Blue Lagoon

The sky was nearly cloudless, the air was cool, and the early-summer evening sunshine streamed over Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, a giant, natural geothermal pool just 45 minutes from Reykjavik. At a toasty but comfortable 102 degrees, the sometimes-florescent, milky-blue waters contain minerals from the nearby lava rock that are said to have healing powers.

There is no chlorine here. The waters are completely natural, which is why all visitors must go through a rigorous cleansing regimen before and after using the baths. After you pay, you’ll be given a locker key and sent to the communal showers, where you must soap up completely from head to toe before you are allowed access to the baths. There is even a shower attendant on hand to make sure everyone is completely lathered. It’s not for the shy, but the natives are so nonchalant about this routine that it’s hard to get embarrassed.

Once satisfactorily showered you may suit up and enjoy the waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. There’s a minute or two when you are outside and before you hit the waters when it’s quite cold, but soon enough, you’re enveloped by the buoyant and soothing warmth of the baths. It’s incredibly relaxing, and when I was there, there was plenty of room to roam from rock to rock or beneath the bridges. You can use your locker room key (which doubles as a waterproof bracelet) to purchase drinks at the Lava Bar, which we didn’t realize was an option until after we were out of the baths, but it would have been a nice thing to enjoy under the sun.

When walking around within the pools, the ground is somewhat soft and squishy at the same time, and at intervals on the edge of the lagoon are large vats filled with this white mud that is so coveted for its skin rejuvenating properties. When you’re bathing, you are welcome to smear as much of it on your face as you like. Signs recommend that you keep it on for about eight minutes, so you’ll see a lot of people in the baths who look like ghosts. I have to say, my skin did feel much softer and more elastic once the mask was off.

As evening wore on, the baths closed, so we went back to the showers, dried off completely (this is rigorously enforced), got dressed, and met up at the café where we stocked up on water (two-plus hours in the baths can be dehydrating). Filled with a newfound sense of well-being, we then walked a path through the lava rock back to where our shuttle bus picked us up to take us back to our Reykjavik hotel.