Hi everyone! I’m back from another wonderful day in Iceland. As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent most of the day recovering from my race last night. What better way to do so than at the Blue Lagoon?!
Blue Lagoon
Despite going to sleep at 3am last night, I woke up around 7:30 and made my way to the Blue Lagoon. It took about an hour to drive there from my hostel in Reykjavík. I ended up spending the entire morning there! I didn’t get out of the water until 1pm. I could have stayed even longer, but I was starting to get hungry for lunch.
The lagoon was SO much bigger than I had anticipated, which made it easy to spend a lot of time there. There are many coves to hang out in, including one area that has a no-phone policy. I enjoyed sitting in that area since it was much quieter. I could have fallen asleep!
A free drink and silica face mask were included in my general admission ticket, which I thought was pretty awesome. There are all sorts of upgrades that you can get — multiple free drinks, several rounds of face masks, massages, hotel rooms, etc — but I was very content with what I received. Even just going into the lagoon would have been enough, so it felt special to have these other perks. For my free drink, I went to the swim up bar and ordered a “Green is Good” smoothie. It had a bunch of fruit, spinach, and ginger in it which was refreshing and delicious. Believe it or not, I chose that over the blue slushy… however, I will admit that it was a tough choice.
To get the face mask, all I had to do was swim up to the face mask bar and hold out my hand while a lady put a spoonful of mud in my hand. I put it all over my face and let it dry for 10 minutes before washing it off. It was entertaining to see everyone with their face masks on!
Later, I checked out the steam room. As expected, it was really, really hot. I didn’t stay in there for very long… I’m not hydrated enough for that!
There was also a cold plunge that I sat in for maybe 5 minutes. It wasn’t nearly as cold as the one at the Secret Lagoon, but I still preferred the warm water.
Speaking of the warm water…
I learned that the Blue Lagoon is made from geothermal seawater that is extracted from over 2,000 meters deep. The water is replenished every 40 hours, which is why they don’t have to use any chemicals in the pool. I found this to be very fascinating, and it gave me an even deeper appreciation for the lagoon. Even though it is manmade —unlike some of the other geothermal pools in Iceland—, the system is very complex and has all-natural components. Oh, and I should also mention that it is one of the 25 wonders of the world!
By the time I left the Blue Lagoon, my legs were no longer sore. This is HUGE considering it usually takes me at least three days to stop feeling sore after a half marathon race! After both of my previous races, I could hardly even walk down the stairs 😅.
Lunch at Reykjavík Chips
I was ravenous when I arrived back in Reykjavík, and I desperately wanted something hot to eat (99% of my meals have been cold sandwiches). I decided that I deserved a little splurge on lunch, so I decided to go to Reykjavík Chips for some fish n’ chips. I am so glad I did, because it was delicious. They had a lot of different dips to choose from, so I got a garlic cream one. Since I went around 3 pm, it was not busy at all. I just relaxed and enjoyed my lunch in some peace and quiet 😊.
Exploring Reykjavík
After lunch, I took a fat nap — the type of nap where you wake up and don’t know where you are. I spent the rest of the evening walking around Reykjavík, admiring the interesting architecture. I also walked around a pond called Tjörnin, where I had a great view of the city.
That’s all for now! I’m going to sleep early tonight so that I can do some more exploring tomorrow. I also have a very unique & exciting activity planned…
Until tomorrow,
Clara