Last day in Iceland

The title sounds ominous, but it was nothing of the kind. The day was actually sunny, and cool. We packed and left the flat we were in, with mixed feelings. This flat was large, and was an historic building in central Reykjavik. It had a modern and good-sized kitchen, large bedrooms and living room, and a modern bathroom. But it was so sparsely furnished as to be cold in character, and there were some things missing, like floor lamps so you could read at night. And the exterior was under renovation, which started with banging and hammering at about eight in the morning.

(Our first B&B, in contrast, was warm, cosy friendly-appearing, and well-equipped in large.)

A few pictures of Reykjavik.











As we headed out of town to the airport area (near Kevlavik, about 45 km out of Reykjavik), we saw this area in daylight for the first time. A friend who had recently been in Iceland said that the trip into town from the airport made him question exactly which planet he had landed on. It looks like the moon: flat, with lava fields of jagged rock, mostly covered with moss. At places it seemed that there was a "pimple" of lava about to explode upwards. At other places, we could see the volcanoes (all dormant) in the distance.

We were not going immediately to the airport, but to the Blue Lagoon, a large pool of mineral waters heated geothermically. This was hyped a lot, and we were prepared to be disappointed. It is popular enough that you have to have a reservation for it to get in.

We were, to say the least, not disappointed. It was magical, the waters about 38-40 degrees, filled with silica, and actually blue in colour. The pool was immense, so that the several hundred people in it did not seem at all to make it crowded. You could get (and the others got) an algae mask and/or a clay/silica mask. You could go to the swim-up bar, go under a waterfall, go into a cave area. And all the time you were outdoors where the air temerature was about 8 degrees.


We stayed for about two hours, came out looking like prunes, but smiling and feeling quite lithe. Truly an experience unlike any other, and one we will remember for a long time.

Then, unfortunately, to the airport, for the fairly short (2-½ hour) flight to London. And to Dan and Katy's flat for a quick supper with them, and to bed.

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Location:Dunton Road,London,United Kingdom