Iceland 1 - Chilling in the Lagoon

15th January

We landed at Keflavik airport around 10am and it was still dark, but dawn was starting to break. We got the Flybus to Reykjavik passing through the lava fields that white instead of black as they were still covered in snow from a storm the previous week.

We were staying at Hotel Plaza Center  which was lived up to its name being very central and also very good. Nordic in style with little night lights flickering all around in reception and bar areas.

House in City Centre

After unpacking we went to look around the city. First we stopped at the Cafe Paris for a late lunch we both had omelettes which were delicious and pricey but that's the score when you come to these northern countries.

We wandered into some side streets where there were lovely traditional houses. Many with lights in the windows and outside. I love that Nordic way of using light. When it is dark few people close their blinds/curtains so the light can spill out. It was so good to see homes right within the city centre.

Tjornin

We then sauntered on to Tjornin, the Pond, most of which was iced up.  There were ducks, pigeons and very noisy swans all vying for food people were putting down - the victor often running of with its prize chased by other birds! As I , as well as many other birds, have a counter-current heat exchange system between the arteries and veins in their legs. Warm arterial blood flowing to the feet passes close to cold venous blood returning from the feet. The arterial blood warms up the venous blood, dropping in temperature as it does so. Isn't nature amazing?  The sun was setting and it was beautiful.

We went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out on our northern lights trip. Our guide had a lot of knowledge but she talked too much! We were taken to  Þingvellir National Park where it was pitch black except for a few lights in the distance. We got out  and waited. It was very cold so I ended getting back into the coach to wait there. Unfortunately the lights didn't appear and we were back in Reykjavik by midnight. We were really tired as we'd been up since 5am.

January 16th
Breakfast at our hotel was very good, lots of choice. Later in

Blue Lagoon

morning we got the bus to the Blue Lagoon which is about 50 minutes from Reykjavik in the middle of lava fields. Once there it was all very organised, we were given our wristbands, robe and sandals. Then it was off to the changing rooms ro change into our swimwear. A shower prior to entering the water was mandatory. Afterwards we were given a towel and after drying off hung it up, stepped out of the sandals then down the ramp into the water     

The icy cold outside is a shock to the system until you are well into the water which is delectably warm. then it is bliss! Lava formations were all around, some with snow on them, distant snow

Blue Lagoon

covered mountains, the blue milky water and steam rising from it made for a surreal, but very relaxing experience. 

A woman with a ladle gave us a handful of white silica mud to put on our faces, you keep it on for ten minutes and then wash it off with the water. The lagoon wasn't too full, and we found ourselves a lovely quiet area where we could sit on seats with the water coming up to our necks. 

We stayed in the lagoon for one and a half hours and felt totally chilled. Another shower after we went back in the building, making sure our hair was well washed as the minerals in the can make it go hard if you don't!

We had a snack in the cafe and browsed round the shop but didn't buy anything. Then we got the bus back to the city. I have to add a postscript that within two days of bathing in the healing waters of the Blue Lagoon my eczema disappeared, and as I write this, three weeks later, it still hasn't come back. 

Later we went to the Italia Restaurant on Laugavegur, the main shopping street in Reykjavik.  I've been to this restaurant on each of

Me in the Italia Restaurant

my four visits to the city and it is always very good. It is small and made up of cubicles each named after a place in Italy, ours was Sorrento. I had tortellini in a cream sauce with ham and mushrooms and it was delicious, Marian really enjoyed her meal too. We shared an amazing dessert of chocolate cake with cream and chocolate sauce with blueberries and redcurrants, I love how Nordic countries use berries a lot.

It had been a wonderful relaxing day, it was so good to be back in Iceland.

Iceland 1 - Volcanic Bathing and Pampering

22nd March 2012

My cousin Glen and I landed in Keflavik airport, Iceland on a damp, murky afternoon.  The airport is small so we were on our way to Reykjavik on the Flybus in record time.  It was misty and we couldn't see far beyond the road, occasionally eerie, black statues standing on plinths were visible amongst the chaotic lava fields that the road runs through. Iceland really is like no other place on earth.

Our hotel was The Cabin, a bit out of the centre of Reykjavik, overlooking the sea and beautiful Mount Esja. The rooms were very small, they lived up to the hotel's name, but were fine for our purpose.  By now the weather was really bad, windy and driving rain.  We had intended - at the recommendation of my friend Michelle - to go to see Icelandic singer Magni play in a pub called Den Danske Kro.  We were tired, it was a bit of a trip into Reykjavik city centre and the weather was vile so we decided not to go.  Instead we had a nice, reasonably priced meal at our hotel followed some of the wine we had brought with us (alcohol is very expensive in Iceland).

23rd March 2012

Up early today, had breakfast and then were collected for our trip to the Blue Lagoon.  That's something I like about Iceland bus companies pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. We took the road back towards Keflavik and branched off into the lava field not far from the airport.  As we approached we could see plumes of steam rising into the air.  We were dropped  off by a  pathway that weaved through the the six foot high lava.  It was very windy but dry.

After a short walk we went inside the building and got our dressing gowns and went to the modern changing rooms.  You enter the Lagoon via an indoor pool that is waist deep and then go out of a door into the Lagoon proper.  Initially the cold hit us, and what you have to do is crouch down until your head and neck are all that is not submerged under the bath-warm water of 37-39 degrees C. It's handy being small like me as I didn't have to  crouch very much, but as the water is very saline it wasn't an effort to crouch anyway.

The lava surrounding the Blue Lagoon was formed in 1226, it is known as Evil Lava as it is very rough and difficult to traverse. The geothermal water originates 6562 feet below the earth's surface where it is heated to 240 degrees centigrade.  As it comes towards the surface it cools and captures minerals from the earth which gives the water its distinct blue colour.

The Steamy Blue Lagoon

The water was deliciously warm, the heat of it varied a little in different parts of the Lagoon, but it was never cool.  There was a sandy/rocky floor which seemed natural but it must have been manmade as the rock all around is the Evil Lava which would not be good under bare feet!  I have a bit of a skin problem at the moment and found that as soon I was in the water it was soothed, and now days afterwards my skin feels as smooth as a baby's bottom!

It was very relaxing in the water, it wasn't very noisy or crowded and the Lagoon is also a lot bigger than I expected. All the rock on and below the waterline was white with a layer of silica from the water.  Steam rose from the water and beyond, mountains were visible in the distance.  It all felt very elemental and other-worldly as does so much of this amazing country. It is definitely a must-do when in Iceland.

One tip, if you wear glasses like me take them off they'll only steam up in the Lagoon, I had to store mine in my cleavage LOL!

One of the Outer Pools

We left the Lagoon showered and got dressed and went for a drink in the cafe.  We had facials booked Glen was in first at 1pm and I was at 2pm.  While Glen was receiving her treatment I had lunch of a very expensive burger in the Lava Restaurant.  Just before 2pm I went up to the treatment area and waited in the seats there, Glen came out looking very chilled and fresh-faced!  Then it was my turn to have a facial with Kristjana.  The "bed" was fabulous, it was shaped so that you lay in a gentle curve, very, very comfortable.  The room was quite dark, lit by candles and soothing music played in the background.  The facial was bliss, especially the massage part and she used Blue Lagoon creams rather than oils.  All too soon it was finished, as usual after a facial/massage I felt a bit spaced out and took a while to come round.

Glen and I went to look around the shop which was lovely but very expensive, I bought some shot glasses and a fridge magnet (I always buy the latter as a souvenir when I go away).  We then went for a walk along one of the paths around the lava fields and outer pools.  It was quite open there and there was a fierce wind that nipped your cheeks. The outer pools were as blue as the ones in the Lagoon but the water in them was cool.

After this we got our bus back to Reykjavik and our hotel.  It had been a fabulous day of chilling and I felt re-invigorated, I loved every minute of it!