Hanging out in the Blue Lagoon is one of my favorite memories of Reykjavik. All photos by Robert Corkery.
Brightly painted buildings like this church provide a gorgeous contrast with the stark landscape.
From the moment I stepped out of the Reykjavik airport, I felt like I had landed somewhere far, far away. Like maybe the moon. Dark volcanic rocks and a green moss blanketed this landscape composed of basalt, but no trees dotted the horizon. Instead, rock cairns periodically punctuated the landscape like sentinels. It felt like a fire had swept through and gotten rid of every tree and shrub and left nothing but a rubble of rocks behind.
But this country is anything but dead. The earth is continually making itself seen and heard – it’s hissing, gurgling, belching, boiling, bubbling. Even right in the middle of town, steam pours out of the ground. Just outside ot town, boiling water shoots 20 meters into the air. It felt dangerous – like I could step into quicksand and never be seen again. And it was also very, very exciting.
Skogafoss waterfall.
And the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. We walked behind it.
This small country in the Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Greenland has it all, geographically speaking. Glaciers, deserts, cliffs, waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, mountains, hills, beaches, pastures – all are within 100 miles of Reykjavik. And just between the airport and Reykjavik, you’ll find the Blue Lagoon. Wonderful, magic and weird all at once, the Blue Lagoon is my vision of what a spa might look like on Mars. And although it looks like all the other strange natural phenomenon in Iceland, it’s actually created from the runoff of the Svartsengi power plant. The plant pumps up the geothermically heated water from below the surface to generate heat and electricty, and the clean excess flows into the lagoon. It’s like a large hot tub tucked into the black lava with a geothermal plant hidden in the background.
And when I stepped into the warm, milky turquoise water, I immediately felt pulled into a lazy state of complete lethargy. The water is rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and is said to be healing. Whether it is nor isn’t doesn’t really matter to me because it’s just lovely to be in this water. We floated in the 40 degrees celsius water until our hands were wrinkled beyond use, relaxed and dried off with a beer and hot dog on dry land, then got in again, over and over. It was like being in a dream.
Which is ultimately what being in Reykjavik felt like too. It is wild, dramatic, different. And well worth traveling to.
By the way, Travel Tuesday has also gone on safari.
Volcanoes loom over the landscape.
Katla volcano is one of the largest in Iceland.
Icelandic horses have two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly done by other breeds.
{ 4 comments }
Wow! I had no idea!
Antropologa, It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? You want to go now, right?
We were thinking about going to Rome for our anniversary but now I may pitch Iceland. So neat!
You know, Rome is romantic and wonderful Antropologa. And if you combine it with the Amalfi Coast, then you have a really nice combo of beach, fantastic food and wine. (I will do an upcoming Travel Tuesday on this area.) On the other hand, Iceland is a truly unique destination and very, very cool. If you go in the summer, you can experience the midnight sun.
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