Daddy Travels Miles & Points

The Blue Lagoon is errethang!!!

February 15, 2017 daddytravels

So we arrived at 4:30am, and booked us an 8am visit to the Blue Lagoon? What??? Yes. It was the right thing to do. The Blue Lagoon is close to the airport (around 25 minutes away). People tend to make it as their first stop, or their last stop before flying back.

We boarded our bus at 7:15am. It was still pitch black and we knew that. The bus wasn’t full, but it was obvious that the bus was loaded with tourists who just arrived in Iceland. The bus left right on time and we made to the Blue Lagoon parking lot right before 8am.
First order of business was to drop off our luggage (a $5 charge). There was a separate building for that, and it’s closer to the parking lot, which helps cater to those who are visiting and will need access to the airport. We then headed straight to main building. It’s a good thing that we had already purchased our tickets ahead of time. Highly advisable. We purchased the Comfort Package which included entrance to the lagoon, towel, silica mud mask, and a drink of our choice.

We got ourselves situated. We were each given a bracelet that serves as a keycard type token that could be scanned to open/close our lockers, and to log our other purchases within the lagoon. We then headed to the locker rooms, showered, and then headed down to the lagoon. It was around 8:30am when we entered the lagoon.

So, what’s the big deal? Here it is for those inquiring minds. Click here to learn more. But in a nutshell, “The geothermal water originates 2,000 metres below the surface, where freshwater and seawater combine at extreme temperatures. It is then harnessed via drilling holes at a nearby geothermal power plant, Svartsengi, to create electricity and hot water for nearby communities.On its way to the surface, the water picks up silica and minerals. When the water emerges, its temperature is generally between 37°C and 40°C (98-104°F). But owing to variables outside of our control – including weather and time of year – the water temperature sometimes fluctuates beyond this range.”

How cold was it this morning? It was around 41 degrees. Thankfully, right as I walked out of the main building (locker room area), the entrance to the lagoon was no more than 20 feet away. I hung my towel outside and headed straight to water….aaaahhhhh perfect temperature, hot enough that it didn’t feel like it was burning you. 

We hung around at the lagoon, took lots of pictures, applied mud mask, enjoyed our complimentary drinks, and truly found ourselves relaxing. At one point, we all realized, “We’re in Iceland! We’re actually in Iceland!” That felt good.

We left the lagoon around 10:30am, and got ourselves ready to board the bus. The tickets that we purchased not only included the ride from the airport to the Blue Lagoon, but it also included tickets to the city. It was about an hour-long drive. I communicated with our AirBNB host, Orn, and he said that the studio apartment was ready for us.

We finally made it to our stop, Center Hotel Plaza, which appeared to be the center of many things in Reykjavik. It took us about 5-10 minutes to find the apartment. Orn welcomed us, showed us the studio with a pull out sofabed, beds, kitchen, bathroom, and most of all, free Wi-Fi…we were set. I’ll share more pictures in the next entries.

We didn’t rest or anything. We got ready once more so we could go on a free walking tour of the city at 2pm. But hunger set in. I searched for Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a very popular hot dog stand. President Bill Clinton ate here. It’s popular with locals and tourists. We just had to check it out, and gladly we did. We ordered the works….with fried onions, local ketchup, and mustard. It was delicious. It wasn’t huge by any means. It wasn’t exactly plump. But it had a good bite. Plus, the fried onions crispy and added a great texture to the dog. Very good!

We made it in time for our walking tour. Please remember that we’ve been nonstop since we left Los Angeles. After 2 stops on our walking tour, we decided that we needed to get some real good rest. We headed back to the apartment and caught our much needed zzzz’s. 

By 6pm, we got ready again for the evening. We headed for The Laundromat Cafe, a cafe so beautifully decorated upstairs with a real functioning laundromat downstairs. We enjoyed their homemade meatballs and salad. It was good to relax and enjoy our meal. Shortly thereafter, we walked back to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur and we just had to eat a couple more hotdogs, don’t hate!

By 8:30pm, we made it back to the plaza and waited for Gray Line Bus Tours, the bus that we booked for a chance to see the Northern Lights. I’ll share more tomorrow  🙂

Good night!