Squishy Toes and a Glowing Moon

Warm, dry, and dressed … I made my way back through the lava field, as the sun dropped. I was anxious to get back to the Silica hotel and sink into their quieter, less busy pool. Yes my friends, Silica has their own mini-Blue Lagoon. For. Guests. Only. And what a different experience this was. Wow. Silica has its own pool from the same geothermal power station runoff (sounds very spa-ey, doesn’t it?). But with a fraction of the number of swimmers.

You enter the pool indoors and then push through a door into the outdoor lagoon. By the time I got there, the sun was almost down (these pictures were taken the next morning) and there were only a handful of people in the pool. I made my way over to the hottest part and had my little lagoon all to myself. All I could see was lava rocks around me and the sky above. I believe that single Iceland moment of floating under the setting sun and glowing moon will always bring me peace. How could it not?

But there was another big difference from the Blue Lagoon. The bottom of the pool was VERY uneven and full of squishy, muddy silica that slithered between my toes; at first kinda yucky, but after a while, kinda, well … luxurious. Before I knew it, I was sweeping my feet through the layer of silica at the bottom of the pool looking for the deep squishy potholes. Once I convinced myself that there were no critters down there (there wasn’t), it was a little bit addictive. And incredibly soothing. As I write this, I’m wishing I had my feet buried in the sand now.

For some perspective, in the photo above, at the far right across the lava field, is the Blue Lagoon facility.

Totally saturated and completed water-logged, I made my way back to the indoor pool to get back to the change room. That’s when I saw a guy with mask-face! What? More silica mask mud? Oh yeah; there was a big box of silica at the indoor pool for self-slathering. So I spent a bit more time floating as a mask goof before eventually rinsing off and crawling back onto dry land.

I had a lovely dinner at Silica, slept like the dead, spent more time in the lagoon the next morning, and was packed and ready for my shuttle bus to the airport at noon. As much fun as the Blue Lagoon itself was, the Silica lagoon was definitely the hero of that visit. What a special last night for this trip to Iceland!