The coolest warmest darkest light place on earth

Being a bitter, jaded 34-year-old, it’s not often (if ever) that I find myself sincerely saying the words, “This is one of the coolest places I have ever been in the world.” I was sitting in the Blue Lagoon, in the cerulean glowing white waters. They were a perfect 37 to 39 degrees celcius. The weather was nasty...cold, gray, driving winds, harsh icy rain. But it made the environment of the lagoon so much better by contrast. The wind swirled the mist around the lagoon and the surrounding lava landscape, visibility was no more than 10 feet in front of your. Matt got a Viking beer from the lagoon bar, and I gave myself a facial with the silica mineral mud from the bottom of the lagoon. I stood under the waterfall, offering “hydraulic massage.” You had to be careful to avoid the steam vents, the sudden blast of near-boiling water could be a bit of a shock. The silica and minerals coated the sides of the lava pool creating a smooth, white layer and natural benches to lounge on.

Upon entering the Blue Lagoon Clinic, we were given blue wristbands with a chip in them. You wore this wristband and used it for everything from locking your locker to buying a beer in the lagoon. The entire spa was clean, modern, and austere. No trappings of Great Wolf Lodge or anything else an American-style spa or water park would try to shove down your throat and force you to be cheerful. My only regret is I wasn’t able to take any photos of us in the lagoon, because the wind and driving salty mists would not have been kind to my camera or lens.

We lounged and floated and circled the lagoon for a couple of hours, and finally had to drag ourselves and our pruny fingers out of the waters and head back to our hotel for dinner. We were spending the night at the Northern Lights Inn, the only hotel near the Blue Lagoon. It also had the advantage of being halfway between Reykjavik and the airport, making an easier early-morning transfer to Keflavik for our flight to Paris. The hotel was great, except for when Matt opened the window in the middle of the night and invited the sulphur smell into our room. 

Most unusual view from a hotel room

But they offered free transfers to and from the lagoon, as well as a free breakfast and ride to the airport in the morning. We ate in the hotel restaurant, looking out over the lava fields at the geothermal power plant and the surrounding mists and fog. It was definitely the most other-wordly place I have ever been, made even more surreal when “White Christmas” cycled through the restaurant muzak. Unforgettable.