A Quick Stop in Iceland

---

When planning our trip, we knew our layover in Iceland on the return would be a welcome bonus. After a 4 1/2 hour trip from Paris, we reached Iceland at 9:30 am. We had 7 hours before flight home just enough time to see the famous Blue Lagoon. There was a bus outside the small airport to take passengers to and from the Blue Lagoon so we bought tickets and set out on the 10:15 bus. It took about an hour to get there after all stops, 40 minutes longer than advertised. It was a rainy day and we did our best to see the terrain of the fascinating island best we could. When we reached the Blue Lagoon, we could see the lava rock terrain and geothermal waters. We had never been to such an amazing place. There were hundreds of people there with the same idea in mind. We quickly bought our tickets and were given magnetic wrist bands that we could use to access our secure lockers and put purchases on to avoid carrying our wallets, locker keys etc. The instructions for us were to shower before getting into the Blue Lagoon so as to not contaminate the natural waters. The Blue Lagoon is a spa of geothermal seawaters known for their beneficial effects on your skin. We spent 2 hours in the Lagoon that was 5,000 square meters of 6 million liters of geothermal water that is constantly renewed. There were bridges over the lagoon, a waterfall of forceful hot warm for meant for a head and body massage, and stations where you could rub the silica mud on your face and neck and leave on for up to 10 minutes. The Lagoon was surrounded by volcanic rocks and the gorgeous colored water flowing there from streams. There were parts of the Lagoon where the water was hotter than others and we got the full experience being outdoors in a geothermal pool with mist and clouds passing over us. One of the most interesting things to learn was that two continents, Euro-Asian and American tectonic plates, meet at the Blue Lagoon. How cool! We hurried to get showered and dresses to make the 14:15 bus back to the airport. The bathrooms were set up with great facilities equipped with all the soaps you would need (made of silica mud, of course), towels, hair dryers, and even plastic bags to transport wet clothing. The tourism company had definitely made it easy for people to visit the Blue Lagoon their layovers-I'm sure an intentional scheduling of flights too. The ride back was not as long and we were back in the airport with plenty of time to spare. We had decided not to eat at the overpriced spots at the Blue Lagoon so it was time for lunch at the airport. We each had a quiche and salad with tea to warm us up and the food was delicious. The clerk had told us our total bill was 5,000 (not mentioning it was Krona) (to which Khyati exclaimed ! We poked around in some of the gift shops before going to our gate and joining the other Americans homeward bound. Now, the fun was really over and it was time to go home. Fortunately, we were going home to friends, family, fulfilling work and a beautiful city to live in. Besides...our next adventure wouldn't be too far away....

---