The Blue Lagoon

Day 3. Saturday. Blue Lagoon and Surrounding areas.

We had a 9am reservation at the Blue Lagoon, in the town of Grandivir. It takes approximately 45 minutes to get there from the hotel.  That meant that we had enough time to eat breakfast at the hotel – yippie.  I don’t normally eat breakfast until 12pm, but while on vacation there are no rules.

We got there right before our appointment.  We got in line and waited about 5 minutes.   The place is very busy, but also very clean and organized.

We proceeded to the lockers, showered, changed and met outside in the pool.  This pool is really big with many areas that one can be alone away from everyone.  Very, very different from the Secret Pool.

The Blue Lagoon

We paid $127.00 per person. It gave us 1 drink at the pool bar, the use of a robe and a towel and 3 face masks.  The first was a lava scrub to exfoliate,  the second was silica mud mask to deep cleanse, and the third was a choice of a moisturizing mask or anti-aging one… any idea which one I got? To drink I chose a strawberry prosecco and Michael had a beer.

We could have stayed there as long as we wanted.  There are a few restaurants and a café to choose from.  We chose not to eat there and left in a couple of hours.  We really enjoyed being there but wanted to explore Grandivir and the surrounding areas.

Fish House Bar and Grill

After leaving we drove around the Harbor in Grindavik. We stopped for lunch at the Fish House Bar and Grill. I had fish and chips… yes, I keep insisting on fish and chips, even though I always find the batter on the fish too greasy.  Michael had the Artic char with potatoes.  To drink, Michael had the Swiss mocha, I didn’t want anything.  I know better than to have Swiss mocha in a place other than a coffee or dessert shop.  The food was good.  The Swiss mocha, as expected, was bad. The bill was $64.27.

Hopsness Lighthouse

We then drove along the shore with no itinerary.  The place was deserted.  We came upon the Hopsnes Lighthouse.  All around this lighthouse there are remnants of shipwrecks and their history. 

We came across this blue box with a saint.  I imagine is a patron saint for the sailors. Or I could be totally wrong.

From there we continued driving West.  In about 20 minutes we reached Brimketill Lava rock pool.  It is right off the road, with a viewing platform.  From there one can see the beautiful force of the waves, and the natural pools it forms.  I read about people swimming in the natural pool, but I cannot imagine it.  Unless there is a day with absolute zero waves.

Brimketill

We really loved this place and were happy to have found it.  From there we drove to Gunnuhver  Hot Springs.  This is a very active geothermal area made up of mud pools and steam vents.

Gunnuhver

Iceland is so rich in folklore. In Brimketill the stories are about Oddny, a giantess or a troll. Here at Gunnuhver the story is about a woman called Gunna. Both interesting stories, but for the sake of brevity I am not writing about them.

It was a good stop and very, very interesting to see, but we didn’t hike the whole area.  There is so much we wanted to do, we didn’t really spend enough time at any site.  From there we went back to Reykjavik, about 1 hour drive.

Upon arriving in Reykjavik we realized that today was the day of the Pride Parade.  It had been at 2pm.  I am sorry I missed it, I was told it was a lot fun.  Iceland is very LGBTQ friendly.  It was now hours later, but still the streets in downtown around the parade area and our hotel, were closed.

Reykjavik

Eventually we found a place to park and got to the hotel.  We changed and went in search of a place to have dinner.  The town was packed, but I saw an empty table outside a restaurant and was quick to grab. 

The name is 101 Bistro.  The waitress was friendly. I had a fish sandwich that had too much tartar sauce on it, but it was surprisingly good. Michael had pizza – not good, but he ate the whole thing – well, that is not saying much, he will eat whatever is in front of him. The bill was $54.26.  He has a beer.  I didn’t want anything to drink.

Skólavörðustígur, Rainbow Street on a regular week day

From there we walked to Skolavordustigur Street, known as the Rainbow Street. We had been there on the first day of the trip when we were looking for a market.  It had been empty.  Today it was busy, festive, with people all around the bars and the street. 

Hallgrímskirkja, Lutheran Church

Walking up Rainbow Street leads up to Hallgrimskirkja, an Evangelical-Lutheran Church.  We paid $19.73 both, to go up to the top and see the beautiful views of the city. I enjoyed seeing the town and surrounding areas from the top.

In front of the church sits the statue of Leif Erikson, a hero of Viking age Iceland.  I will write a following post about him.

Reykjavik view from the church

On the way back to the hotel we went to Gaeta Gelato again. I had a gelato after dinner.  This time there was a huge line.  I waited. I really wanted a Swiss Mocha.  

Then back to the hotel and get ready for the next day of long driving.

 “We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” ― Henry David Thoreau