Blue Lagoon Iceland, Great Combination Between Hot And Blue Water

The Blue Lagoon is Iceland's most visited attraction, located in Grindavik, it attracts thousands upon thousands of tourists to Iceland each year. The meet-up was scheduled to take place at ten past ten past ten. But after a long Saturday night, the group was unable to get together until after 12:00 noon. Hrafn the Icelander was kind enough to pick us from our hotel (the Radisson Blu Saga) for the half hour drive to the Blue Lagoon. I must commend him because, he had stayed up till 5:00 am from the night before. We were 5 altogether, including Mark, myself, Sarah, Julie and Hrafn. 

The Blue Lagoon is fed by the water output from a nearby geothermal power plant. The rather hot, well heated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal hot water heating system. The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis. We did use some of the white mineral to have a facial workout, fortunately for me there were about 5 friends with underwater cameras, so I have evidence of me looking like an alien from outer space. It was quite an experience to remember.

On arrival, the Grindavik area felt extremely cold in comparison to Reykjavik just 30 minutes away. The temperature was lower and the wind factor much higher. We went down a narrow and rather rock decorated path to the reception area. Hrafn being the local helped us purchase our tickets at the locals rate (much appreciated). We were handed wrist bands and bright blue towels. Everyone is required to have a shower prior to and after using the Lagoon: a hygiene code. It is believed that this was implemented after the Lagoon waters turned green a few years ago, I'm not exactly sure if this is entirely true. We had showers nonetheless and headed to the awaiting hot/ warm waters of the Lagoon. With the wind picking up by the minute, it was incredibly cold as we dashed through the heavy doors from the cafe area into the pool waters. Relief comes over you once the warm waters cover your body, the blue color of the water is so attractive. Initially I thought the water was free flowing like in a lake, but it is controlled in an enclave of sorts. The surround management building and plant create an enclosure around the waters, but not a good shield against the chilling winds blowing over. Below the waters at the bottom are dark lava rocks, the pool is pretty shallow, less than waist high for me.

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