Reykjavik, Iceland: Part 3

I can’t believe it was a week ago that I was soaking in the famous hot spring known as the Blue Lagoon. That’s where we went Wednesday and it was amazing. But our bus there wasn’t until 2:30, so we spent the morning in all the gift shops. We came to the conclusion every shop was the same–post cards, magnets, “real lava rocks” that are probably fake, t-shirts and shot glasses with impossibly long Icelandic words, and children’s storybooks depicting the creepy troll Santa family. I did, however, manage to get my nephew a gift for his third birthday which is coming up 🙂

It took about an hour to get to the Blue Lagoon. I fell asleep part of the way, but when I woke up I could tell we were nearly there, because steam was rising from the ground in the distance. The mountains even further were the volcanoes that helped form the lava fields in an eruption nearly 800 years ago. I can’t fathom living on an island that is continuously destroyed and also rebuilt by volcanic eruptions.

The air was chilly when we got off the bus but there was too much excitement rushing through my veins to care. I had seen so many pictures online of the Lagoon, posts on tumblr and pinterest that, looking back, were probably photo-shopped but it seemed so magical anyway. Jack and I got in the small tourist line to get our picture next to the blue lagoon sign, then made our way through a tunnel formed by the lava fields. At the end was gorgeous blue water–the blueness formed by the Silica in the hot spring. It was beautiful. We took pictures until our hands got cold and joined the customer line.

The line was long but it seemed to go by quickly, because they filled it with signs of fun facts of the lagoon and had employees weave through the lines, offering tea, coffee, and biscuits. Once we finally got through the line to get in, I upgraded from the Standard ticket to the Comfort ticket, because frankly, we needed the use of a towel. But, the Comfort package also came with a free drink from the in-lagoon bar and an algae face mask. (Standard was just entry and a Silica mud mask). Jack and I separated to navigate our locker rooms, and I found the women’s locker room to be way too imitating. First, there was the struggle of figuring out how to work the locker. You had to find an empty one and lock it with a scanner in your wristband. It took me a couple tries to figure that out. Then, there was the issue of changing. There were a couple bathroom stalls and a few shower stalls but you were expected to change out in the open. Women of many nationalities (though I think many were French) were walking around, naked, without a care, and it made me feel utterly uncomfortable. Thankfully, because of sports locker rooms in high school, I was a pro at changing under my towel. I took a quick shower, trying to condition my hair as much as possible because that’s what was recommended. Later, I’d have stiff, tangled hair for three days because of the Silica. (But still worth it). Then, I ventured out to the lagoon. Initially, I wore my glasses (contacts could irritate the eyes, I had read) but the fog steamed up the lenses so badly I ended up just going without proper eyesight.

There were two entrances to the lagoon, one inside and one outside. We decided to be brave and go the outside way. Man, was it cold! The sun had gone down and the wintry Iceland air was freezing, at least in a swimsuit. I couldn’t get in the lagoon fast enough; the water felt so comforting. The temperature of the lagoon is around 98-104 degrees Fahrenheit so it was like floating around in a giant hot tub. We found the in-lagoon bar and decided to get the most expensive drinks for our free drink. Even though I’m not much of a wine drinker, I decided to get strawberry wine, so I could sip it by the deck of the lagoon and feel like a rich woman. Jack got cider. When we finished our drinks, we floated around until we found the masks, and used the silica mud and the algae to soften our skin. It only hurt when I was trying to wash it off in the one waterfall, and got some in my eye. But later, I did notice my skin was noticeably softer, especially as I am prone to dry skin in the winter. The evening was just so relaxing, floating in the Blue Lagoon, underneath a starry sky, by old volcanic ashes. I wish I could go back.

The next day was another adventure, though not necessarily as relaxing. Jack and I were at the BSI Bus Station, before the sun rose, at 8:30 am. The station recommends you be at the bus stop half an hour before the bus departure is supposed to be. Jack had booked us tickets to a South Coast, Waterfalls, and Black Sand Beach tour that was supposed to take us to Vik, and to explore some waterfalls and black sand beaches. But, by 9 am, the bus still hadn’t gotten there, and Jack was on the phone trying to find someone to talk to. I had already downed a frappucino I got at the bus station coffee shop. Turns out–our tour was cancelled because of the weather. I was slightly upset, I could have showered or slept in. But, fortunately, we were offered compensation in the form of the Golden Circle tour that would pick us up in about an hour. We both got more coffee and waited.

If anything was worth the wait, it was our tour guide. He was so much better than our Northern Lights tour guide–he was lively and informative and I suspect a Game of Thrones aficionado. He also had a strong resemblance to Thor. We first drove to a place where I believe the Icelandic parliament used to meet. The sunrise was ascending from behind the mountains and it was absolutely breathtaking. I read some of the signs, and learned that a long time ago, the church took hold of the government and began executing people for breaking the laws of the Bible. Most notably in terms of incest, they would behead men and drowned women in the river. On a happier note, our tour guide didn’t hesitate to tell us this was also a Game of Thrones filming spot. I told him it was on my to-watch/to-read list. We also stopped at Pingvellir National Park, where we saw the Lights earlier that week. (Thankfully, that stop wasn’t long–painful memories for me.)

On our way to the next stop, I tried to get some pictures of the Icelandic horses on the farms outside the bus windows. Our tour guide told us about the Icelandic man who was exiled for murder, and went and found Greenland. Later, he came back and convinced people to move there with him because it was so “green,” coining the name. But, in reality, Greenland is more icy and Iceland is more green. The tour guide also told us how there are 30 active volcanoes in Iceland, and three of them were at the brink of exploding at any moment. Naturally, that made me feel super safe and I wondered how people could live in villages not far from these upcoming eruptions.

Our next stop was at a waterfall. We saw two on the tour, Faxi and Gullfoss. One of them was said to put “Niagara Falls” to shame, though I respectively disagree. I wasn’t terribly impressed since I have seen waterfalls before, but Jack hadn’t and I think he was happy he got pictures of them. But, pictures were tricky for how windy and cold it was. A lot of people asked me to take their picture and I just wanted to put my gloves back on before my thumb fell off. But, I think they were happy with the photos in the end. From the waterfalls, we went to what I was most anticipating: Geyser, Iceland to see the great geyser called Strokkur. It goes off every four to eight minutes so I had plenty opportunity to meander the geyser hot spring area from every angle and watch it erupt and get pictures before my phone died. I had never seen a geyser erupt before and it was really cool. Sometimes it was small and sometimes it was quite large. Up close you could see the ripples in the spring right before it went off.

Our final stop was a church that may have been one of the original churches in Iceland. The most interesting thing I found about the church was the coffin in the basement in which there was a high priest–or pieces of him and his family. But it was the end of the day, and I was tired, and satisfied, ready to retire for the day.

Friday was our last day, and we had to spend it in the airport, checking in and waiting for our flights to arrive. Mine went first. I really wasn’t ready to leave Iceland. I didn’t want to go home, back to reality, to spring semester of uni starting the following week. But I could at least be thankful that I had an adventurous week with my boyfriend. We said goodbye, and I had to board my plane at 3:15, crying. I did get a good goodbye picture out of the plane window, though. And the two people sitting next to me were interesting guys, one from Ireland and another from Ohio where I live. The flight went a lot smoother than the one that took me to the island. But, I was still a bit sad. It will be a while until my next adventure.

But thank you Iceland for giving me one of the best weeks of my life 🙂 and for being warmer than it was at home while I was there.