Life's a Musical: Reykjavík, Iceland

Reykjavík, meaning ‘steam bay,’ is the capital with a population of 190,000, the northernmost capitol in the world. We were all looking forward to this day because 35 of our crew members got to pay for a special tour to The Blue Lagoon! It is actually a pool of effluent from the Svartsengi power plant full of minerals, algae and silica mud that soften your skin (but dry your hair!) The water is milky ice blue in color, and feels like a hot tub...20 degrees celsius, whatever that is in Fahrenheit :) You paint your face with the white mud, wade with a drink if you like, and you are surrounded by moss-covered black lava rock. The vapor rises off the surface of the water like a geyser, so it is truly an ethereal experience. I heard stories of straw-like, matted hair for 3 weeks, so I prepared with extra conditioner, a shower cap and a scarf on my head! Haha, I am so stylish. I took it off for the last pic though :)

After the tour, I walked around with my casties and took a few pics before the rain came. We took refuge in a coffee shop called Te & Kaffe, where Brooke and I had the best soy chai lattes, and I had an unbeatable Nutella croissant! Delectable. Then we moved to a funky bar called Faktory, where we got wifi, tried the local favorite drink: Icelandic orange soda & dark rum, and played darts. Our night concluded with “the best hot dog in the world” from a famous little stand called “Íslendingar borda SS pylsur” that has been visited by Bill Clinton, Elvis, and my personal hero: Jane Fonda! The skilled chef whipped together a loaded dog with mayo, mustard, crunchy onions, onion sauce and ketchup in 6 seconds (yes, we counted aloud.) It had been recommended by several returning passengers and locals, so we had to try it. They were true! Best hot dogs to date!