ugh, departure day. iceland is an amazing country and i want to spend more time exploring it. but we have to leave. in addition, leaving means returning to work. boo.

our flight was at 5pm so we had some time to visit the last item on the itinerary; one of the most visited attractions in iceland, the blue lagoon.

it was tough waking up early this morning, but i wanted to see adrian and lydia one more time before we parted ways. i wished i had spent more time with them. the 2 car situation influenced who you hang with greater than i had anticipated.

so we had breakfast at the hotel cause nothing else was open. the breakfast was so overpriced that i opted out and went for the coffee. we enjoyed another hour being together before we had to grab our luggage and say goodbye. before the bus departed the hotel, lydia came out and waved to the entire bus.

after a quick bus change at the bus depot, the ride was about 40 minutes out of the city to the blue lagoon. the famous blue lagoon has been featured in all kinds of stuff. i remember it from hostel 2. the minerals from the blue lagoon are supposedly wonderful for your skin but not your hair. the minerals will strip out any moisture from your hair and leave it feeling like barbed wire.

due to a type of blue algae that grows in the hot geothermally heated water, the water is an alien, murky white bluish color. the water leaves a white residue on the lava rocks lining the lake. the entire area is in a lava field with an industrial looking complex that turns the geothermal energy into heat and electricity that supplies the surrounding towns.

the blue lagoon facility is located next to the power plant looking complex. the architecture of the facility consists of rock, metal and glass that integrates beautifully into the surrounding landscape.

john, chucky, jay and i lounged next to the pools to check out the scene and have some lunch. i was starving from not having breakfast. people were swimming, lounging, laying in the murky white water. the water was so opaque that you couldn’t see below the surface. some people had white mud masks on their face that made them like tribes people.

john, jay and chucky opted out of jumping in the pool for various reasons, but not me. i’m checking this thing out. so i checked in, received a blue bracelet with a computer chip that works with the lockers along with method of payment at the pool bar, and rented a towel for 680 krona ($5 usd). the locker/bracelet system was cool. close the locker door and a pad lights up with your number. after swiping your bracelet across the sensor, the door locks and associates the locker with your bracelet.

before jumping in the blue lagoon, you have to take a shower, which makes sense. after a quick shower, i stepped into the cold air and hurried to the water. the pool floor was made of lava rocks and sand. closer to the edge, the floor consisted of some light brown squishy stuff. it might have been the silicon mud mask substance.

the water wasn’t as hot as i thought it would be. there are parts of the pool that were hotter but overall it was just warm. some people were floating in the water. i tried to float in the water but i sank instead of floated. i put the white silicon mud mask on my face and went to scare john, jay and chucky who were sitting by the pool but they didn’t see me until after i had done my monster routine. oh well. john got some pics of me in the pool, which is what i wanted anyways.

the mud mask washed off easily in the water and i was ready to get out. after another quick shower, i changed and went to the souvenir store where i bought the usual souvenirs.

my skin was very dry after the pool and my hair felt starchy. i almost bought the skin care solutions they offered at the souvenir store but decided against it. i would have to check my luggage.

after waiting a bit, the bus showed up and we were off to the airport. on the way, we pass through a small town and guess what, i saw another building with deloitte on it. that’s four buildings in iceland with the deloitte name on it. weird.

checking in was easy and we sat in the shopping/food court area to have lunch. i had two cheeseburgers. i have never eaten so many cheeseburgers while being in a foreign country. iceland does cheeseburgers right with this great sauce that we believe is a mixture of mayo, ketchup and mustard. whatever it is, it is yummy.

the rest of the day was pretty routine. nothing exciting except while on the way back, we flew over greenland with clear skies. we were able to see the snow covered mountain ranges and then a very special view of the millions of icebergs floating in the ocean. it looked like stars.

when we landed, john and i clapped to see if anyone else would join in, and sure enough, more people joined in the european tradition of clapping after a landing.

after landing, we said our goodbyes and diane and i went back to queens. i thought the trip went by way too quickly while others thought it lasted forever. regardless, it was an amazing trip and i am going to start researching on the prices to go back very soon to enjoy the midsummer sun and nightlife of reykjavik again.