Iceland November 2017 - Day 6 - 4th November

Day 6

Having packed most of our stuff last night before going to bed we had little to do this morning prior to leaving.  We got up fairly early and had breakfast before leaving the premises as tidy as when we arrived.  We showered and finished packing before some final photographs and packing the car ready to go.

So it's goodbye to this

And this

Last view across Whale Bay

We will remember this place with  good feelings and cannot recommend it too much to anybody thinking of coming this way one day.  I am sure I will be coming back to Iceland one day, perhaps to the North or Eastern side of the island and will have no hesitation in booking another Nordic Lodge to stay in.

Abi's last photo at the Lodge

We then set off around Whale Bay for the last time and headed towards the Golden Circle area, this time looking for the Secret Lagoon.  Today, with snow covering the mountains the views seemed even more spectacular.

As we were makiing good time Abi suggested that we stop off on the way to see the Tectonic Plates of Pingvellir.  It turned out to be a good decision to make.

Pingvellir Visitor Centre

Iceland is a place in the world where a mid-ocean ridge can be seen on land. What's more, Iceland is probably the only place in the world where the effects of two major tectonic plates drifting apart can easily be observed above sea level.

Drifting apart

As well as its astounding beauty, the dramatic landscape at Þingvellir offers a chance for us to see, on land and in shallow waters, the tectonic processes occurring along the submarine parts of a divergent ridge; processes that have been at play for millions of years.

As it was explained to me, a tectonic plate is simply a massive slab of solid rock that floats separately from the other tectonic plates, interacting with them along the boundaries. All of the continents are embedded in the tectonic plates and they drift  quietly yet ominously along. The reason that tectonic plates are able to move, despite their colossal weight, is that the two types of crust, continental and oceanic, differ significantly in composition. The continental crust is predominantly made up of granitic rocks, whilst the oceanic crust consists of higher density basaltic rocks (therefore heavier), enabling the tectonic plates to float, not unlike icebergs.  I now understand a little more about this.

Time to leave

We then had to move on as we had a booked in time at the Secret Lagoon so it was back to the car and a drive through ever more spectacular scenic areas.

Better go this way then.

When we arrived at the Secret Lagoon the first thing that hit us was the fact that it was so unspoilt. While the Blue Lagoon was obviously built for tourism, this place felt like it was dug out of the ground just for locals.  We soon found out that that was indeed the reason for it's being.

The original changing rooms still there for curiosity and history only

The history of The Secret Lagoon is straightforward: originally built in the early 1890s, what became to be known as the Gamla Laugin, was Iceland’s first swimming pool.  Indeed local ladies used to take washing down to the pool saving on heating water over a fire at home.

Early bathers

The walls of the small cafe are lined with old photographs

At the turn of the century, swimming lessons were offered to local families and for many years it was one of the only places to learn to swim in the area. This carried on until the late 40s when modern swimming pools were opened in towns around the country So Gamla Laugin was gradually forgotten.

For scores of years, Gamla Laugin was virtually abandoned until its current owner decided to give it new lease of life in 2005. By this time, people had forgotten about the pool and the owner began to use it as a private heated swimming pool just for himself and a few friend., It remained a secret for several years and that is how The Secret Lagoon got its enigmatic name.

Natural hot springs feed the lagoon with 38-39°C water. this bubbles up from way down within the earth at a rate of 10 litres per second, constantly replenishing itself so that there is a steady supply of fresh clean water in the pool at any given time.

The hot springs outside the lagoon however are much hotter.  Even reaching 100 degrees celsius and for security are fenced off out of bounds.

Hot water pool, bubbling up

Hot springs

Kev and Abi, as close as we were allowed to the hot springs (90 to 100 degrees celsius)

With the completion of changing rooms and other facilities such as new showers, outside deck, walkways and a small café, The Secret Lagoon was re-opened in the 2014 and was an immediate hit with tourists. Even though the secret is now out, its owner, who shuns the spotlight, wants to keep the lagoon low profile and does a minimum of advertising. The pool, after all, was built for the tiny community that inhabited the area at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries and can only take so many bathers at one time. 

It's hard to believe that the outside temperature while we were here was minus two degrees!

How we wished we could have stayed longer, but eventually we had to leave the pool and prepare for the last leg of our journey back to the airport for our flight home.  This had without doubt been the high spot of my week.

Time to go

At the airport we had a meal and a few drinks before boarding the aircraft for our final, uneventful, BA flight. 
 

Back home though could not be termed uneventful. Checking out and leaving the airport was speedy and we were soon heading down the M4 towards Wales.  Then it all changed. The M4 was closed between Junctions 19 and 20 and we had to find a route around before picking the M48 back up at Aust to cross the Severn Bridge.

A Journey that should have taken under two hours eventually took us four. This did not detract from our break though, it was a trip we will all remember.