August 18th // Blue Lagoon and Ring Road Day One

     Blue Lagoon // Nature ●

     We left the Black Pearl around 8:30 to get on Route One, which the locals call the Ring Road.  The Ring Road is one continuous highway that circles all of Iceland and hits every city and nearly every landmark.  Those who travel the ring road get to see

Map of the Ring Road 

beautiful beaches, historic churches, waterfalls, hot springs, and more.  We'd come to the conclusion that Iceland is basically Yosemite National Park but as an entire country and a thousand times better.      We loaded the car up with plenty of snacks to last us the over six day trip.  
     Technically, traveling the ring road on average takes only six days, but we wanted to take an extra day to hike to a volcano, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.  We knew that we would have to pack very strategically to be able to be prepared. We made sure to pack a few canisters of gas because towns in Iceland are few and far between. We brought plenty of extra water, but luckily all spring and river water in Iceland is extremely clean.  If there were any emergencies we could just bottle it straight from the source, or add one of the iodine pills we brought if the water seemed a bit sketchy for any reason.  We brought all of our coats, packed hiking boots, bought a large tent in town and some sleeping bags and pillows.  We also bought a Foreman grill for when we were camping between towns overnight to cook meals and a Bunsen burner.  Ramen was the cheapest and took up the least space so we packed enough to feed a small army.  It was a bit cramped in the car, but we knew we'd be fine because for the first few days all of the locations were really close to one another and by the time things started spreading out we would've already eaten half the food.  

The Blue Lagoon 

     Our first stop was the Blue  lagoon and spa.  It was only a 40 minute drive from Reykjavik.  It felt a little pointless to load up the car only to unpack everything in less than an hour.  We arrived at the Silica hotel and Spa--named after the mineral silica that can be found inside the clay of the Lagoon--and got situated in our room.  The view from the window was incredible, with mountains and a clear view of the Lagoon.  We changed into our bathing suits, grabbed our towels, tied our hair up, and walked 15 minutes to the Spa.
     While the words Blue Lagoon bring up images of a foggy, sinister, sea monster inhabited swamp, the Blue Lagoon is anything but, it's soft glowing blue water looks like it would be freezing cold and resembles cotton candy ice cream, but it actually ranges from 98-100+ degrees F.  Steam billows off of it and the second you get near it you already feel warm. 
    The day was only 56 degrees so we were happy to get out of the cold and be melted by the hot water.  There were long gray docks which you could jump off of into the water and we all cannon balled in. 

      The Blue Lagoon is located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where Reykjavik is also located.  It is the most visited attraction in all of Iceland because of it's natural healing properties.   It's a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi.  Every two days fresh water is put in.  Superheated water is vented from the ground near the lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity to be used in Icelandic homes and businesses. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for people to enjoy.  

Kyndall and Abby at the Blue Lagoon

     The Blue Lagoon is located close to the world's first renewable methanol plant. The minerals silica and sulfur which are abundant in the Blue Lagoon can be used to treat skin conditions like psoriasis.  The spa doubles as a research facility to find treatments for other skin ailments for either cosmetic or medical use.  Guests often scoop up some of the mineral rich clay and use it as a face mask, similar to how people do with the mud at the Dead Sea.  We all covered our faces in the thick white clay and we all kept saying, "Hello Clairece" in our best Hannibal Lecter Voices.  Abby didn't get it at first because she isn't into horror movies, and when I, being a horror movie connoisseur, explained to her that in The Silence Of The Lambs Hannibal wears a mask of human flesh, which freaked her out.
     Naturally, Alissa, Taylor, Kyndall, and I all chased her around echoing "Hello Clairece" even louder.  Abby scooped up a big handful of mud and threw it straight into my face we chased her.  We all started lobbing giant globs of clay at each other.

     We had to be careful not to overheat in the water, but luckily we got to stay in the water longer thanks to the cold drinks which are handed out in the pools.  Waitresses in black one pieces that are made to look like suits with bow tie necklaces waded around and passed out drinks.  The drinks are blue in little stem glasses and taste like Hawaiian punch, with a little kick from the vanilla vodka.  Drinking and being boiled alive probably wasn't our best decision, and after an hour we were getting dizzy, so we went to the little cooling off showers.  The ice cold water was refreshing and we jumped right back into the lagoon afterwards.  

The spa 

     In recent years traveling to the Blue Lagoon has topped millennial's travel bucket lists, so the spa was packed.  The revenue from the spa has been very good for the Icelandic economy which in recent years has been branching out from mainly being fishing based and is now moving into a more multifaceted economy.  The spa is open year round and it is even more popular in the winter when temperatures are freezing.  The spa remains a nice 100 degrees year round, even when there is snow all around.  
     In the middle of the pool there is a small island with sharp rocks and a wrap around deck where two towel shacks and showers are.  We got out and grabbed towels and went back to our room to change for lunch.   The hotel has a restaurant that overlooks the Lagoon with a glass railing.  After lunch we got massages and pedicures.  Taylor asked them it they could make hers look like flannel, and when they said no she got them black instead.  We went back to the Lagoon after our toes were dry and swam some more. We stayed out in the water until late at night, and then went back to our hotel room to rest up for tomorrow.