess Bill Clinton had a hot dog there while attending some summit or other and said it was the best hot dog he had ever had. The place has had a lineup ever since. The hot dogs (pylsur) in Iceland are made from lamb instead of beef or pork and are pretty good (we had had some earlier in the week). It was a bit of a wait, but the hot dogs were tasty (they dress them with crispy onions and a very sweet mustard, different but good).
Next stop, the Northern Lights Museum. This was Madeleine's idea. She was really interested in the northern lights, and given that it's too bright to see them in the summer, this would be as close as we got. I have to say I wasn't expecting much from the museum, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was lots of great information all really well presented. I actually learned a lot. Did you know that the northern lights look much better in photos than with the naked eye?
We ended the day with a stroll around town. Reykjavik's central area is relatively small, so we were able to see a lot in the short amount of time we had. We posted Madeleine's postcards (I won't even tell you how much that cost), went to the waterfront to see the ducks, walked up the rainbow street and visited the Hallgrimskirkja church. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to stroll around. Reykjavik is a nice little town that I would have liked to get to know a bit better. Oh well, next time. We treated ourselves to dinner at a restaurant that night. I hadn't really gotten much of a taste of Icelandic cuisine, so I thought I would try something local. The menu had a "Taste of Iceland" option. Perfect, exactly what I was after. Reading on however, problems quickly became evident. The four course meal consisted of smoked puffin, horse tenderloin, minke whale and lightly cured arctic char. Pretty sure Madeleine would never speak to me again if I ate horse (or puffin for that matter) and I'm not sure I would feel all that great about eating whale, so I settled on a plate of just the char. It was fantastic.
The next morning we were up early for our flight home. Nothing too exciting. Wake up, pack, bus to the airport, security customs etc, 5 hour flight, land, 32 hour drive home. A long day. It was good to be home though. What a trip.
