Iceland - Blue Lagoon

These are some pictures from our visit to the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's famous geothermal spa.  In the middle of a lava field, the waters are naturally heated to 37-39 degrees.  On this day it was raining sideways and wind was whipping at our exposed heads, so we hunted down the warmest spots in the water and found a rock to shelter us from the winds.  You'd find yourself floating easily in some areas and not as much in others.  The water, rich in sulphur and silica, had this odd weight to it and of course this amazing blue colour.  We stayed in the water for a couple hours, met some other nice visitors and sampled the buckets of silica mud mask.  Didn't venture to the steam baths or sauna as is was unbearable to walk in the cold rain even for a few metres.  I brought a waterproof camera, but have yet to finish the roll of film, so I'll have a surprise one day when I finally get those photos developed.

(On the right side of this photo, you can see people clustered around the in the pool beverage bar.)

Heating and hot water in Iceland is almost completely generated by geothermal power.  You can see the one of the country's plants in action adjacent to the baths of the Blue Lagoon. I dozed off on the way there, so it really seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere when I woke up.  Loved the rolling hills in the distance and the texture of the green and black volcanic landscape.

I'm sure it would be an even more beautiful sight on a clear day under blue skies, but we still enjoyed our visit!  In the afternoon we caught our bus back to Reykjavik, all relaxed from our spa day.