We landed in Iceland this morning about at 5:30, and my eyes were as red as they have ever been on a red-eye flight. I did manage to get a couple hours of sleep in after an unimpressive airline dinner, but I do not think that Mr. Pratt had any sleep at all. Instead, he watched Lamb, perhaps not the best thing to do before exploring the countryside of Iceland.
Our first glance of Iceland looked exactly like I thought it would, rocky and barren.
Immigration and customs was a breeze. We had to wait a while before somebody showed up to took us to get our rental car. They gave us a Subaru, so at least I know all the controls on the steering wheel. And this one is not quite so much a nanny car as our Forester at home. So far, I have been told to keep both hands on the steering wheel and stay in a lane, but not yet "Pay attention!"
We knew that we could not could not check into our hotel until three in the afternoon, and it was not quite yet eight in the morning. So we had to fill a day with some sightseeing until we could crash in a bed in central Reykjavik. All the guidebooks suggested a trip to the nearby Blue Lagoon. This is one of Iceland's most famous tourist attractions. And that is a little odd because it is neither natural nor ancient. It is, rather, the waste water generated by the nearby Svartsengi geothermal plant. Nobody paid much attention to the pools of water deposited on a volcanic lava flow until a man with psoriasis decided to bathe in them and then announced to the world that it had healed his disease. It was the modern equivalent of the apparition of the Virgin at Lourdes. Almost overnight, it was rechristened "The Blue Lagoon" and turned into a sought-after high-priced spa.
The water is a lovely gray blue, the result of a high silicate content.
The spa facilities are quite impressive, and it features one of Iceland's priciest restaurants.
There were lots of advertisements for this on Icelandair, and all of these featured young men with muscular bodies and lithe young women, all, I somehow remember, blonde. The reality is not quite as glamorous. It appears that every tour bus trip of Iceland includes a stop here. Overweight Germans and elderly Japanese were most of the people who I saw wading into the pools.
John and I decided to just have a coffee there and to not bother paying nearly 75 dollars each to get into the water. I know you find it hard to believe, dear readers, but we do sometimes exercise some fiscal restraint.
Instead we pushed on to do some sightseeing on the Reykjanes Peninsula before heading into the capital. We drove to the Seltun geothermal field.
If you have ever been to Yellowstone, all of this will look pretty familiar. There are lots of little bubbling bits of mud and sulphureous steam shoots out of the earth.
John found it mildly interesting, although he is already complaining about the cold here in Iceland, barely 24 hours after complaining about the heat in Ashland.
I was amazed that a fair number of plants grew in this toxic environment.
I wonder if deer eat them. Probabaly....
We drove on to nearby Kelifarvaratn Lake. Geologically, this lake is interesting as it is both fed and drained by underground streams. The whole area is dramatic with lots of volcanic features.
There is a black sand beach there, but nobody wanted to spread out a towel and lie in the 52 degree weather.
We went on to the town of Grindavik where we had lunch at a restaurant located inside a facility for manufacturing and repairing fishing nets and lines.
I had a traditional Icelandic dish of salt cod, potatoes, and cheese served with brown bread. It was actually pretty good.
By this time, we were ready to drive in Reykjavik. Our small hotel - actually more furnished apartments - is in the historic center. It's a lively colorful neighbor hood. I kept thinking that it seemed like Astoria on steroids.
And the residents have a sense of humor about the place they choose to call home.
We made it to the hotel and miraculously found a parking stop right across the street from it. We went up to our top floor room, threw ourselves on the bed, and we both slept for about three hours! I'll post a little more about our hotel tomorrow. For today, as I close, here is the view from our window.
