Iceland Adventure: Part X - Blue Lagoon and Home

Monday, April 15th:

We slept in, ate a late breakfast, packed up the car, said goodbye to our Selfoss cottage, and headed to the Blue Lagoon.

As we approached the Blue Lagoon, we could see the cone and smoke from the Fagradalsfjall volcano. The Blue Lagoon is only five miles from the volcano and they've had to shut down the lagoon a lot especially when the lava got too close or when the wind blew the toxic smoke towards the resort. 

[Fagradalsfjall]

We turned down a road and followed the signs to get to the Blue Lagoon. The road and the area were destroyed not that long ago by the new lava flow. The road was repaired quickly (since it's made out of lava) and a HUGE lava rock wall was erected around the geothermal power plants and the Blue Lagoon to protect them. It's crazy to see how close the lava got to the power plant! It would be a disaster if the geothermal plant was destroyed since it's one of only nine in the entire country.

[New HOT lava]

[Icelands newest lava field]

We finally arrived at the Blue Lagoon! Joyce took us inside and made sure we didn't have any issues checking in. She told us to take our time and she would wait for us in the restaurant.

Josh and I headed into our separate locker rooms, showered, changed into our swim suites, and then headed out into the lagoon. The water has a high level of silica in it which makes it feel like you are swimming in milk. 

We swam over to the bar and got a blue slushy drink.

[It was delicious!]

We then went over to an area where they will give you a mask. I didn't want to put anything on my face because it was too cold and I didn't want my head to get wet. I know, party pooper. We swam around for a bit, but it started to get really windy. We found refuge in a small cave with a few other people which was nice and relaxing.

Once we were done we headed back to the locker rooms, showered, and got ready for our flight back to Chicago. The Blue Lagoon is very modern and is similar to the Sky Lagoon. It has fancy locker rooms, individual showers (with shampoo), towels, hair dryers, etc. After you get showed they provide lotion that you put all over your body. It is supposed to help your body absorb all the good minerals from the lagoon without drying out. Overall it was a very fun experience, but if I had to choose I would say that Sky Lagoon is better (and cheaper too).

[Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant]

We met up with Joyce and she drove us to the airport. She made sure we got checked in and then we got hot dogs. Let me tell you, Icelandic hot dogs are a big deal. The locals apparently love them! They are made from local, organic lamb, pork, and beef. You gotta get the hot dog with all the fixin's: raw white onions, crispy fried onions, ketchup, pylsusinnep (sweet brown mustard), and remoulade (a sauce made with mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs).

After eating our hot dogs we said goodbye to Joyce and went through security. We made it through security quickly and found our gate. The boarding process was chaotic since Iceland Air lets everyone board at the same time. But we found our seats and settled in for our 6 hour flight. We left Iceland at 4:30 PM and arrived in Chicago at 6:35 PM. I read a book the whole time and I only nodded off a bit during the last hour. We landed and got through Customs and Immigration in seconds because of our Global Entry passes (totally worth it!). My dad picked us up and gave us some snacks! Such service!

By the time we made it home Theo was already in bed. We unpacked, started laundry, gave my parents their gifts (shirt and Icelandic chocolate and salt), and headed to bed.

[Puffin beanie for Theo]

[Souvineers for us: sheep made of local wool, lava rocks, and aluminum Aegishjalmur stave]

I always try to find locally made jewelry when I travel. I just had to get these beautiful lava earrings:

[Iceland pin]

And that's a wrap! What an amazing trip! Thank you to Josh for taking charge and planning the trip. Thank you to my parents for watching Theo by themselves for 10 days! I know he has a busy schedule and can be a handful. AND thank you to Joyce for being an amazing tour guide, travel agent, and chef! I can't say enough great things about her and her ability to plan the perfect vacation!

Overall I LOVED this trip! Iceland is such an amazing country and the people are so kind. If you like geology, history, food, beautiful scenery, AND you don't mind the cold, GO TO ICELAND! Joyce kept asking me if I've ever seen anything like this before. And I kept saying "Yes, but not in one location." It's like taking the fjords and black sand beaches of New Zealand, the ice sheets of Antarctica, the earthquakes and plate tectonics of California, the glaciers and tundra of Alaska, the volcanos and waterfalls of Hawaii, and Craters of the Moon in Idaho, and putting them all on one small island. 

We chose to go in the spring because it gave us a higher chance of seeing the Northern Lights without dealing with the cold polar nights. And we wanted to avoid the crowds that come with high summer. Yes, it was cold, but we literally got to see the seasons changing before our eyes. Over the 10 days we were there it was dramatic to see the change in the landscape. The hills and grasses were starting to turn green and soon the lupins will start to bloom.

Josh and I have already decided that we are going to go back and do the northern route in the summer. We don't know when, but we will someday 🙂

Iceland Adventure: Part IX - Ice Cave in Langjökull

Sunday, April 14th:

Today we had a LONG excursion, so Joyce made is a warm breakfast and then we went to the bakery to stock up on snacks.

[Chicken and lamb sausages, scrambled eggs, avocados, skyr, fruit, cheese, and bread]

[Our favorite bakery (Almar Bakari) in Hveragerði]

We drove to the bus depot in Reykjavík where we hopped on a small tour bus. There were 22 people in the tour plus our driver/guide, Gunnar.

Gunnar drove us north out of Reykjavík on Route 1. We went through the Hvalfjörður Tunnel (tunnel that goes under the Hvalfjörður fjord) and skirted along the beautiful mountains that surround Reykjavík. Our driver/guide provided commentary on what we saw and where we were going. He also told us about elves and trolls, which many Icelanders believe in.

The first stop on our journey was the Deildartunguhver hot springs. This hot spring has a flow rate of 180 liters per second and is the highest-flow hot spring in all of Europe. 

[Pipes to transport the water]

We then went to see the Hraunfossar. These falls are pretty small, but they are beautiful and the water is VERY blue!

We then headed to basecamp where our drive dropped us off and we boarded a monster truck!

[Ready to go back onto Langjökull]

Our monster truck climbed up a series of hills and after about an hour we made it back onto the glacier!

[I was fighting a migraine and the cold air on my face helped tremendously]

When we arrived there was about two feet of snow in front of the ice cave entrance. We took pictures while we waited for the driver and guide to clear the snow for us.

After the snow was cleared we entered the ice cave and made our way to a large area where we could put on our crampons.

After getting our crampons in place our guide told us about the cave system. "Into the Glacier" is the largest manmade ice cave in the world. It took a group of architects, geophysicists, engineers, specialists, and geologist FOUR years to plan how they were going to be able to do this. After plans were made it took 14 months to dig out the cave. Of course there were set backs (glaciers can be unstable especially ones that are on top of an active volcano system), but they finally got it done and open for tours. Because the ice is constantly melting, freezing, and moving the engineers come in DAILY (we saw them on our way out) to inspect the tunnel and expand it.

Once our history lesson and safety lesson was done we headed into the ice cave.

Our guide stopped us when we reached an area where you could see the glacial stratigraphy.

She showed us two black lines. The black line that was lower on the wall was volcanic ash from the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. The black line above that is from the 2011 eruption of Grímsvötn. The ice between the two black lines is the snow that fell in between the eruptions. Right now it is about 3 feet thick, but it will be condensed due to the pressure of the new snow and it will eventually be an inch thick.

It was slushy and icy inside the cave so you had to walk like an angry penguin in order to not slip!

Next, our guide stopped us at this sign. The cave was supposed to be a large circle, but one of the crews got a bit lost and it ended up being more heart-shaped. Aww! She said you are supposed to kiss in front of the sign for good luck. 

[Joyce]

[Aww! 10 years married!]

Our guide then took us into a small room where she told us we could lick the glacier. We all looked at her like she was crazy. But she said due to the nature of the glacier and how much it melts, you won't be licking ice that someone else has licked. Well, if you say so!

[Licking the inside of Langjökull]

She then told us about firn. This is snow that is in the process of being compressed into glacial ice. It's very grainy. 

We then continued our walk through the caves. Some areas got pretty tight, but they had string lights which made it look very pretty. You can really see how blue the ice is!

Next, we arrived at the chapel! Yes, people have gotten married here. We then sang happy birthday to two people on our tour. The acoustics are pretty good!

[Crack!]

We ended our tour by standing under this large crevasse. Our guide told us that it was open to the air, but now the snow has covered it up. This is a big reason why you shouldn't walk on or through glaciers without a guide!

[Map of the ice cave]

I didn't want to get freaked out while we were in the cave, so once we got out I asked our guide how deep we were. She said at the deepest there is about 150 feet of ice and snow above us! Eek!

We exited the cave, jumped back in the monster truck, and headed down the glacier.

We made it back to basecamp, thanked our guide, and found our tour bus driver/guide Gunnar. He drove us all back to Reykjavík without any issues. During the drive he told us more fun facts about Iceland. He also told us that there was a solar storm and if the skies are clear we should be able to see the Northern Lights tonight. He said that tonight it the end of their Northern Lights sightseeing tour season and it'll start back up again at the end of August. 

Joyce then drove us to the Ingólfsskáli Viking Restaurant for dinner. She said during the summer you can practice your archery skills outside while you wait for a table.

The inside of the restaurant was very cool! It was made of wood and there were animal pelts all over the tables. At the far end there was a big stage for performances. Joyce told us that all of the food is local and made fresh.

For dinner I got a warm cheese plate with volcanic crackers, Joyce got the fish, and Josh got the lamb. Again, everything was delicious. I don't think I've had any bad or even mediocre food since we landed 10 days ago! Well, the shark doesn't count!

For dessert we got the skyr cheesecake, caramel brownie, and a chocolate mouse with local berries. 

When we got back to the cottage I checked my Aurora app an the Iceland website. The forecast is a 4 out of 9 which is good, but it was still a little cloudy, so we didn't know if we would be able to see them.

We had to wait for the sun to set more, so I started packing while Josh watched the skies. 

Around midnight we started seeing a green haze in the sky. It was brighter than last time which was good because there were still some clouds around the horizon.

 They would start to pulse and then they would stay visible for a few minutes before they would fade. 

As the night went on the lights got brighter and brighter.

By the end of the storm we could see the pillars pretty well!

[Big dipper directly overhead]

Thanks for the show, Iceland! What a great way to end our trip!

Where we went today:

I didn't know what to expect when we booked the "Into the Glacier" tour, but I am so glad we did it! The day was long, but being able to go INSIDE a huge glacier was such a fun experience. Plus, I love riding in those monster trucks!