Iceland #2 - Blue Lagoon

Last night we all got into bed around 7pm. Leelee woke up after about 1 1/2 hours but went back to bed after about 2 hours. I, on the other hand, was not able to get back to bed until 4am! Fortunately, we didn't have to wake up until 9:30am for our departure to the Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon: Pretty darn cool (or warm!). Here is what I gathered from my guidebook, although I'm writing from memory so it may or may not be entirely accurate. In the late 1970's the Icelandic government set up one of the largest geothermal energy plants in the world right next to what is now the Blue Lagoon. They discovered that the water had white silica particles which led to these pools that people would sneak into to. In 1999, they made the Blue Lagoon, which is recondensed water from 1 1/2 miles away. The milky bluish tint comes from the silica particles. The water is naturally extremely hot, so they have to cool it down.

Anyway, man-made and all, it was really relaxing and warm and Leelee loved it. The lava fields surrounding the entire lagoon (and really the entire radius of like 50 km) provides some nice contrast. Below are enough Blue Lagoon photos to last you a lifetime :)

Prepping for entry

The mask: You're supposed to leave it on for 5-10 minutes then wash it off and are left with 'silky smooth skin'. Unfortunately the water wreaks havoc on hair!

For dinner this evening, we followed a guidebook dated 2008 which is apparently way too old, since we walked about 1/2 mile with a wailing Christian to not one, but two different restaurants that were no longer in existence. We finally found one restaurant that was highly recommended and actually still open, but at a price. It was called the Fish Market. Appetizers were 2000-4000 Kronur ($17-34) and main entrees ran around 4900 kronur ($42). We're told these prices are good, as the Kronur to Dollar ratio is now 116:1 as opposed to 50:1 in 2008! Wowzers! Regardless, our lobster soup, cod and monkfish were delish. Christian nibbled on granola, dried mangoes, threw one bowl across the table and played Hippo on my iPhone the entire dinner. Big, exhausted sigh. This guy's tantrums are epic. Here's hoping it's a phase, and not some sort of permanent marker of things to come.

Below, a couple more photos:

Bonus, our local 'budget' grocery store. Budget meaning expensive, as opposed to exorbitantly expensive.

Little square near the harbor

"Best pylsur in Iceland" frequented by none other than Bill Clinton. We thought our first night's hot dog was better - these were a little oversauced for our fine palates. haha!