Who needs Christopher Atkins?!
Apr. 17th, 2005 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetThis evening we went to the Blue Lagoon. We had heard marvelous things about it and were not disappointed.
Arriving by bus, we strolled down the path through the lava rocks ten feet high on either side, down to the visitor center. There we exchanged our tickets for bracelets. These have a chip in them that allows you access to the locker room and lets you lock and unlock a locker. After showering and putting on my suit, I met J. in the enclosed pool and we went out into the main part of the lagoon.
The lagoon is an interesting side effect of the hot water plant on the other side of the lava field. They pump geothermally heated water out of the ground, but it is contaminated by sea water and contains too much silica and algae to be feasibly used directly as heating or washing water. But they use it to heat spring water and then pump the too-cool water out into the lagoon. It´s still quite warm--judging from my experience in hot tubs, it´s well over 110F at the point where it enters the lagoon.
The silica precipitates out of the water onto the rocks and they gather it up into troughs at various points so people can rub it on their skin. And the algae in the water, in addition to turning it a beautiful, surreal blue, is supposed to be nourishing for the skin, as well. I certainly came out feeling very soft and sleek.
The lagoon is bridged at several points and there are various smaller alcoves to hang out in. There´s a sauna and a steam room accessible from the water, and a marvelous waterfall that gives a great, pounding massage. There´s also an area where massage therapists will give you in-water treatment, but that costs extra and seemed like gilding the lily.
Toward one side of the lagoon, steam billows out from a small cairn of rocks where the water is bubbling out. That´s the hottest point and the closest we could get to it was maybe twenty feet away. You´d approach it steadily, reach the point where it was too hot, stop for a while and get adjusted to that temperature, then take another step and it would again be too hot...repeat until you find yourself standing up out of the water and keeping your hands out to try to cool off. And then retreat and enjoy the cooler zones for a while.
Floating on my back in the amniotic waters, with cold rain falling on my face and J. holding my hand as he floated along side was one of those few perfect moments in life.
After about forty-five minutes, we were beginning to feel dehydrated and wrung out, so we went in to shower. Fortunately, they supply a very effective conditioner, because otherwise I´m not sure I´d ever get my hair brushed out again--when I tried to unbraid it, it was one solid, tangled mass.
The visitor center has a cafeteria and a sit-down restaurant. We had an hour before our bus was due to depart, so we chose the latter and were very glad with our choice. We didn´t have time for more than one course, but the sun-dried tomato tapenade they served with bread was so nice that we ate two baskets of their bread. J. picked the trout, served with olives and a salad, while I had the plaice and scallops in a lemongrass-butter sauce with steamed vegetables. Both came with very nice fried potato cakes and our fish was tender and juicy and nicely flavored. Best of all, and something of a surprise in such an obvious tourist trap, the entrees were about half the prices we´ve seen all over Reykjavik.
Exhausted by the waters and full of tasty food and wine, we rolled back onto the bus and slept the hour back to our hotel.
Tomorrow: The Golden Circle!
Arriving by bus, we strolled down the path through the lava rocks ten feet high on either side, down to the visitor center. There we exchanged our tickets for bracelets. These have a chip in them that allows you access to the locker room and lets you lock and unlock a locker. After showering and putting on my suit, I met J. in the enclosed pool and we went out into the main part of the lagoon.
The lagoon is an interesting side effect of the hot water plant on the other side of the lava field. They pump geothermally heated water out of the ground, but it is contaminated by sea water and contains too much silica and algae to be feasibly used directly as heating or washing water. But they use it to heat spring water and then pump the too-cool water out into the lagoon. It´s still quite warm--judging from my experience in hot tubs, it´s well over 110F at the point where it enters the lagoon.
The silica precipitates out of the water onto the rocks and they gather it up into troughs at various points so people can rub it on their skin. And the algae in the water, in addition to turning it a beautiful, surreal blue, is supposed to be nourishing for the skin, as well. I certainly came out feeling very soft and sleek.
The lagoon is bridged at several points and there are various smaller alcoves to hang out in. There´s a sauna and a steam room accessible from the water, and a marvelous waterfall that gives a great, pounding massage. There´s also an area where massage therapists will give you in-water treatment, but that costs extra and seemed like gilding the lily.
Toward one side of the lagoon, steam billows out from a small cairn of rocks where the water is bubbling out. That´s the hottest point and the closest we could get to it was maybe twenty feet away. You´d approach it steadily, reach the point where it was too hot, stop for a while and get adjusted to that temperature, then take another step and it would again be too hot...repeat until you find yourself standing up out of the water and keeping your hands out to try to cool off. And then retreat and enjoy the cooler zones for a while.
Floating on my back in the amniotic waters, with cold rain falling on my face and J. holding my hand as he floated along side was one of those few perfect moments in life.
After about forty-five minutes, we were beginning to feel dehydrated and wrung out, so we went in to shower. Fortunately, they supply a very effective conditioner, because otherwise I´m not sure I´d ever get my hair brushed out again--when I tried to unbraid it, it was one solid, tangled mass.
The visitor center has a cafeteria and a sit-down restaurant. We had an hour before our bus was due to depart, so we chose the latter and were very glad with our choice. We didn´t have time for more than one course, but the sun-dried tomato tapenade they served with bread was so nice that we ate two baskets of their bread. J. picked the trout, served with olives and a salad, while I had the plaice and scallops in a lemongrass-butter sauce with steamed vegetables. Both came with very nice fried potato cakes and our fish was tender and juicy and nicely flavored. Best of all, and something of a surprise in such an obvious tourist trap, the entrees were about half the prices we´ve seen all over Reykjavik.
Exhausted by the waters and full of tasty food and wine, we rolled back onto the bus and slept the hour back to our hotel.
Tomorrow: The Golden Circle!
