The Savage Traveler: Iceland Part 4

Wednesday, October 17: The ads for the Blue Lagoon often show a happy young lady in the warm waters on a sunny day which happens we believe once a year. For us photos alone don't do justice to the day's 50 - to 60 mph winds and temps in the forties. The conditions were due to the hurricane that went through Ireland. One must shower, nude, under supervision of two matrons to be sure that NO ONE skips this step and the women’s showers had a long, slow line, which meant that Kris and Marv had been in and out of the water (a miserably bone chilling experience when out) several times looking for us before we made it out. They were basically totally over The Blue Lagoon by the time we showed up. But Heidi and I had a wonderful time exploring the silica mud pots to apply to the skin, the sauna, the steam bath, and even the far pool, which had less than a dozen people in it. We would probably count it as one of the high points of the trip, while Kris and Marv might have counted it the lowest of the low. And we found out later that pretty much every town has its own very popular geothermal public pool, where locals hang out daily like a sort of coffee shop, that we could have attended at a fraction of the cost of the Gate 1 bus tour we did for it. Our advice to anyone going to Iceland is to skip the very expensive Blue Lagoon and find one of those public pools!!

The Blue Lagoon (Icelandic: Bláa lónið) geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The spa is located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland in a location favorable for Geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. 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. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 99–102°F. The Blue Lagoon also operates a research and development facility to help find cures for other skin ailments using the mineral-rich water. The lagoon is a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Superheated 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 water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.

How the Tourism Council wants you to see The Blue Lagoon

How it appeared from inside the main building the day we visited.

Kris got this one single picture of Marv and me in the lagoon before Marv retreated to the building.

That afternoon, we did a free walking tour (donations accepted) of Reykjavik. Our guide, Sarai, was a high school history teacher who was very knowledgeable about the history and culture of the country, and fiercely proud to be a true Viking woman. She had a great sense of humor and taught us many useful tips, like about the local swimming pools and that the best place to get somewhat reasonable food is in the Old Harbor area. Kris and Heidi always recommend doing these free city walking tours wherever they are offered and now we see why. They are very informative and less costly than commercial tours.

Iceland's Parliament Building. Note the lack of flags (noticeable on most buildings)
or armed guards. The only armed building in Iceland is the American Embassy. 😕

We met our tour guide (in the yellow jacket) under the statue across from the Parliament Building.

The oldest remaining church in Iceland.

Entering the Old Town of Reykjavik. Most of the old wooden
buildings were wiped out by a huge fire.

The oldest wooden buildings and warehouses by the harbor were once
dilapidated and mostly abandoned. Now they are the most expensive
and desirable Real Estate in the city!

The name plate on this house is dated 1852.

Part sculpture and part utilitarian, these vertical pipes carry
geothermal water and are a good place to warm ones hands.

Streets and roofs throughout Reykjavik (and much of Iceland)
are heated by geothermal action and snow removal is never needed.

The Prime Minister's home; again, no flags or guards.

The hill topped city park beside the Prime Minister's house.

This impressive statue of Ingólfur Arnarson by famous architect Einar Jonsson is atop a hill at the center
of a grassy park. Ingolf was a settler from Norway near 870 and is usually considered the first settler
of Iceland. Thanks to a recent Gay Pride parade, his lips are painted pink to reflect that Iceland is
open to LGBTQ rights. All of Icelandic Pride activities start from here.

ÓÞEKKTI EMBÆTTISMAÐURINN
Lækjargata, port
Artist Magnús Tómasson
The Unknown Bureaucrat is a popular favorite, as it manages to be both humorous and provocative, while truthfully depicting something that most everyone can relate to, the trivial existence of the working bee. The block of rock is a perfect metaphor for how everyday life crushes down on us, while at the same time depicting the narrative of the faceless official who is only a cog in the wheel, and never a person to most of us. Even the location is a thoughtful comment on the trivial existence of the Unknown Bureaucrat, in a closed off back alley.