I once saw a character in a movie pee in a pool that turned the surrounding water blue. Certainly hope that doesn’t explain one of Iceland’s best tourist attractions.
Just on the bus ride going there, I was both nervous and excited. Once we arrived, first thing I saw was an Asian being wacky so it seemed I wasn’t the only one.

Having just recovered from a bout of food poisoning and a 24-hour fever, I was a little wary about taking off my layers, getting exposed to the extreme cold, to start dipping in a – albeit heated – pool. It certainly didn’t seem like a good idea but I went ahead and did it anyway, and luckily lived to blog about it. My friend, Anthony, ordered us the Premium package that got us bathrobes, towels, slippers, and a fantastic meal at the Lava Restaurant – why travel all this way and not get the premium experience, right!

While it did remind me somewhat of the low-brow hot springs in Laguna, Philippines, and aside from a few annoying tourists who seemed to think they were on Spring break, the entire experience was very much worth it. It’s the classic, quintessential Icelandic experience that pretty much every brochure, commercial, and magazine cover is selling and with good reason. Winter aside, it’s just a really cool thing to do.