The Blue Lagoon

Today I did my first very tourist thing outside of Reykjavik; The Blue Lagoon. It is one of the most interesting hot springs I have ever been to, It is a geothermal lake that was formed almost accidentally through the by-products of geothermal energy production ( Go Geothermal!). The water is the effluent (maybe not the right term) from a very close by powerplant that is now hidden by a man made rock barrier. One day, as the story goes is that a man with psoriasis decided one day to get into the steaming lake and he enjoyed it and it actually helped with his skin condition. Fast forward to today and it is Iceland's biggest tourist attraction. The water is rich in silica and algae which yields the turquoise hue. The temperature is between 98-105 degrees Fahrenheit and can yield a day's worth of relaxation. The typical sulfur smell of most hot springs is still there but only slightly. The water is said to be a mix of 1/3 freshwater from surface recharge and 2/3 seawater from seepage into the porous volcanic rock. The lagoon is on the Reykanes peninsula which is surrounded by the North Atlantic so the story does indeed jive. They also have saunas, steam caves, restaurants, indoor relaxing area and a man-made waterfall. Ok, so I wrote a lot about it, because it really is awesome. If you want to know more go to Bluelagoon.com. So, now on to the photos.

Walking into the entrance through a gash in the lava field, at this point it was kind of strange, you are thinking " Really? The bus hass already left and I am walking to what, and it is freezing". You only walk through this canyon for a short distance until you get to the entrance, relieved and ready to soak.
One of the first shots of the day, awesome lighting and really relaxing water. I arrived early and there were very few people here at this point, in the high season it gets very busy but this day there were probably less than 75 coming and going throughout the day according to the staff.
The sun really does shine in Iceland and I have the photos to prove it! It snowed the night before, and the storm was hesitant to move off, throughout the day there was snow, sleet, wind and at select points; sun.

Looking out at the lagoon from the "relaxing area" where i fell asleep for a little while, aptly named.
And last, what I have dubbed "duperfoss" my first Icelandic waterfall, hopefully this is the only one I get pummeled under.

Paulie

A Week Into Iceland

Here I am a week into this crazy adventure and I wanted to share some photos to show everyone back home some views of Reykjavik.

The view out of my hotel window looking to the West/Northwest.

A typical Reykjavik street, looks like it was dusk but really taken around 10:30 AM.

Inside the Hallgrimskirkja the largest church in Reykjavik, the outside is under construction so it is not really all that photogenic at the moment.

A very interesting relief map of the Icelandic island, it is in the town hall and is quite large, it was painstakingly created by 4 men working for four and a half years. It is essentially a giant topographic map of the entire island. It has incredible detail and can be taken apart to allow the space to be used for other functions. It is quite rad, I will put up a detail of the map later to give a sense of what it looks like up close.

Some cool art on a random building. There is a lot of street art around Reykjavik and this is just one example. It seems that on just about every other building you can find something cool, and a lot of the time you have to look close or you will miss it.

-Paulie

Second day here

Jan. 22, 2009
Woke up around 9am and headed over to the department of Immigration to give them some additional paperwork for my visa. The walk was about 20 minutes in the cold and wind, I cannot believe how the elderly get around this city without broken hips abound, there is ice inches thick on just about every sidewalk. I almost ate it several times and I would like to think I am somewhat agile. I did the immigration thing, came back to the hotel, changed shoes and jackets and headed back out. The protest was still going on at the parliament building as I walked by. I went to Bonus, a grocery store and got some food for lunch, their logo is awesome ( see above). Got lunch and walked around some more. I bought an Icelandic phrase book so it should help out. Hope you all are doing well and I will take more photos tomorrow if the weather is a little more conducive to walking and stopping outside.
-Paul

First Day In Reykjavik

1-21-2009
Today arrived in Reykjavik earlier than expected, I got off the plane and had to go through security, a first; I've never gotten off a plane and had to go through a metal detector. I went through the passport check and the immigration officer did not care that I was to be here fore a year or more without my visa which is still being processed. I got my bags all 5 of them, customs at some point opened my kayak bag, it was re-taped but appeared to be all in tact, not sure if everything is still there but hopefully. I dragged all my gear through customs and as I had nothing to declare I did not even have to stop. Exchanged some money, its kind of awesome how a few hundred dollars turn into hundreds of thousands of krona, pretty cool, colorful money. Talked to the tourism board representative for assistance getting to Reykavik, specifically Hotel Klopp. The lady told me to use FlyBus and they will take me straight there. The Drive in to city was about 45 minutes, snowing and sleeting, with an excellent bus driver. We stopped at the bus terminal just outside of Reykjavik. I got off and the driver told me to get back on, with all my baggage I was stoked. I've never had a large bus deliver me taxi style to my destination; Hotel Klopp. I got dropped off at the hotel, walked in and they had a room ready for me right away. I moved all my bags to the 5th floor. I have a small nice room, very euro bathroom with the shower water going sraight to the floor. I went back downstairs and had breakfast, a whole grain cereal, pickled beets, cucumbers, oj and apple juice, also a very nice slice of pastry with what tasted like almond paste inside. I was exhausted went upstairs and passed out for a while, the sun nowhere to be seen. It did not rise until at least 10am, set around 530pm.
Awoke up around 330 and took a nice hot shower that took a while to heat up but once hot it was glorious. After that, I walked around and bought some toiletries. Found the hallgrimskirkja the main church, disappointed though cause the outside is under restoration so no cool church shots yet. Continued to walk around and found a commotion, turns out it was at the Parliament building lots of loud drumming and people throwing things at the police around the building, lots of explosive fireworks going off at the police. I couldn't believe it, the whole crowd was people of all ages, not just some kids wanting to cause a ruckus. I kept a low profile as it was my first day so not too many photos. It was crazy though; never would explosives go off near a United States police force without a very rapid and violent response. I think the cops sympathize with the people, they just have to do their jobs. Walked back to the hotel had a beer, grabbed a hat and headed to dinner.
Went to dinner at Cirano a small place a short walk from my hotel, nice mushroom soup, good large piece of cod with mustard sauce potato and salad, and a glass of wine for about $30, spendy but it my first night in Reykjavik so I thought it was ok to splurge.
After dinner I walked down to the 24 ( a convience store - go figure) to find some floss, turns out the protest was still going on and now the Parliament building was covered in Easter colored paint (yikes) and the cops were still there. A couple of bonfires on the parliament square and the crowd chanting something like var beit vinkishmell? ( the government needs to go was the translation I got). they were still banging their drums and chanting then they decided to march up to another government building at which point I decided to come back to the hotel to avoid getting tear gassed or arrested. My first day in Reykavik was slow to get going but it turns out there is never a dull moment in this interesting city. more to come...

-Paul

Getting Ready To Head North

So, it is January 19, 2009 and I am getting ready to head to Iceland tomorrow. It has been a long time coming and I am very excited, I want to thank everyone for all of your support, and especially those of you who showed up Friday night to make one of the most epic parties of my life. I will post regularly and I hope to hear form you all. Take care and the next post will be coming from the land of the midnight sun.

-Paulie