We left The President’s House and pushed our way through the crazy wind and back onto the bus. We had one final stop on our short tour or Iceland before we got our flight back to the UK. The stop we had all been waiting for, one of the top 25 wonders of the world, a place on many people’s bucket list… The Blue Lagoon.
We started the drive to The Blue Lagoon, the wind and rain was battering against the bus and we were soon informed there was some bad news… our flight had been cancelled due to the bad weather and we will probably have to wait until morning before we could fly back.
The news was delivered nervously, on a press trip with an airline company this is probably the worst thing that could happen to a bus full of journalists and bloggers. A short silence followed by… Cheers and high fives! We were staying another night in this amazing country… HURRAH! I don’t think it was quite the response they were expecting but it seemed unanimously positive at the prospect of an extra night in Iceland.
After the initial excitement panic started to set in… would the Blue Lagoon be CLOSED!?! The wind and rain were heavier than before and the bus was driving slowly, windscreen wipers swishing wildly. Any weather like this and outside adventures would certainly be closed in the UK, they weren’t flying planes, surely they weren’t going to let us hang out outside in the storm?
Thankfully my dreams were answered… The Blue Lagoon was open!
In fact it had later opening hours due to the 22 hours of light and with your ticket entry you could stay swimming and lazing in the lagoon until midnight if you wanted!
We ran off the bus in the blustering rain, soaked to the bone in a short 10m run to the building. It was CHAOS inside. Two bus loads of holiday goers were trying to check in their luggage (clearly a popular stop en route to or from the airport) and we went from battling the rain to battling the crowds inside. The staff at the Blue Lagoon kindly gave us free blue macs to cover up on the short 100yards to the main building where we waited in more queues before moving through to a crowded changing room.
By this point I was ready to scream…
Until I went outside!
The freezing blast of the cold Icelandic air had me running to the lagoon and practically jumping in…
and breathe…
I had gone through hell (crowds and queues) and finally reached my heaven!
The wind and rain were still coming down but you barely noticed as you bathed in the naturally heated warm milky water in the lagoon.
We all sipped on our glasses of wine, in our swimgear in Iceland in the middle of a storm… it all felt quite surreal, but altogether amazing and incredibly peaceful. You instantly forget the stress and business getting to this point and relax into the hot creamy water.
I recommend purchasing the face masks and body scrubs available from the in pool bar, they are much better than the free white ‘mud’ they have in buckets around the lagoon and add to the luxurious feeling. You can also have massages while in the pool too! Make sure you go for a wander too, there are hot spots around the lagoon where the water will be much warmer than other parts which is just what you want in a storm.
The fun doesn’t end in the lagoon either, for further sheltering from the storm I recommend The Lava Restaurant. We had an incredible meal after our dip in the pool… a taste sensation right down to the bread and butter served on dried lava plates. Our waiter was great fun too.
There are various different packages you can purchase when visiting The Blue Lagoon, but I would recommend the best value for the money is the ‘Premium’ package which includes a meal in The Lava restaurant, a pack of natural beauty products and use of towels and bathrobes, which are perfect for running from the changing rooms to the pool.
