Iceland day 2

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Day 2 in Iceland was a trip to the Blue Lagoon outdoor geothermal spa. The first time I heard an outdoor pool in the near-Arctic conditions of Iceland I thought the idea was completely insane and was just for those crazy Nordic types - you know, the types who go naked into communal saunas and then flog themselves silly with branches of trees.

The setting of the Blue Lagoon in incredible - the frozen, barren tundra near Grindavik on the way to Keflavik Airport. You can see the hot steam rising from a few miles away as you approach it. The water is heated by the nearby geothermal energy plant, which harnesses the naturally produced underground heat to create electricity for the surrounding area. Iceland is predominantly geothermally heated and has no nuclear power. As it sits on a geological fault line between the gradually separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, there is a mass of heated water rushing up to the surface under Iceland from the gap in the plates. This is partly why there are so many active volcanoes there, and this is the same source for the boiling water, the heat from which is harnessed to make electricity.

While the edges of the Blue Lagoon have been sculpted by man, the complex as a whole is largely a natural creation, including the lava which acts as the perimiter. The water is blue, as a result of the suplhur in it (which also gives off the lovely rotten egg smell which you will spend ages trying to remove from yourself. Don't worry, if you end up smelling like egg then the chances are everyone else around you is as well, so you won't be the only one, and people will know why).

The air temperature when we got there was about freezing, not helped by the windchill from the huge gales sweeping across the open landscape. There is a short 20 yards dash from the indoor complex,where you get changed, to the water. You will freeze for a few second as you dash to the water, but as soon as you get in its one of the best feelings out there. The water temperature hovered at a constant 37-39 degrees celsius, about the heat from a jacuzzi, and every part of the water is warm. You could spend hours there if you were so inclined.

On this day the howling gales whipped up water from the lagoon and added an extra chill when it our exposed heads. It got uncomfortable at time, until we found a little bit of shelter beside one of the hot vents and warmed up. From the neck down you will never get cold, but today was a bad day to have the head exposed. The last I was there it was fine, and the scenery was stunning, but the weather was a lot worse today. Still, it was a great experience and we happily stayed in the huge lagoon for well over an hour.

The bus driver who was meant to take us back to Reykjavik was nowhere to be seen at 3pm - the time he had told us he'd meet him. Now Iceland is an expensive country, very expensive, and I foresaw us having to get a cab back into Reykjavik, which would probably have cost about £100 for the half hour trip. Tahnkfully there was another bus from the same company there so we headed back on that.

The evening we spent walking around the city, looking in the shops. My favourite shop Iceland by far is the 66 North shop in Bankastraeti. 66 North is an Icelandic outdoor clothing chain for the fashion conscious. Think North Face but with the X factor. It isn;t cheap, but I reckon it is worth it and buy as much of their stuff as I can get my hands on. Unlucky for me, Jo was with me this time and put the kaibosh on a couple of purchases, which I was publicly gutted by, but secretly happy at saving my credit card a total pounding. Still, go if you get the chance.

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Photos

The Blue Lagoon
This place is great on a cold day, which is pretty much all year round in Iceland...