The Blue Lagoon, a no so natural lagoon.

The smoke on the background is the geothermic plant

The second tour we did was to the famous Blue Lagoon geothermic natural hot spring, to find out that it is not natural. It is formed from the surplus waters from the geothermal power plant Svartsengi, located next door which was established in 1976. This runoff is what heats the water in the pool, and it renews itself every 48 hours.

The first public bathing facilities opened in 1987, and was aimed for people with skin problems as the seawater is rich in silica, chloride, natron, calcium, sulfur, carbonate, magnesium, and a blue-green alga which combined with the minerals is great for the skin and it is supposed to do wonder for Psoriasis. The algae are what gives the blue color to the water. Due to the popularity of the place, it was refurbished in 1999, adding a spa, hotel, restaurants, and a retreat center.

We took a tour, and it takes about 45-minute drive from Reykjavik to the blue lagoon, US $ 290. Once you arrive you need, once again, to take a shower while naked in a common shower room, or in one of the private showers, as there is no chlorine here either. Many signs are saying to use plenty of conditioners and to leave it on your hair, then you can put on your bathing suit and proceed to the lagoon.

The lava that shapes the pool and the surrounding is natural and the pool is excellent. There is a mud bar, where you can get a silica mud mask for your face which is included on the entry price. They also have Algae Masks that you can purchase. Anyway, you put the mud mask on your face, and once is dry you rinse it off. I did it by submerging myself in the waters, and it worked great.

The average temperature of the water is 39°C = 102°F all year round; however, it did not feel that hot to me. You can walk around the pool or sit at the cave and relax while listening to music or taking with the other people sitting there.
There is also an in-water bar, and an in-water massage too, which I don't know how comfortable would be.

After relaxing for couple hours in those invigorating waters, it was time to shower and leave.
And we felt great, our bodies were soft and smooth; however, our hair was not. A week later my hair still felt like straw. My granddaughter’s hair was terrible for over two weeks. We put what I thought was plenty of conditioners, needless to say, it wasn’t. They have conditioner in all the rooms and showers; however, I don’t think it matters how much of it you put on, the minerals in the water will dry your hair immensely, and our hair got about 10 shades lighter.
I know I submerged myself in the waters a few times, but my granddaughter did not, so that wasn’t it. We saw couple ladies with shower caps, and at the time we thought it was funny, but it is not. I would recommend everybody to wear a shower cap, it is better to look ridiculous for a couple of hours, than for a couple weeks.

All in all, the place was fantastic; however, there are many natural hot springs that you can visit for a fraction of the cost.

Needless to say, to me being in Iceland and not going to the blue lagoon was inconceivable, so, I pay, and we went.

And I am glad we did.

Iceland landscape consists of lava formation cover in moss

Iceland's Golden Circle tour

Site of the parliament in front of the lake Þingvellir

As I mentioned before, there is no public transport, so if you want to go to any place, you need to rent a car or take one of the many tours offered all over the place.

Renting a car is expensive, as it is the gasoline and parking, besides, I don’t like to drive for an extended period of times and not being able to see anything besides tundra. So, we took the tours.

The first one we did was Golden Circle Classic with Reykjavík Sightseeing at 13500 ISK for both of us = US$ 125.66.

The first stop was to see Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of the oldest existing parliament in the world. The general public could observe the proceedings of the law council; however, only the chieftains were allowed to vote on the new rules and regulations enacted.

This is also the place where criminals were hung, beheaded, or drowned. It also is they burned at the staked the women believed to be witches, during the witch hunts of the late XVII century.
Besides, vengeance was a tradition, so this was the place were many bloody encounters happened.
It is a beautiful site and being able to walk where the oldest parliament convened was wonderful.

Tectonic plates wall

Here is also where the gigantic tectonic plates wall that separates America and Eurasia. (I don’t want to make a political joke, but it is hard not doing it when you see this gigantic natural wall separating North America from the rest of the northern hemisphere). This wall has pulled apart, and the resulting rift valley is right there before your eyes on the shores of Iceland’s biggest lake.

Geyser

The second stop was to see the Geysir Hot Springs, the home of the one-and-only original geyser and Iceland’s most iconic natural attraction.  The Geyser spouts every few minutes, however, if you are standing close to it, as we were, you don’t actually see it, as it is swift and all you see is the steam. I would recommend to stay farther away and then you would be able to see it in its full force. 

From there we went to see Gullfoss Waterfall, which is a glacial river that cascades down 32 meters = 105 ft. Beautiful waterfalls and great views of the park surrounding them. 

It was a great day, with magnificent sites, especially the Tectonic plates, I always wanted to see them, and now I had.

My beautiful granddaughter