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Southwest Iceland and Blue Lagoon

Today was pretty crazy - we started off with a surprisingly satisfying breakfast at the hotel. It was included in the price of the room and was advertised as continental, but had really nice touches like freshly cut vegetables, hard boiled eggs, smoked salmon, fruits, breads, and even cheeses (obviously not for me). We'd originally planned to go out for breakfast, but ended up with a full tummy before leaving the hotel, so we were able to head out along our scenic route to Blue Lagoon.

We headed south towards route 42 and were treated to ever-changing landscapes as soon as we got out of the city. It turned from moss-covered rocks, to colourful marsh, to golden grasses, to snowy mountains within minutes. The roads were paved 99% of the time, so the drive was smooth except for the wind. There was a warning of gale force winds today in the region we were exploring and we noticed the howling getting stronger throughout the day. 

Our first stop was Seltún, an active geothermal area with mud pots and fumaroles and the smell of sulfur in the air. Driving into the parking lot, we noticed ice everywhere, which gave us some trouble when we got out of the car! We had to hang onto the doors of the car to keep from slipping, then treaded carefully to the boardwalk where the heat kept the ice away. The landscape reminded me a lot of Yellowstone national park, except very much winterized!

We continued driving until we ended up in Grindavík, a town with a harbour and our lunch stop. The winds got much stronger, and we had to be careful again when getting out of the car, but this time to keep the door from flying open and potentially hitting the next vehicle. Nothing exceptional about lunch - the highlight was probably the fact that we tried pickled herring. Verdict: herring shouldn't be pickled. 

Before going to Blue Lagoon, we decided to take a slight detour to see another geothermal area - Gunnuhver, supposedly named after a female ghost who died in the hot spring. The drive took us through some rocky terrain, but nothing that didn't have a paved road - so no hiccups getting there. However, the winds got even worse, so we had to really hold onto the door to keep it from potentially ripping right off the vehicle when we got out of the car. Walking to the hot spring was crazy with the winds pushing us at who knows how many kilometers per hour - I tried jumping and running just to see how far the winds would carry me forward, then got a bit more conservative as we got closer to the hot spring before I did anything too stupid! The hot spring was spewing tons of steam, but I think the winds were the most memorable part of the excursion - I had trouble moving forward against the wind as we made our way back to the car. Thank goodness we got a heavy German SUV that was able to withstand the onslaught of mother nature.

After that, it was Blue Lagoon time! Despite the winds, there were still a lot of tourists at the iconic bright blue hot spring, and it was a pleasant experience - we paid for the cheapest package which was still about $125 per person. (Yeah. It was expensive.) We got a mud mask, sparkling wine, and unlimited time in the hot spring, steam bath, and sauna. In hindsight, I would still have paid to have the experience, but wouldn't do it a second time. The hot spring was warm, and I think (I hope) it was good for relaxing and soaking in some healthy minerals.

After we soaked until we couldn't soak anymore, we headed back to Reykjavik for dinner with a quick spin around Costco on the way. (Yes, they have Costco in Iceland.) It was oddly similar to what we have in North America - the layout, the products available, the portion sizes. The meat was about double the price, but seemed to be good quality. Nothing really worth buying except for a package of really tiny tomatoes from Holland, partially to have a healthy snack, partially because we've never seen it in Canada.

Dinner was at Grillmarkaðurinn - a fancy restaurant recommended by a friend. We knew going in that it was going to be expensive, so we left all logic behind as soon as we walked in. Lucky for us, we got the last available table! With that as a good omen, we decided to go all out and order the tasting menu - which was described by the waiter as an 8-course meal. It was incredible - we had Arctic char, duck, whale, lobster, salted cod, horse, lamb, and so much dessert (ice creams, sorbet, chocolate cake, fruit). By the time we were done, we almost had to be rolled out of the restaurant. So good. Would definitely recommend going there and throwing caution to the gale force winds.

We did a post-dinner walk around town then headed back to the hotel. Going to be tough to top today for the rest of the vacation! Tomorrow will be ice caving...

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