Having picked up the keys to our hire car, we were particularly relieved to find that our skis fitted perfectly into the back. It was about 4 degrees above freezing, but with a bitter windchill. A far cry from the Dockenfield heatwave of a few days back! So far, it's not been busy on the roads and either side of the tarmac is terrain that is best described as like that of the moon. Our first stop was a big supermarket near the airport, where we managed to get supplies for the next week or so, before we heading off towards Reykjavik. Soon onto the highway, we both felt an overwhelming desire to sleep, so pulled into a roadside viewpoint, wound the seats back and had a snooze with the sun baking down on us through the windscreen.
Semi-refreshed from the power nap, we continued on our way to a little beach that Clare had found out about during her pre-trip research. She really came up with the goods for us. What more could a couple of weary travellers want after such a long few days of travelling? That's right - a thermal spa by the seaside!
At first, we couldn't believe what we were seeing - local folk were actually swimming in the sea! Although the photos look nice, it was only a couple of degrees above freezing. However, after a good soaking in warm water of about 39 degrees, we found that you almost get too hot. There was only one way to cool down - join the locals for a dip in the cold sea!
Clare ploughed straight in, while I took a few pics (as an excuse to delay my entry!)...
She did a few strokes, but I was back out as quickly as I'd dived in!
We then tried to casually stroll back to the warm water of the thermal baths, but had to make a less cool, run for it, in the end, to avoid freezing to death on the sand.
Re-heating in the pool gave us a crazy tingling all over and at first you couldn't tell that the water was even warm, but it soon felt blissful again. Apparently, this is good for us?....
Once we'd started to wrinkle, we got showered and dried and tried some sunbathing at 2°C.
It's hard to convey how cold it actually was, but this photo may help - it's taken a few metres away from the hot pools. We didn't stay long.
We turned our attention to the streets of Reykjavik town, which is full of colourful wooden houses and surrounded by snowy mountains.
By a stroke of luck, we happened to pop into the town church, just as the Organist was belting out a few tunes which was rather good.
The design is meant to represent the Basalt columns that are plentiful in Iceland.
We left the old town for another day and made our way to our new apartment that will be home for the next couple of nights. It's a cool little studio with a very friendly owner who has given us some good knowledge for the days ahead. So far Iceland has proved to be an amazing place. I'm pretty sure I've never started a ski tip with a swim in the sea anyway!
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