We were all packed and in a taxi to the airport on time at 10am. Pity our flight wasn’t on time.
Deb got a message saying it was now leaving at 13:30 rather than the 12:55 scheduled time. By the time we got to the airport that had gone out to 14:12.
We were near the end of a long line at check in and got talking to a man who was going fishing on the west coast of Iceland. He said Iceland had been in drought for several months. He was hoping for rain to fill the rivers!
We got checked in ok and were surprised that our bags were well under weight.
Security was another thing. I got through OK, but Deb had her backpack searched twice and x-rayed 3 times plus an explosives swab before they let her through!
We finally boarded the flight at 13:50 and were in the air around 14:20. Our plane was a twin prop Bombardier, it replaced our Boeing 737.
We arrived in Reykjavik at about 4:20pm local time and were swimming in The Blue Lagoon by 5:30! The lagoon is about a 20 min drive from the airport. It sits next to a Geothermal Power Station on an amazingly expansive lava field. The lagoon formed by accident when the silica rich water from the power plant was pumped onto the lava. The silica plugged the holes in the lava and a lagoon resulted. The locals enjoyed it for years before it was refined into the very tourist friendly centre in the mid 1990’s.
The water comes into the lagoon at 100 deg F, it is a very comfortable temperature. It isn’t too deep, maybe 5′ at its deepest. With the cost of admission we got a free drink (I had a beer and Deb had a cider) in the lagoon, they have a swim/wade up bar. We also got a free mud facial. There was this crazy person swimming around saying “I’m cured! I’m cured!” , hang on, that was me. LOL It had to be done! ?
The thermal hot water is used very widely in Reykjavik for heating and hotwater in homes and commercial buildings. Heated public swimming pools and hot tubs abound in this city. We were told that there is a beach in a small cove on the coast that is popular with the locals, the excess hotwater is drained into the ocean there!
We were back at our car and on the way to our hotel in Reykjavik by 7pm. We arrived at about 7:50pm, right on the waterfront. It has a feel similar to the Ovolo in Sydney.
We went out and had Fish and Chips for dinner, and then walked around the marina afterwards. It seems that the Whale and Puffin tour boats keep going into the early evening. There are lots of tour boats, a sizeable fishing fleet, cruise ships and Naval ships in the harbour.
We have a busy day planned for tomorrow, exploring Reykjavik.
