In addition to hiking the Laugavegur Trail, I went to Silfra where I snorkled between two techtonic plates, went to a public pool with a hot tub and cold plunge, went to the Blue Lagoon, and then I wound up sleeping on the floor of the Keflavik airport. I also used a scooter to go from the natural history museum to a cafe, with questionable results.
Snorkling in Silfra was definitely Type 2 Fun - they put you in warm overalls and a dry suit, and then rubber band your neck and wrists really tight. Then you wait in line for about 20 minutes to get in the water. It's really hot while you are waiting, but the water is really cold - around 37 degrees. Sadly, as I got into the water I could feel my left arm leaking - it was like a chilly blast leaking up my arm and then down to my body. With all the cold weather swimming, I was at least able to deal with it, but we were in the water for about 30 minutes, which is a long time with that level of cold! All the equipment that they gave me was too big, so my mask leaked too. Besides these rather large issues, the snorkling was amazing - the water was so clear and it was really cool looking at the rocks and such. Definitely a touristy thing, and expensive, not sure I would recommend it. After I went to a gyser and a pretty water fall in the "golden circle."
My one Reykjavik day I walked to a public pool and alternated between the hot tub and cold plunge. It was amazing! I started and ended with the hot tub. The first time I went into the cold plunge, I stayed in for less than a minute - I thought I was losing my cold water mojo, but then each subsequent time I was able to stay in longer, until I got to about 4 minutes for the last plunge. After I walked back to my hotel and took a nap, I was so tired!
On my last day I went to the Blue Lagoon, which was also amazing and very touristy. I stayed in until my fingers were like prunes, got out and ate, and then went back for another 30 minutes or so. It was super windy by the end of the time I was there, and when I picked up my bag the woman said that it was going to get worse. Which it did. I went from the Blue Lagoon to the airport, where I actually checked a bag because #1 I had a lot of liquids, #2 I had some rocks and #3 it was free. About an hour before my flight was to leave, they started cancelling everything, and then they just cancelled it all and announced that we should go pick up our bags and they would bus us to hotels. If I hadn't checked my bag I could have just gotten in line, but as it was I had to wait for my bag and then I waited in line for over two hours.
Just as I was getting close it turned out that they were out of hotels, or busses couldn't run any more or something, so we had to stay at the airport. I was in much better shape than most of the people because I had my sleeping bag, inflatable pillow and down puff, so I was able to make myself a little bit comfortable in a corner. But, at 4 am someone woke me up, saying "this is an airport, not a hotel." No shit, buddy. That was the worst moment of the vacation. I went and stood in line and rechecked my bag, got a coffee and chocolate croissant, and decided to go back to the city to the museum of natural history (which was really good). I got to the museum about an hour before it was to open - I was kind of hoping that there would be someplace covered to sit, but there wasn't, and it was still stormy and rainy. So, I hopped on one of the local scooters to go get some more coffee. Scooting is so fun, it immediately improved my mood, but unfortunately I didn't realize that you need an internet connection to get the scooter to start. After my coffee, I couldn't get the stupid thing going, and I pushed it a couple blocks to a shopping center (this was the other worst part of the trip). I asked someone in the pharmacy about wi-fi and she was so mean, and then I went into a supermarket, and this girl who was unpacking boxes let me connect through her phone and get the scooter running again! She will remain in my happy thoughts, along with the family from India who gave me a ride when I had to hitchhike in NH.
Anyhow, I finally arrived home, feeling completely exhausted. The next day I did laundry, but otherwise was so fatigued that I didn't really leave the sofa, and the next day I was exhausted as well. On Tuesday, when I was meant to "go" back to work (ie work from home) I felt even worse, and so I did a COVID test and it was positive. Boo - my first time with COVID! TBH, I feel pretty crappy, I've had a fever and I'm congested and really achy. But, now I'm on my couch with my cats, so I feel pretty lucky that I can just chill.
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