Iceland 3 - No Whales, a Reykjavik Tour and Pizza

24th March 2012
Luckily we could lie in a little today as our whale watching trip did not leave until 12.30pm.  Last night we got back to the hotel at 2am and I was so excited I didn't get to sleep until after 3am!  I was just lying in bed coming round when I got a text.  It was from Elding, the firm that was running our trip today, saying that due to predicted bad weather the trip was cancelled.  I looked out of the window, the weather was the best I'd seen it on this trip to Iceland, but that country is a bit like the UK, the weather can change in minutes.

Hallgrímskirkja

Glen and I met up and discussed what to do this afternoon instead.  We decided to do another trip, and went for the Reykjavik tour.  So at 1pm we were heading into the city on the bus, our guide was Julia, was half English.  Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja, the gorgeous main church of the city, you see it's graceful steeple from many places.  We'd visited it before nut it was good to go again, it is such a beautiful building, said to be inspired by the volcanic though it is light coloured as are many of the buildings in Iceland.  By now there was a vicious, icy wind blowing - now I realised why the boat tour was cancelled!

We visited the harbour and saw our Elding boat in dock.  On the opposite quay were two whaling boats, it turned my stomach to see them, and sad to think that some of the whales the tour company sees at sea may end up on those killing boats.  It was interesting to hear that there is also a lot of opposition to whaling in Iceland itself which was good to hear.

We went to another seashore and the Presidents home across the bay was pointed out to us.  Last time we visited it, but on a day like this we would have been blown off our feet as it is a very exposed area.  We then went up a wooded hill called Öskjuhlíð to Perlan - The Pearl.  Our guide for some reason did not like the pine trees, but I liked them, there are few trees in Iceland and a patch of green was good to see.  This where the geo-thermal water is stored in large tanks before being pumped around Reykjavik.  Above the tanks was a big dome that housed a museum, cafe, restaurant and shop.  It also has a 360 degree walkway around the dome that gives stunning views over the city and countryside.  Again we had visited Perlan before but it is always a lovely place to visit and we had lunch there. Not many people went outside and those that did came in looking very windswept to say the least!  We didn't go out, we got fantastic photos last time.

We continued our tour, which was turning out to be very different from the last city tour we took here, I suppose each guide has their own routes and places on the agenda.  Julia's trip was nice because it was very personal and she told us how Reykjavik has changed since she was a child here in the 50's and 60's. She told us the story of the washerwomen from the city who would walk miles to a hot spring in the valley to do their washing, at least they had hot water! It struck me once more what a spread out place Reykjavik is, the centre is relatively small and there are lots of large open areas and sprawling suburbs.


Our last stop was the Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum in the Laugardallur Valley, a residential area of the city. Sveinsson (1893-1982) was a native of Reykjavik and the building the museum is housed in was both his home and studio.  We didn't have time to go into the museum but we walked around the garden around it which had numerous sculptures on view.  Some were very abstract others more realistic, I found I really liked his work, there was something very moving about them.  He had a sculpture there of the washerwomen Julia had told us about earlier.  Some sculptures were large others quite small and various materials were used. Shame we didn't have time to go inside.


We were dropped off in the city centre as we wanted to do a bit of shopping and have a meal.  We pottered about some souvenir shops, we both bought a Frostroses candle holder which a very pretty and I've never seen anything like them anywhere else.


We  wandered along looking for a restaurant we could afford and picked an Italian (can't remember its name) that was reasonably priced.  It wasn't a fancy place but the pizza we had was absolutely delicious and huge.  We even treated ourselves to a glass of wine each, (having wine in a restaurant in Reykjavik is a treat!) well it was the last night of our holiday and we actually had a little money left.

Polar Bears on the Streets of Reykjavik!

We left the restaurant and found the weather was getting really bad, the strong, icy wind was still there along with rain now.  We decided to get a taxi back to the hotel seeing the weather was so horrible.  


Once back at The Cabin we had the last of the wine that we had brought with us before going to bed really early as we had to be up at the ungodly hour of 4am the next morning!  Night owl me was surprised that I managed to get to sleep by 10pm, must have been all the fresh sea air.


So our little holiday in Iceland was over.  I still feel Iceland is the most amazing place to visit, and the people are friendly and helpful (and speak excellent English).  The Blue Lagoon was like stepping into another world and what a wonderful day of chilling! It was disappointing not to get out on the whale watching trip, but that's the way with tours that require nature to play ball.  Seeing the Northern Lights made up for missing the whales though, the magic of that time on the snowy mountain pass watching the Aurora will stay with me forever.

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!