Halló from Iceland! First off, why didn’t anyone let me know it’s cold here … I’m quite under prepared for the wind and cold weather here. It doesn’t help that I forgot those thermal underwear I mentioned earlier, because my bits are freezing. It also doesn’t help that the locals love to announce “Reykjavik is so warm this time of year.”

Thermal baths
Iceland is full of volcanos and people who love to swim (Reykjavikurs went swimming an average of 15 times last year)…so what better way to combine the two than with geothermal baths. The water in these pools are warmed by volcanic flow, keeping them around 30 degrees C.

As my first activity in this country I visited Laugardalslaug, the largest pools in Iceland, including several Olympic sized ones as well as multiple “hot pots” (essentially jacuzzis, with extra hot water being pumped in.)

Icelanders are very particular about tourists being dirty and thus everyone is required to shower before entering the pools. No big deal, but then I saw this sign:

Great. Not only do they want you clean but they want your swimsuit clean too, but separately from your body. Reluctantly I stripped down and walked into the shower area while — and here’s the best part — some teenage kid on a power trip watched us all to make sure we were showering properly. I’m pretty sure that is how they do it in prison.

In any case, I actually went on to have a great swim followed by a long sit in their hot pots, kept at very toasty 42 degrees.  I was so jet lagged I almost fell asleep several times. Overall, except for the fact that I paid money to shower naked with other men, it was a great experience.

Quad tour
A unique way to experience the more natural parts of Reykjavik is with a quad (or ATV as I thought they were called.) We took a quad tour at nighttime of the city and its outskirts, riding through mountains, dirt roads, and shallow rivers. These 4-wheeled beasts were much bigger than I thought, and we took them to nearly 60 mph (100 kph if you’re European.)

I was already a bit apprehensive because of all the injury horror stories I’ve heard they cause, but I ended up feeling much safer than expected.

What certainly is not safe is driving with only one hand.

By the way, these shots were all taken around 11pm at night.

Geysers
One of Iceland’s most famous attractions is Geysir, the natural hot water spout after which all others in the world are named (i.e. “geysers”). Geysir is the grand daddy of them all but unfortunately stopped erupting in the 1950s after tourists threw rocks in there and clogged him up. This is poor Geysir today:

Luckily, just down the road is Strokkur, probably the world’s most reliable geyser. She erupts consistently every 8-10 minutes and really is an exciting sight to see.