ARRIVAL IN ICELAND

Our arrival into Iceland was on board one of the prettiest planes we'd seen. Decorated to look like the Aurora Borealis, it was stunning & knowing that at this time of year we wouldn't be seeing the real thing, we were happy to accept this as a substitute.  We were a little concerned, however, that our plane was named Hekla and did question the wisdom of climbing aboard something named after a volcano that BLOWS UP!!!! 

On arrival we did what Icelandic people do.... we went  straight to duty free to buy wine!! Being an import, wine is very expensive to buy here & I had been trying to resign myself to going teetotal for... gulp... our 7 weeks away.  Then I read that the cheapest place to get it is on arrival in the country via Duty Free! Change of plan!! We were allowed 6 bottles each, which means that we have 12 bottles to last us 23 days in Iceland!  I suspect we'll be trying out a few local tipples as well, so I'm sure we'll cope!

 

After collecting our vehicle, we drove through a grey, barren & dismal looking landscape to our Hotel, which is not only next door to the famous Blue Lagoon, but is situated amidst an 800 year old lava field! It was this that we looked out from our window onto.  Over it's life span, a slow growing moss has covered the lava.  It looks like dirty snow, but up close it is more like dense sheep wool.  Apparently it's highly flammable!

 

Our first objective was to have a nice long soak in the Blaa Lonid , or Blue Lagoon to non-Icelandic speakers!! This is a man made complex amidst the lava fields, but it is totally natural hot seawater that has come through the nearby Geothermal Power Station.  It was bliss & we enjoyed trying out a mud mask... and an algae mask... and having a scrummy blueberry smoothy (me) & a local beer(him) ...and a pummelling shoulder massage by waterfall! Sigh! EXCELLENT way to start a trip after long hours in planes!!

 

This morning, while bus loads of visitors were piling into the Blue Lagoon's relaxing waters, we decided to do something rather non-touristy.  We walked along the track to Grindavik, a nearby fishing town.

 

This easy and well maintained path took us through a moonscape of lava fields & steep slopes of  rocky outcrops. We literally had this 6km walk to ourselves!

 

We had wondered what sort of bird life, if any, there was in such a desolate landscape & were pleasantly surprised to spot a few different bird species & then looking down, we saw these beautiful lupin coming into flower.

 

We learned that a local woman, Ingibjorg Jonsdottir had been instrumental in beginning the process of reforesting the slopes of the nearby hill.

Jeff climbed up it & was rewarded with this amazing view of the Geothermal PowerStation. I only managed partway, but still enjoyed the quiet & hearing the steam forcing it's way out of the chimneys.

 

We returned to our path via the trees Ingibjorg had planted.

 

Back in our room we sat looking over the moonscape with a coffee & considered the options for further exploring of the Reykanes Peninsula.  We opted for the Seltun Geothermal area.  It has been a while since I visited Rotorua in New Zealand & we were keen to see how it compared.  The smell of rotten eggs hit us the minute we got out the car door! Within minutes we were watching mud boil & plop, water roiling with such intensity it was scary & steam coming out holes in the ground.

 

It was spectacular.

 

 

Once back at our Hotel, we enjoyed the luxury of the Hotel's own geothermal pool.  It certainly was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon!

 

We thought we were alone, until we realised one of the local residents was also enjoying the warmth!! A great start to our travels.