Iceland: Days 5 & 6 - Lagoons and Even More Waterfalls

After getting on the road on day 5, we went on very rustic "roads" into the highlands of Iceland. The weather took a turn for the worse, and has been overcast and/or drizzly the entire time. We did manage to take two hikes: one to a waterfall and another by a stream and up a volcano to a point where steam was pouring out of the earth's crust. Very surreal, and smelly to boot!

We then drove to our hotel for the night. So much of the day was spent in the van on bumpy roads, we were glad to finally make it to our hotel for the night!

Then, this morning, despite the horrible weather, we stopped at a place where the earth's crust is literally melted and bubbles up due to geothermal heat. It was such a bizarre landscape, and trust me it was so stinky--you would get huge mouthfuls of sulfur while climbing around. Interesting to see, but I'm glad it was only about a 20 minute stop because I don't think my nose could have taken much more than that...

Then we stopped at the famous Blue Lagoon for the afternoon and waded in mineral rich water, heated by geothermal energy. It was so nice to float around in the warm water! My skin felt so soft afterwards, but some of that could have been due to the white mud we were allowed to put on our bodies and faces.

After a few hours floating around we made our way back to Reykjavik, where we said goodbye to our local tour guide, Jens, and got settled into the hotel that will be our home for the next three nights. Tonight is the kick off to the Iceland gay pride festival, so after dinner we will be going to a dance, which should be a lot of fun! I, for one, am looking forward to a few days that aren't spent in a bus!