The blue lagoon..

(and not the one with Brooke Sheilds) is the Temple Garden Mineral Spa of Iceland.

Set in a moonscape black lava field, the milky-blue water is fed from a geothermal plant at a perfect 38C (just like taking a bath, outside, surrounded by strangers). The lagoon has steam rooms, hot pots, and an uber-hot waterfall massage that makes my Turkish experience seem a breeze, it actually felt like I was being pummelled by Sweetums (a giant muppet, they are big on mythology, elves, trolls and the travelocity gnome).

The water is full of blue-algae, mineral salts and fine silica mud, once you're fully cooked...you come out of the water with skin as soft as a baby's bottom, minus the diaper rash.

Many folks go to the lagoon on the final day prior to their departure. Several companies offer hotel pick up, drop off at the lagoon and following your soak, drop off at the airport. Soooooo easy.

Last night

I hate to leave because I know that there is still so much of this wonderful country that we have not seen and so many activities that we have not done. This is one country that I will be coming back to at some point in the future. Two nights we went to a Christmas concert at Hallgrímskirkja the Lutheran church which happens to be the tallest building in Iceland. A choir of 60 men and women say like angels. We didn't know or understand any of the song until the very end when they sang Silent Night. It didn't matter what they sang...it was spectacular!


Last night we went to see the northern lights which was a harrowing event. Four hours outside in the wind and cold, surrounded by frozen, drunk British tourist. We did see some lights and I was told that on a scale of 1 to 10 these were a 2.5. Oh well. I had fun.


What can I say, if ever you get a chance and want to visit a country that is breath taking, has friendly people, where you can have your choice of activities from scuba, snowmobiling, mountain climbing, caving, horseback riding, whale watching, jeep adventures, and the list goes on...I highly recommend Iceland. Maybe in the summer when there is more than four hours of light..more like 20 hours of light.


I do have to say that my body (even if I live is Saskatchewan) had a hard time getting used to the sun coming up at 11am and just when it comes over the horizon, it starts to set again. 


I want to stay longer....there will be a next time...

Golden Circle Tour

When in Iceland, you simply must go on a Golden Circle tour. The sites are gorgeous and Gullfoss is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. We stopped at Nesjavellir geothermal plant then Þingvellir National Park, Gullfoss and Geysir. An awesome time.

Reykjavik

Is really a beautiful town/city with a population of just under 200,000 you get the feeling that everyone knows everyone. One thing that we noticed is that there are a lot of young couples with new borns. I read on the net that the average is 2.2 children per couple, Canada is 1.6. I have not been to Newfoundland yet, however, I think that Reykjavik is somewhat similar. A mix of modern and old building, friendly people who like to have a good time. 

Laugardalur Park

After a long day of sight seeing, we took a 15 minute bus ride out to Laugardalur Park. A great place to come and soak your weary muscles, unwind and experience some Icelandic culture. They have an olympic size swimming pool, a cool water slide, hot pots of varying temperatures, 38C up to 44C, a salt water tub and steam rooms. All of this in the great outdoors at 2C.

I have to say that I am surprised at how mild it temperature is here, yesterday it got up to 4C, no snow on the ground. Glad I am not back home where I see it was down to -25C. Ugh

Pub Crawl

I cant remember the last time (if ever) that I took a nap between 8 and 10pm to be in shape to go out on the town. We were actually a little early arriving at our first pub at 11pm, don't get me wrong, there were lots of inebriated people staggering around. The action started to pick up at around midnight, the first pub was called Olstag, eclectic whole in the wall. After a few pints of Gull Gold we headed to our next stop. Barbara was small pub with room for dancing, it was over the top, 80's music, Michael Jackson. Why do white people think that they can dance. Yikes.


Got back to the hotel at 5am and our room phone range at 8am....wtf...I jumped for the phone and was told we were late for our pick up. (We are heading on the Golden Circle tour) I promptly got dressed and ran downstairs, remembering on the way that I had book my tour for the following day...back to bed...

Bjork sighting

We spotted Bjork in the distance while visiting a photography gallery. We ran out to get an autograph, however by the time we got there all that was left was her dress......

Kronars and not Coronas

Oy, the exchange rate really screwed me up today. I went to the ATM to take out so cash, planning on taking out enough to last for the few days that we are here. Sooooo after three failed attempts I settle of withdrawing 1,000 Kronars, seemed like a lot of money at the time. I said to myself, stupid machine game me a 1,000 kronar note, who's gonna make change for that....


We went to visit Hallgrims Kirkja church, pretty impressive and modern building, took an elevator trip of the 75 meter tower to get a spectacular view of the city. I politely asked "ummm can you make change for a 1,000..." She gave me back 200 kronar in change..I was like...what it costs $100 bucks to ride the elevator...never you mind...Actually I took out $10 dollars from the ATM and not $100 as I thought. Oh well.

Who cut the cheese?

You don't have to blame it on the dog. Francois kept looking at me funny while we deplaned in Reykjavik after what felt like the longest flight ever. It was under 5 hours travelling time, we were packed in like sardines, no food and they had the heat on full blast, not the most enjoyable flight. So it wasn't me, the airport and surrounding smell of sulphur and so do the showers, one thing we will have to get used to in Iceland is the sulfur smell (smells like rotten eggs) in the water from the faucets. Iceland is geologically a very young island and has a lot of geothermal and volcanic activity not far beneath its surface.  

Bored in Boston

Landed at Logan International airport at 1:00pm with seven and a half hours to kill before our flight to Reykjavik. Thankfully we had it all planned out. Rush to the Iceland air counter, check-in grab the #33 bus to the subway, hop off at State street and enjoy the sights, sounds and most of all the flavors (USA spelling) of Beantown.


Unfortunately, the Iceland Air check-in counter only opened at 5pm, not leaving us enough time to make our escape. Still we did manage to sit outside on a bench and enjoy a record breaking day 21C on December 3. Wow.


So what do I do to kill time - http:///www.hulu.com where you can watch tv shows for FREE. Read Downtown Owl on my Sony Reader...eat...drink coffee and enjoy free internet, a Christmas gift from Google.


We played spot the FCC employee / celebrity  look-a-like. This guy looks like a grown up version of Billy from King of the Hill.

Once I got bored of people watching...I felt the need to learn a new language maybe Icelandic would come in handy...but how does one go about learning Japanese, Korean or even English whilst killing time at an airport? Phiew, they have a RosettaStone vending machine. 


So one more hour to go and eg ønsker deg en god reise hjem to you.

Iceland and not land of ice...or is it...

According to a recent survey, 92 per cent of Icelandic homes had a computer and 90 per cent had internet access, surely I will be able to keep this blog up and running.

I live in a province that is gripped by winter for what feels like seven months of the year. So where do I choose to go to get away from cold, windy Saskatchewan...where else...Iceland..where the weather is cold and windy. You know how you think going to work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark really sucks...It really could be worse..What if you went for lunch at work and it was still dark, and by the time you had your afternoon break, the sun had set for the day...oh yeah that's Iceland. They say that Reyjavik (the capital) enjoys only one completely clear day every July. In January, the average goes up to three. Are you sold yet? But guess what, Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate relative to its latitude an provides a habitable environment and nature. Maybe Saskatchewan should change it's name to Iceland.

So what do we know about Iceland? The Republic of Iceland is an island nation located in the North Atlantic. It has a population of 320,000, the oldest of which is Torfhildur Torfadottir who is a ripe old 105.5. Not bad. 

• Iceland has the highest internet usage in the world at 92 per cent of its population. 
• The most popular boys name is Jon
• Iceland has no navy, army or airforce...but they do have a Coast Guard
• The water is so pure that it is not treated prior to it flowing out of the taps
• The literacy rate is 99.9 per cent
• It is a hot spot for volcanic and geothermal activity

The main reason for visiting Iceland is a practice call RUNTUR, from midnight to 5am, young and old Icelanders swirl around Reykjavik's tiny vibrant bars and clubs, drinking, dancing (pass), laughing and gossiping and did I mention the drinking, only to slow down for hot dogs. Some say that hot dogs are Iceland's national food and Bæjarins beztu pylsur is THE place to get one, Bill Clinton even scarfed one down during one of his visits.

Stay tuned, departure is December 3.

Sorry I couldn't resist, he is sooo cute!