geothermal pool – Darden Travels

We headed out of town for the day’s experiences. Sunrise was 9:32am. That was an adjustment for us. Getting dark at 4:49 pm was much easier to absorb.

Once we turned off road 1 (ring road) the traffic was non-existent. And the sun has risen and blue skies with a few wispy clouds started the day.

Our second thermal pool experience for this trip! Of course, it’s not much of a secret if it is an optional add-on for those on the ‘Golden Circle’ tour.

It is called the oldest swimming pool in Iceland, dating back to 1891. The mineral- rich natural resources of the warm water from the nearby hot springs makes this special. The water flows continuously and replaces the volume in 24 hours.

In 1909 the first swimming lessons in Iceland occurred here and the pool was in continuous use through 1947, after which it fell into oblivion. 2005 the idea was raised to bring it back for a second life. make it more comfortable but keep the authenticity. It re-opened in 2014. We had visited this location in 2019 and noticed updates on this visit. Ten days this year it was closed for a rehab, not changing anything major but upgrading the existing facilities – very nice improvements.

These two found a niche in the back corner and never moved. The building behind them was the original spring house.

The bottom is pebbly with a few larger rocks intermingled. Some got creative stacking the rocks.

I wandered to the other side of the pool checking out the (cold) fountain of water piped in.

Overall, the pool was lightly attended. There for a brief time a tour bus arrived and approx. 10 joined us in the pool. When they left, less than 6 remained in the water. Nope, the other two haven’t really moved.

These pools have lifeguards. Seeing that listed as job experience on a resume would seem strange……..unless you were somewhat knowledgeable about Iceland.

My little sheep made an appearance. Unfortunately, he also got dunked.

There’s a wooden walkway surrounding the pool. That water is HOT coming straight out of the ground. About 30 feet away flows a large creek with some of the hot water making it’s way there.

Another new addition to Secret Lagoon was their lager. A beer that tastes like beer – I like it. Eric stayed with water since he was still driving to our next destination on today’s journey.

Fridheimar Greenhouses and Tomato Farm

The greenhouses have been growing tomatoes since 1946. The current owners purchased the property in 1995 and have continued to grow, expand, upgrade and offer experiences.

They started with 1 full time employee and have 70+ now. They utilized the 2020 Covid pandemic to upgrade their employee facilities and greenhouses along with another offering for food & drink: Winebar & Bistro.

The Restaurant is available noon to 4pm daily and reservations were needed. It was a 10 minute drive from the Secret Lagoon so we stopped in at their new spot until it was time.

Sat at the bar and ordered a few munchies to nibble on with the wine.

I’m not necessarily a fan of cherry tomatoes – too much skin for too little fruit – but these were some of the most flavorful cherry tomatoes I had eaten!

While we didn’t eat here this would be an option if reservations had not been available in their main restaurant.

Time for our lunch reservation!

The tables were spaced around the tomato growing area.

The menu was simple……………tomato soup is the star. You can add protein options and this time I saw a pasta with tomato sauce available, but primarily everyone was there for the soup.

We ordered an appetizer off the menu, Icelandic burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes.

There are several buffets set up throughout the eating area holding the vats of tomato soup and the BREAD.

OMG the bread. Adrienne has been talking about that bread for 5 years when her and I visited in 2019.

On everyone’s table was this arrangement of fresh basil, sour cream, shredded cucumbers and butter if one choose to add to their bowl of soup.

Eric and Adrienne ordered bloody marys. Eric’s base tomato component was green tomato (left).

After the meal we walked around their tomato production.

They import bees from the Netherlands to pollinate the tomatoes which arrived in specialized boxes. Some were on display as part of their educational focus of their facility.

They had a small gift shop with some of their tomato products available for purchase.

This was the most amazing item (to me) in their gift shop. They had packaged a strand of tomatoes carefully in specially designed boxes with each cherry tomato cushioned. Wow!

All too soon it was time to drive back to the city.

Ginny

Opened in 2018, GeoSea Is one of the northern-most geothermal baths located on the cliffs of Husavik, overlooking the Skjalfandi Bay. It was the last thing we planned before getting back on the ring road. What was the temperature? Yep, it was that cold. It was early afternoon.

While drilling for hot water in the mid-20th century, hot sea water was found. It was mineral-rich and heated from the earth’s core – unusable for heating houses. Instead of letting this hot water go to waste, a barrel was installed for the residents to enjoy the health benefits of hot seawater.

There is a long traditional of geothermal bathing in Iceland. There is where locals gather to socialize, find out what’s happening and catch up with the latest news. Every town has a pool, or it’s not considered a town. Bathing occurs year around.

But there are rules about bathing etiquette. Quite frankly, by now we’ve gotten used to it until I started sharing updates with friends in the states and remembered, oh yeah, those outside of Iceland tend to be uncomfortable with the rules. What are they?

First, prior to entering the changing area (yes, separate for men and women) shoes are removed. There are shelving units to set them on.

~Shower time! Soap and water, scrubbing your body. This is not the time for a quick rinse. Why? There are no chemicals in the geothermal waters, so a clean body is essential for sanitation. Sounds okay – right?

~These are communal showers. Time to strip, put your clothes in a locker, secured with your electronic water-proof bracelet and walk to the showers, along with anyone else in the locker area. Body scrub was provided.

~Instructional signs are posted in multiple language so no one can’t say they didn’t know or understand. BTW – it was also discussed when you checked-in for your reservation. They are serious about this.

~Dry yourself off. We needed to rent a towel for each of us and that was always an option available.

~Put on your swimsuit and you’re ready to go out to the geothermal pools. Here’s a tip I discovered. After putting your swimsuit on, get back into the showers, warm up with the heated water before heading outside.

~Go to the pool, there’s no jumping or messing around. This is a place to relax and chat with people.

Enough talk, let’s get wet.

There are a couple spots where you can see and feel the water seawater bubbling up in the pool. Not sure if you can tell, but this is another infinity pool.

The day prior we were whale-watching in the bay.

The water spills over the edge before dropping down into the bay. No lie, it was windy enough that occasionally the water was coming back into the pool!