Friday, August 16th, 2024
This morning a bus picked us up at our hotel and took us to the bus transfer station where we got on another bus that would take us to the Blue Lagoon. The ride took about 50 minutes! This was an excursion we set up in advance through Viator. We have always been pleased with their offerings and again the excursion was as described.
The Blue Lagoon was located in southwestern Iceland near the town of Grindavik. Lava fields surrounded the area. We were on a gravel road for the last part of our bus ride due to newer lava deposits on the former route.
The Blue Lagoon was a geothermal seawater spa with a temperature of 102˚ F. The water was rich in minerals and known for its hydrating and revitalization of your skin. The outside temperature was in the 40s but it didn’t bother us.
It was announced when we arrived that they were expecting another volcanic eruption at anytime. If we heard the sirens go off we were to leave the lagoon and grab our things to be evacuated from the area. Thankfully that didn’t happen when we visited but there was an eruption six days later and the Blue Lagoon was evacuated!
Before entering the thermal bath we were to shower and it was advised to put conditioner that they provided and leave it in your hair because the water can dry out your hair. The water was rich in silica, algae, and minerals. You received a towel when you are finished in the lagoon and ready to take another shower before dressing. An electronic wristband was given to each of us. It served as your locker key and also was used for any other purchases.
The water depth was from waist deep up to chest high. We found spots where the hot water entered the pool. There were lifeguards located around the entire area. The water felt wonderful! We enjoyed relaxing in the thermal bath. It was warm and felt good on our skin.
We visited the swim-up bar and purchased glasses of wine that we enjoyed in the pool.
Another stop was the mask bar where we received our free ladleful of the white silica mud. We put it all over our faces and let it set for 10 minutes and then washed it off.
When we were finished with the thermal bath, we grabbed a towel, went in the locker room, showered, dressed and checked out. When we left we walked the path that went along the lagoon that hadn’t been touched. It was like walking in another world!
After our return from the Blue Lagoon, we left our swimsuits to dry in our hotel room and walked to the North Atlantic ocean. Along the shore walk were various sculptures.
The first sculpture we came up to was the “Partnership sculpture” by Pétur Bjarnason. It commemorated 50 years of cooperation between the USA and Iceland. An identical copy can be found in Miami, Florida. Iceland’s was being worked on when we visited.
The “Shore Piece” by Sigurdur Gudmundsson looked like a group of shiny smooth rocks by the shore. We missed getting a picture.
Höfði Lighthouse was placed on reclaimed land in 2019. It was designed like the lighthouses used here in the 1910s.
The Höfði House was on our walk and was known for hosting the 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan of the USA and Mikhail Gorbachev from Russia to end the Cold War. This was the beginning of talks!
Another abstract sculpture along our shore walk was “The Island Guard” by Jóhann Eyfells that was placed in 2006.
“The Sun Voyager” was sculpted by Jón Gunnar Arnason. He won the competition for a sculpture for Reykjavik’s 200th year anniversary. It was a steel sculpture that looked like a Viking long ship and it was placed in 1990.
From “The Sun Voyager” we headed uphill and back into town. We walked along Frakkastigur and found a restaurant for lunch/dinner.
Around the corner from the restaurant was Rainbow Street which was one of the main streets in town. It was painted rainbow colors to celebrate Reykjavik Pride and support diversity. It was busy when we were there. We stopped in some of the shops and browsed.
It was getting late and a little misty so we started our walk back to our hotel. We got five miles of walking in today which we thought was good since our morning was relaxing in the thermal baths! Tomorrow we board the Viking Mars and then explore more of Reykjavik!
