Iceland Day 11 - Blue Lagoon

It was time to head home. After another good breakfast at Hotel Fron, we packed up and headed towards the airport. We had reservations at the Blue Lagoon (which is located on the road to the airport) at 10 AM.

We arrived early, but we could not enter until 9:45. Our "Comfort Package" included a towel, a silica mask, and one drink of your choice. They give you a fancy electronic wristband which locks and opens your locker (confusing, but they have people that help you figure it out) and tracks any purchases you make. The locker area was much cleaner and nicer than the Nature Baths at Myvatn. They have private shower areas (you are expected to totally shower without a swimsuit before entering). They also have an inside ramp that goes into the pool, so you don't have to run outside in the cold!

The pool was built with black volcanic rocks and is quite large with a lot of alcoves to wander and relax. Although there were lots of people in the pool, it never felt overly crowded. The geothermal water really is blue, warm, and steamy. The water is silica-rich and feels very relaxing. 

We tried out the silica masks - the look is a bit scary!

By the way, I used this waterproof case for my phone. It worked fine, although some pictures got a bit blurry when shot through the plastic.

We stayed in the water for a couple of hours, then headed back to the locker room. The locker room has Blue Lagoon special shampoo, conditioner, and lotion - use it, because it is really expensive if you want to buy it in their store. They also have hair driers and bags for your wet swimsuit.

We headed for the airport, returned our rental car, and then got checked in for our flight. We had a two-hour flight delay, so we ate some lunch and then just hung out in the airport. Our flight departure actually was on a lower level where there wasn't much seating. People got into a long line before the flight is ready to board. Our IcelandAir flight unexpectedly had chartered an airplane from another airline - we ended up in different seats than we had booked. It was pretty old - my tray table was wonky and the entertainment system didn't work. But it got us home safely. We spent the night in Toronto at the Delta Marriott Hotel near the airport, taking advantage of their park, stay, and fly service. The next day we drove back home

Iceland was amazing! If you ever have the chance to visit, GO!

Iceland Day 10 - Snæfellsnes Peninsula

For our last full day in Iceland, we toured around the Snæfellsnes Peninsula before returning to Reykjavik. The day was pretty gray but the rain held off until we were done touring. We made a stop at a bakery to pick up something to eat for lunch, then started driving around the peninsula.

Our first stop was Kirkjufell (Church Mountain), which is famous for its iconic view of both the mountain and waterfall. I loved this location! We walked around the falls to see the views from all the angles.

That's me at the top of the bridge!

We continued through Snæfellsjökull National Park. The center of the park is the glacier topped volcano called Snaefellsjokull. 

The road goes along the coast past more waterfalls and lava fields. We stopped at the black sand Djúpalónssandur Beach. A short hike takes you through some massive lava formations down to the beach.

The beach is still littered with the rusty remains of a ship wreck that happened in 1948.

The rock formations along the beach were beautiful. (A moody edit for a cloudy day using the Snapseed app.)

Our next stop was for a short hike out to the lighthouse which is located near the Lóndrangar Basalt Cliffs. 

Another brief stop was at the fishing village of Arnarstapi.

A beautiful view looking out at the mountains and coastline.

A final stop was at the Black Church at Búðir. We managed about 5 minutes at this spot before a big bus of tourists unloaded. I think I got pictures of the church from every angle. Here are a few of my favorites.

There were a lot of other places we could have stopped and hiked on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, but we had a drive of several hours back to Reykjavik for our last night's stay. We were lucky that the rain held out until we started heading back. 

We spent our last night at the Hótel Frón which is where we stayed the first night. This time we stayed in the front part of the hotel in rooms that seemed a bit newer. 

We ate at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant which was just down the road from our hotel. My friends had the fish and chips (again) but I tried the fish on a stick which was a combo of two kinds of fish on, what else, a stick! It was ok, but I thought it needed a bit more seasoning. We finished off with ice cream at the nearby Valdis Ice Cream. We then hurried back to our hotel to repack for our trip home.