Monday morning we enjoyed more
complimentary breakfast before checking out and continuing along the coast to
see famous basalt column cliffs and sea stacks. It was a short drive from Vik
up around a mountain then back to the coast to get to the basalt columns and
sea stacks. More black sand beaches and floods of tourists. We took more
pictures and did more silly beach things (like cartwheels and handstands) and
then continued on. Further up the coast we drove up a mountain to the edge of a
cliff to explore and take even more pictures. The sun drove the morning clouds
away and we enjoyed some warm sunshine and ocean.
Back in the car and on the road again
towards Gardur, a town near Keflavik. We drove along the coast, through some
really bizarre landscape (the whole island, actually, is bizarre landscape
followed by even more bizarre landscape) past the Blue Lagoon to Gardur. We
checked into our guesthouse, by far the most impressive on of the trip, and
then headed back to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing afternoon in the spa. This
natural hot spring spa is really beautiful and amazing, but before you can
enjoy it, you have to cough up £35 and take another communal shower sans
bathing suit. What’s with the Europeans and their apparent comfort with nudity?
I felt like a prude American as I took the quickest shower ever.
Anyway, the hot spring creates a silica
mud, which coats the floor of the spring. This mud does wonders for the skin,
so you’re supposed to smear it all over your face and other problem areas of
skin, let it dry for about 10 minutes, then wash it off. The water was really
salty, which made floating really easy for everyone. You could get massages in
the lagoon, or outside. There was a swim-up bar where you could buy beer,
slushies, and ice cream. We stayed at the spa for about 3 hours until we were
nice and pruney. We showered again and washed our hair, then hit the gift shop
on the way out. I bought some of that silica mud mask for myself because it
made my skin feel smooth and refreshed, not at all dry like normal cleansers
do. We went back to the guesthouse and then found a local pizza place, ordered
some pizza and took it back to the guesthouse to enjoy while we chilled out and
watched some TV. It was a very relaxing end to our adventurous week.
The music video which inspired this entire
vacation:
We actually saw everything that’s featured
in this music video. Awesome! It was a perfect trip!
