Iceland - Day 4: The Blue Lagoon

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On our last day in Iceland, Jamie took us to The Blue Lagoon. My dad was hesitant about showering in a room full of men or wearing a swimsuit but we successfully talked him into it! And it was fantastic! The drive itself was glorious. The lagoon is on a turnoff road on the way to the airport, so it was perfect timing for our afternoon flight. Along the way, you can see small discharge channels where the lava rock field is covered with silica and blue waters.

A little history: this is not a naturally occurring lagoon. There is a geothermal plant nearby, which pulls the water from deep underground and which is superheated by a nearby lava flow. The hot water is used for municipal water use (note my first day, where hot water is provided to all residents with no water heaters). The remainder of the water is discharged to this lagoon. Early in the history of the plant, there was a small lagoon that the workers discovered; the silica rich water covered the old lava rocks nearby, creating a natural pool. They used to enjoy it before or after work, and soon Icelanders discovered it and enjoyed it as it expanded. Then the tourists caught on and an official discharge location and pool was created. They are always expanding it and are currently building a luxury hotel next to the pool.

We had to be at checkin sometime during the 9:00 hour. We got there at 9:45 and were left standing in a huuuuge line. Jamie said she had not seen it like this before, though she had previously come months before in December. There were tour buses and a line of regular people. Jamie says they have some kind of tour buses that take you from the airport to the Blue Lagoon during a layover. For standard rates, it was 40 euros which was just your basic pass into the lagoon and a locker. For 15 euros more, you get to rent a towel. Yes, that was the only difference I saw! (Translation - bring a towel!) The line moved pretty quickly and soon we were on our way to the changing room.

Jamie and Addi had warned us that you were supposed to shower thoroughly - hair, privates, armpits and feet especially - so as to limit the bacteria introduced to the pool, which is self cleansing. You were supposed to shower naked and there were inspectors that made sure that you did this right; Addi had previously worked as an inspector. When we arrived, however, it was chaos. I had nothing but my towel, but saw the tour busloads of tourists, particularly some young English girls, stepping briefly under the shower just long enough to get their hair wet and with their bathing suits on. Jamie and I were both in shock. I mean, I was not necessarily upset about the bathing suit thing, but they were NOT washing thoroughly. And there were no inspectors. So, I found a shower in the back that everyone missed and had some amount of privacy and made sure I did a thorough rinse.

We met my dad at the indoor pool where you're expected to get in and get used to the water; we are the only ones who did this. We opened the door in the pool and made our way through the lagoon itself. Amazing. The air was cold but the weather was great and the water was fantastic. We passed by a little cave which had speakers relaying the history of the lagoon. Then we made our way out to the main portion of the pool. Despite all the tourists we saw, there was plenty of room for everyone! You are allowed to stay all day long if you so choose and I totally would if I had the time. We made our way first past a bubbling spring, cordoned off with a metal barrier, but the super hot water flowed directly to the pool. Jamie said there are multiple entrance points, not quite on that scale, but that introduce the hot water to keep it hot. You would walk along and often come across "hot spots" where it suddenly became hotter, though not entirely unbearable. We then relaxed at a place she had found and called the beach, where the slope comes up and you can just lay in the water. Then we applied the mud to our faces, as it is supposed to help with your skin. I was dubious about the healing properties, but was excited to try it anyway; my face did feel smooth after I washed it off.

The checkin lady recommended that we keep our hair out of the water, but Jamie was surprised as that was a new rule and she liked the way her hair felt afterwards (i.e. Volume!). So, we both got our hair wet, but I told her my theory is that there is so many people now and they are probably more worried about hairballs. And I felt quite a few of them. While the water recycles itself every two days, the pool itself is cleaned every three months; I think we were near the end of the cleaning cycle. What was also amazing was feeling the sand on my feet and my dad noted it was black sand again - I kept pulling up foot fulls of this beautiful sand! I'm still just amazed by it.

One thing the three of us all noted and cracked up about was what the people thought this place was. Obviously they did not do their research or listen to the cave story or have any concept of the way it worked. We passed by so many people who commented about the "fake rocks" and "sealant" on the pool. Let's make this clear: none of this is "fake". The building itself is made out of "lava bricks" which you can see as you walk through and were purposely designed from actual lava rocks. The dark lava rocks are very much real as you are in the middle of a lava field, which is not an unusual site in Iceland. The white part of the pool is formed from the silica deposits along the lava rocks that over time have formed a cohesive covering. The blue part of the water is from the minerals in the water.

By noon, it was time to get out of the pool, shower, and change. My hair felt soooo thick and stiff. I was a little worried about it - trying to blow dry it was a nightmare, but ultimately I did enjoy the volume I had over the next week. It was getting more crowded in the changing room as we left, but not terrible. Then we got a bit to eat before heading to the airport.

The airport was so easy - dropped us right off in front and we were fortunate as when we first walked in, there was a huge line at the Wow desks, but they opened up the US bound flights just as we walked over. So easy. And we got our same seats! I really liked this airport as there was much to do and it was pretty easy to navigate, though the Wow flights were far down the terminal. Dad and I found a bar and waited for our flight; I did some last minute shopping and then it was time to bard. We totally forgot about customs, but there was not a huge line and we had small carryons so were not worried. We made it and enjoyed a smooth afternoon flight back to Boston. When we flew over Greenland, I switched seats with Dad so he could see the mountains and ice; I have flown over it so many times and love it and I knew he would too. Just like I knew he would like Iceland.

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Photos

The Blue Lagoon
steamy water

The Blue Lagoon
entrance hall

The Blue Lagoon
outside the lagoon itself, similar discharges

Wow airlines
I really enjoyed flying with them

Heading to Syracuse
a busy day of flying… went from Reykjavik to Boston to Newark to Syracuse