The memories from my Iceland trip continue to replay in my head to this day. We experienced so much, but the problem with that is it becomes hard to remember what happened each day. I almost forgot we experienced Iceland’s world-famous spa on the first day! This is why it’s so essential to make a journal, and I sure am glad I did!
The Blue Lagoon
Continuing from where I left off on Day 1, we did rest, but only for around 4 hours. Our overnight flight from Boston made our first day extra long, and I woke up very disoriented, and I had forgotten I was in Iceland. When I got my bearings straight, I remembered we had booked a visit to the famous Blue Lagoon!
After getting ready, we set off towards the Lagoon! We traveled back toward Keflavík and passed once again through the alien-like moss-covered lava fields. It was a good little drive from our cottage on Meðalfellsvatn lake. Pulling up to the spa, you could already tell this world-famous tourist stop was going to live up to the hype.
Iceland has numerous hot springs and pools, some hidden and some natural. The Blue Lagoon is nestled in volcanic rocks; however, it is a man-made pool. The water flows from a geothermal power plant, which sounds frightening, but I assure you it’s safe to bathe in—the water only passes through the turbines. The water originates near an underground lava flow, which is then vented to the plant, and directed toward the lagoon. So the water itself is natural and rich in minerals—especially silica, which gives it that beautiful silky hue. The lagoon’s waters are not disinfected with chemicals either. Due to a combination of natural elements found in the water, foreign bacteria cannot thrive in the pool. Plus, the water flow renews the lagoon naturally every 40 hours. So while the Blue Lagoon is man-made, it does immerse you in abundant natural elements.
I’m the type of person who enjoys a simple bath, so my anticipation of the Blue Lagoon was high! When we checked-in, we were given magnetic wristbands, as well as the towels that we purchased ahead of time through our ticket. These wristbands gave us access to our locker and acted as a tab for anything we bought inside the lagoon.
Before entering the lagoon, you have to take a shower in the locker room. The spa is very strict on this and even have such a thing as shower police. I never experienced them or even knew about it during my visit. Fortunately, the shower stall I had was very private, and I never felt exposed— be prepared to see others walking around in the nude.
Once we were clean, we headed outside to the lagoon. The pool was massive—the term lagoon is very accurate. The water was milky bright blue due to natural silica content. Steam filled the air, and everyone was relaxed. We made our way into the waters, checked out the poolside refreshments, and put on our mud masks. The mud and my beard didn’t blend too well. On a side note—I was a little disappointed by the lack of beards in Iceland. Sure, Icelanders have them, but not as many as I expected.
We continued to explore the lagoon and all of its amenities—ending up at the backside of the pool, where we spent most of our time. This allowed us to relax and even rest our heads on the silica covered lava rocks.
I forgot to mention Richard didn’t pack a swimsuit, so I let him borrow my zip-off hiking pants. I was only using those pants as an outer shell, and they were quick-drying, so I figured it could substitute as swim trunks. With all the minerals so vividly present, I should have realized that the lagoon would eat away at all the waterproofing on my shorts. In my photos on the following days, you can see where the top portion of my pants are thoroughly drenched, and the lower half—the zip-off leggings—are perfectly dry.
Good Evening Reykjavík
After becoming prunes and leaving the spa, we decided to head into Reykjavík to see what the nightlife had to offer. After finding a place to park in the city, we walked around and checked out various buildings and shops. Reykjavík has its fair share of novelty tourist stores, but hey, we were tourists! One of the main things that stuck out to me during our walk was three roses stuck inside of a big block of ice that was sitting on the sidewalk. I thought the idea was very artistic and cool—pun intended. Art is heavily ingrained into the city. There was hardly a wall or space that wasn’t touched by some artists.
It was time to get some food, so we scouted around and researched via Google. We went inside the Hard Rock Cafe Reykjavík, but ultimately decided we would rather eat something local and found only in Iceland. Eventually, we decided on an Icelandic gastropub called Íslenski Barinn. They had many traditional Icelandic options, including whale. I regret not trying it, though I’ve never had the desire to eat whale before, but when in Rome, or Iceland for that instance.
I’m not the most adventurous eater, so I just ordered a burger. But even their burgers have an Icelandic flair to them. I had the Sigguborgari, or also known as Sigga’s Burger. It’s a beef burger with cheese and pepper cheese sauce that somehow tasted like blue cheese. What made this burger unique was that the top bun was an Icelandic pancake filled with bacon and cheese. It was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had! I’d like to go back and try some of their other unique burgers, maybe even the horse burger. My wife will not be happy reading that!
After food and drinks, we checked out the town for a bit more. Most of the usual shops were closed or closing at this hour. Icelanders like to close shop around 6:00 pm. But because Reykjavík is a big attraction, there is a massive night scene. However, those 4 hours of sleep were not enough to keep us going. We decided to head back before getting too tired to drive—it had been a long day, plus an additional mini day.
