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.
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.
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).
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]
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 🙂
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