The Jarvis Holiday - The floor is lava

From a previous post, you might remember that Hebe has a new game she likes to play called - The Floor is Lava. When she yells that, you have five seconds to get your feet off the floor. Well much to Hebe's surprise, the floor in Iceland really is lava. We arrived in Iceland late yesterday afternoon, rented a car and headed to the grocery store for a few supplies. Our first stop was the Blue Lagoon. Check out the landscape. Reminds me a bit of Hawaii. Here we are walking through the lava fields to get to the spa.

Here is some information about the Blue Lagoon from Wikipedia.

"In 1976, a pool formed from waste water at the site of a geothermal power plant that had just been built there. In 1981, people started bathing in it after its supposed healing powers were popularized. In 1992, the Blue Lagoon company was established, and the bathing facility was opened for the public.The lagoon is a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in."

"The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis.[2]The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 37–39 °C (99–102 °F). The Blue Lagoon also operates a research and development facility to help find cures for other skin ailments using the mineral-rich water."

So here we are bathing. Sadly we missed taking a photo of the Jarvii with silica masks. Even Eric gave the silica mask a go, after much cajoling.

Here I am outside of "the cave" with the kids.  

You can see a the entrance to the cave on Rebecca's left in the photo below. The cave audio might have been one of the silliest things I have ever hear. I wish we could have recorded it. A woman in a sultry voice gave the history of the Blue Lagoon using every possible adjective availalbe in the english language. Here are a few snippets we can still remember. Eric told me he is trying to repress it as it was so over the top.

"The water's luxurious temperature" "the water start below ground at a scorching 200F, then gentle rised to the surface where is reaches the relaxing 36 degrees..."

"Wisitors" instead of Visitors

"Irresistible..."

"Some come seeking pleasure and rejuvenation, others its healing properties..."

 We all laughed pretty hard. Wishing I could play the entire text for you.

One small problem in Iceland--things are really expensive.

The kids tried to buy a donut at the airport. Cost $8 Canadian, and that's not for a box, but rather a single donut. I think we won't be eating out much, or eating much at all. 😊

Catherine