Yesterday after my post we drove south for our appointment at the Blue Lagoon, but first we stopped at the bridge between continents. Anna Maria, our airbnb hostess, had recommended it since it was in the same direction and it was well worth it. The bridge crosses between the two continental plates, North American plate and Eurasian plate. We also went down in between the two plates to get some pictures and it's all black sand down there which was pretty cool.
Then we went to the Blue Lagoon. VERY important to book this far in advance, as it often fills up days in advance and it also gets more expensive as the number of available slots decreases. So we ended up paying more for the second-to-last time slot of the day since we booked so late. It also would've been ideal to be able to go straight there after landing in Iceland since it's pretty close to the airport but pretty far away from anything else. Live and learn! The time slot only dictates what time you get there and you can stay as long as you want, but it closes an hour after the last time slot. So we ended up staying about 1.5 hours and leaving shortly before it closed.
It was a pretty awesome place. The lagoon itself is huge with lots of different areas so even if there are a ton of people there it doesn't really feel crowded (at least not while we were there). The water does have a slight blue color and it's pretty opaque since it's full of minerals. They say there are a bunch of health and skin benefits of soaking in the water because of the minerals. It's also super relaxing since it's hot (hovers around 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and set in a beautiful location and unlike anything we've seen anywhere else. They offer a free mud mask just right alongside the lagoon so we did that which was nice. There's also a swim-up bar where we ordered a blueberry skyr smoothie. Skyr is an Iceland cultured dairy product that we had wanted to try. There was also a sauna and steam room available as well. Then if you paid more there were other options including another type of facial and in-water massages.
I really liked how high-tech everything was. They gave you a bracelet when you checked in and that was how you locked/unlocked your locker and also how you could pay for drinks at the swim-up bar. It was nice.
All in all I'm glad we went since I feel like it's a must-do when in Iceland, but I don't think I would suggest going again just because it's so darn expensive. We paid almost $80/person to essentially go sit in some hot water. Awesome hot water, but still.
When we got home Anna Maria surprised us with beers that she had bought just for us! So we enjoyed those as we chatted with her for a bit about her family, our trip, and different Icelandic traditions. The beers she had bought were from Iceland and they were fantastic! Mine was Freyja witbier. At midnight I went on the porch and took a pretty picture of the sun shining through the mountains in the distance.
Taken at midnight!
Whew, so that was yesterday! This morning we got up and drove to Snæfellsnes peninsula. Our first stop was actually unexpected. We had been driving along and suddenly saw lots of vehicles and people in a parking lot, which was unusual since there wasn't much else around. So we decided to stop and check it out. I'm glad we did since it was really cool! It was called Rauðfeldsgjá and it was a narrow ravine that you could walk into and it was really pretty. Once inside you could look up and see the sliver of sky. It was also a fun adventure getting in and out since you had to hop on the rocks lest you step into the small stream running through.
Then we continued on to Sönghellir which is known as the "Singing Caves". This is because of the great acoustics you experience if you go in and sing. So obviously we had to try that. We sounded terrific; I think we could both make it as rockstars. Don't worry- we're not quitting our day jobs yet (just kidding, I already did that!). It was slightly challenging getting to the caves since they were 2km down an F-road which typically shouldn't be attempted without a bigger 4-wheel drive vehicle. But the 2km stretch wasn't too bad and we made it okay. I do have videos of us singing in the caves linked in my album on the right.
Then we hit several things pretty quickly. We went to Gatklettur to check out the famous arch along the water but we didn't stay too long there as it was ridiculously windy. Then, at another recommendation from Anna Maria, we stopped at Fjöruhúsið cafe which was super cute. It was a tiny little place next to the water and the area around it is super unique and beautiful. We only got a snack there though because the prices were outrageous; it was almost $20 for a basket of homemade bread! They served some nice looking homemade food though. Next stop was Lóndrangar which was a viewpoint over some unique lava formations. Again, the wind persuaded us to keep that stop pretty quick. Then we went to Djúpalónssandur beach which was pretty cool. The beach was made up of a ton of small smooth black rocks and there were remnants of an old shipwreck there. Next was Saxholl which is an old crater that we could walk to the top of via a ton of stairs. Craters are cool but as far as craters go this one was a bit anti-climatic. Also I about got blown over by the wind when we were at the top. Our last "stop" was on the northern side of the peninsula at Kirkjufellsfoss, which is a waterfall. We didn't actually stop and get out since there were so many people there and there weren't any open parking spots. It looked pretty but we're rather spoiled with fantastic waterfalls from Norway.
Gatklettur arch:
Inside the cafe:
We stopped and ate a quick sandwich lunch (in the car, since it was so windy outside) and then drove back to Reykjavik. They just their first Costco in Iceland outside Reykjavik so we stopped there to get gas when we got back since it was so much cheaper there! There were a ton of cars lined up to get gas so we knew we were in the right place. Anna Maria had lent us her membership card so we could take advantage. When we got home Anna Maria had made some lamb for dinner and shared some with us! How nice is that?! It was really nice to chat with her over a yummy meal.
We've been really impressed with Iceland so far. It's so incredibly different than anywhere else we've been and uniquely beautiful. It's so interesting that sometimes it's grassy fields as far as we can see and then suddenly it changes to lava rocks covered with moss everywhere. Basically everywhere we've been we can see mountains/volcanoes in the distance with huge glaciers on top. Another unique thing is the lack of trees. There's hardly any trees here and we drove for hours on the peninsula without ever seeing any. Isn't that crazy?! Also, the wind is insane. I read that Iceland is the 3rd windiest country in the world, and the top 2 aren't very populated. That's what we've noticed so far and we still have a week to go so I'm sure we'll discover a lot more!
Tomorrow we will snorkel in the famous Silfra fissure!
No comments:
Post a Comment