05/09: Iceland - The Blue Lagoon

05/09:

The long daylight hours in Iceland came in handy again. Courtney and I got back into Reykjavik, and we went and borrowed Tumi and Mary Frances's car and went out to the Blue Lagoon. It worked out well because a) it was a nice way to unwind after a day driving around and being out at Tumi's cabin, and b) I think our friendly hosts have probably been here more than a few times, so it was probably appreciated for them to not have to go through it again.

At any rate, through some crafty word-smithing, Courtney managed to get us a two-for-one deal, which was super sweet.

As a bit of background courtesy of Wikipedia

The steamy waters are part of a lava formation.

The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 40 °C (104 °F).

The lagoon is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal hot water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.

So in other words, this spa site is actually a massive industrial waste site.

It doesn't mean it's not really, really neat looking.






After we were sufficiently relaxed we went for a stroll around the area outside of the spa.

The water color is pretty unreal.
I think we had some motives to go and do something after all that was over with, but by then we were feeling super relaxed and it was time to call it a night.

Our evening however had a little wrinkle in it. When we got home we looked up our flight and found that it had been completely canceled. Our reaction? "Meh". I didn't have anything to do, and Courtney didn't really want to get back to work. So, pshhh, we had a free place to stay and another day to get out and see Iceland.