WOW - what a day!

The holiday started with a pretty fast flight - just under 5 hours. It took us from hot summer to chilly fall, but we kept the sun. The flight was uneventful if rather bumpy. The pilot had the "stay in your seats and buckle up" message sounding every few minutes. Sleep eluded us completely - as expected. It wasn't stomach-churning turbulence, just bumpy.

On arrival at Keflavik International Airport we disembarked from the back door of our 767, and trudged onto waiting buses. In the terminal it was all pretty orderly, if somewhat of a long trot with none of those lovely moving sidewalks. But our bags showed up and we found our way to a small shop selling various food items. A chicken sandwich and a yogurt came to $12-14 (can't recall exactly). But they hit the spot.

From there we found the FlyBus kiosk and learned that the bus to the Blue Lagoon left at 7:30. It was not yet 7 AM, so we ate and waited and then caught the bus.

Right away we felt at home - there was plenty of construction. By Ottawa standards, the roads didn't seem to me to need improving but construction seems to be in season here, as it is at home. 

The Blue Lagoon was a wonderful way to start the holiday. As we were among the first to arrive, the process of trading our voucher for towels, robes and flip-flops and finding a locker, showering and changing, took a very short time. That shower was incredible - very warm and very strong.

And then the real pleasure began. We wended our way down a couple of flights of stairs and took an indoor ramp into the pool. Well, some pool. It was endless. The colour was a light aqua and the water being saturated with minerals, notably silica, you couldn't see your hands once they were submerged about 5 inches. But the temperature was like perfect bathwater. There were a few warmer spots.

Blue Lagoon

Bridges at the Blue Lagoon

Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik

Hot dog stand

Susan enjoying her gourmet dinner

We wandered slowly like a cloud - oops, no daffodils. We meandered through the water of varying depths and temperatures (all warm), under bridges, and if desired through caves.

Eventually, we located the kiosk where we got a handful of white silica "paste" which we dutifully applied to our faces. The large clock on the wall lets you know when your 5-10 minutes is up. I'm not sure if your face falls off if you wait too long to wash it off but we didn't risk it. We're hardly recognizable now and have to ask for senior discounts. [Well, we wish].

After turning into Icelandic raisins, nicely water-withered, we got out - and moved pretty briskly indoors to the towels and robes waiting for us. The outside temperature got up to 12C today. And after a bright but overcast start, the sun came out. It was glorious.

The warm water was incredibly relaxing so we moved from chairs to lounges and proceeded to rest comfortably for quite a while.

The next phase involved getting back into the pool, heading off in another direction, this time to the bar where we enjoyed Strawberry smoothies. You have to experience sitting on an underwater bench, in aqua-coloured warm water, sipping on a cool fruit drink, to really know how lovely it was. Ahhhhh

Then it was time to shower, change and head for the bus into Reykjavic. By this time the sun was still shining on the lava fields, whose main vegetation was moss. But I did detect the odd struggling flower. Vegetation got somewhat lusher as we approached the capital. They even have trees here - not a lot of trees, but enough to be notable. And more flowers. 

We were the last passengers off the bus and found that due to narrow twisting streets, and lots of construction, we finished the journey on foot. Hurray for suitcases on wheels. Arriving at the Center Hotel Plaza, we checked in. The room is very clean and has a lovely shower and the teeniest sparkling clean sink. The two beds are comfy and shall shortly be occupied for what we hope will be a nice long sleep to get over the jet lag and lack of zzzz's last night.

However, there is not a drawer to be found and the closet is full with only 4 hanging items. There are 4 USB ports (thank you), and a huge round post between the bed and the window. Not really a decorating feature I would recommend. The view is lovely and we can clearly see the famous church, whose name starts with H. The crane operator kindly directed his activities away from our view so that we got a couple of decent pictures.

We had a bit of a wander through the shopping street just out our front door. Eventually, we found "the famous hot dog stand" and enjoyed an early dinner, not having had lunch other than the smoothie. http://www.bbp.is/information-in-english There are a number of pretenders to the Hot Dog throne but we got directions to the right one. Cheapest food in town.

Everything is VERY expensive. Coffee is $7. We're still gawking at the coins and wondering how much we actually have when we get change. Purchases other than food are eligible for a 15% tax rebate at the airport upon departure.

At this point, I'm almost cross-eyed and ready to call it a day. It's only 6:15. I have not figured out how to get the pictures from my android phone to my Mac laptop, directly. Sorry the pictures are all together. I'm too tired this evening to put them in place. I'll do better next time.