Blowing in the Wind!

We awoke Friday to sprinkling of rain and by the time we ate our last delicious breakfast a wind had picked up.  For our final day in Iceland we decided to explore the south west penninsula----around the airport and make our way to the Blue Lagoon to see if the magic waters could take a few years off !

By the time we arrived at our first destination….a lighthouse (a cache of course) the wind had picked up to about 80-90 km!!!!

This peninsula and all the area that we explored today was very “volcanic”….miles and miles of lava flows….the kind of landscape you think of on the moon.  All sizes of lava stones with a nice covering of soft moss….
The wind and the rain continued as we drove around to the Midlina bridge….a bridge across the official fault North America/European fault line.  The two plates are drifting apart 2 cm per year!  Next stop Gunnuhver crater which is the largest, hottest mud pool on this peninsula (an earth cache of course)  but the visibility was poor….steam and wind had us rushing through this one.

Signs for "An Interesting Place"

Fault line divide

The rain stopped and the wind kind of died down as we came to the piece de la resistance of the day!!!! The Blue Lagoon…..the most expensive swim I’ve ever had……We took advantage of putting the ‘blue lagoon mud’ which was available in buckets around the pool, on our faces, neck and shoulders.  Of course we looked 10 years younger by the time we washed it off.  Besides the pool, a steam room,  saunas and swim up bar were available for our use--the bar cost extra.  The ‘spa” rules were the same as previously explained in the blog, but this time there were no ‘guards’ to check.  Most people were complying with the rules. After an hour of relaxing and exploring the pool and its rooms, we were ready to resume our travels.

The Blue Lagoon...$60 swim

The  plan was to return to Reykjavik along the coast the throught the centre of the peninsula.  Unfortunately, the signage left a lot to be desired and we ended up returning on the highway rather than the coast.

Souvenirs were calling to us as we made our way on foot to the waterfront in Reyjkavik.  After a scrumptious fish and chip dinner we finished up our shopping and climbed the hill to the guesthouse…helped to expend some of the dinner calories!!  Since we had to leave at 4:30am for the airport, we packed up our suitcases and put them in the car so as not to disturb our ‘room mates’ in the early hours.  Somehow, leaving at 4:30am was the same as leaving at 4pm with the extended daylight this time of year.

So, after 1100km, we bid a fond farewell to Reyjkavik and head for Holland.  Stay tuned as the adventure continues.