Ooohhh, aaahhh, Iceland

The gorgeous blue waters of the Blue Lagoon

Normally, I detest long layovers. Usually, you're stuck sitting around in a generic airport, eating overpriced food and waiting to get on a plane only to sit some more. On our recent trip to Paris (more on that in another blog) we connected through - of all places - Iceland. Talk about a place I thought I'd never see.

On our way over, we only had an hour-long layover so we didn't have a chance to do much more than get off one plane and hop on another. On the return, it was an entirely different story though. With a seven-plus-hour layover awaiting us, a trek outside the Keflavik Airport walls was definitely in order. Bonus trip!

Before we left, my online research seemed to say that Reykjavik - Iceland's capital - was out of reach for our layover because the ride into the center of town takes about an hour. Instead, we made arrangements to visit the Blue Lagoon in nearby Grindavik. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located amongst lava fields. Seemed as good an introduction to the wonders of Iceland as anything could be.

After a 20-minute shuttle drive into what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, we arrived at the Blue Lagoon. It was about 44 degrees outside with a wind strong enough to whip your hair into knots. The idea of donning a swimsuit in that weather seemed a little crazy, but we forged ahead nonetheless.

A short trek through mountains of lava rock led us to the main building where we checked in and picked up some towels and bathrobes (you can rent them, along with swimsuits, there). We were also outfitted with a special futuristic bracelet that controlled our lockers and allowed us to buy food and drinks at the pool. So groovy.

After a quick change and shower, we were ready to test out the famed waters. The Blue Lagoon is a man-made wonder, fed by the water output from the nearby geothermal power plant (you can see steaming it in the background of the photos.) The water, which ranges from 98 to 102 degrees, is rich in silica and sulphur (and yes, it does smell like it's full of sulphur). The minerals are responsible for the beautiful blue color of the lagoon.

Like a hot tub time machine

If you think it looks pretty, you should spend a few hours sitting in it. Talk about the world's best bath- it never gets cold. And the chilly air temps provided the perfect contrast to the deliciously warm waters.

Something about this out-of-this-world experience seemed to put everyone at the lagoon in a good mood. People were jovial and friendly. It was like one big hot tub party. At one point there was even a DJ (in a bathrobe) spinning on the pool deck. You had to pinch yourself to make sure it was all real.

For those looking for the full spa experience, there are a ton of services - massage, facials, body scrubs- you can take advantage of for an extra charge. For free, you can fashion your own face mask with some of the silica mud provided in buckets around the lagoon. Everyone does it. You might as well look ridiculous, too. After the mud dries (10-15 minutes), you rinse it off and then marvel at how amazingly smooth your skin feels. I honestly couldn't believe the difference. If it hadn't been 44 degrees out, I would have slathered my entire body in the stuff.

We spent about two hours in the water before it was time to get dried off and back on our shuttle to the airport. We perused the Blue Lagoon gift shop, but everything in Iceland seems absurdly expensive so we opted to take home only photos and memories (and great skin!).

The Blue Lagoon is surrounded by lava fields.

It cost 33 euro (roughly 44 dollars) to spend the day at the Blue Lagoon (not counting the airport shuttle or towel/robe rentals), but for our one Iceland outing, we honestly thought it was worth it. We got back on the plane so refreshed and relaxed - it didn't seem like we had a layover at all.

I don't know if we'll ever make it back to Iceland, but if we happen to get sidelined at the Keflavik Airport again, I'll be ready to head back to the Blue Lagoon.


Observations: 
* So many of the words in the Icelandic language contain mind-bending combinations of letters and vowels. Beyond "hello" and "thank you", I was totally lost.
* The conversion from Icelandic krona to U.S. dollars was something like 109 to 1. I wasn't the only one who couldn't wrap my head around it - we overheard one woman lamenting about getting the decimal point wrong - a mistake that could have meant the difference between paying $10 and paying $100.
* If airplane food is any indication, fish is the main component of an Icelandic diet.
* The Keflavik Airport may have been ordered straight out of an Ikea catalog.

Bonus shot from the plane of when we flew over Greenland. How gorgeous!