We were up early this morning, even though our flight to Iceland today was not until 12:15 pm. After the extravaganza we had getting our last flight, we wanted to leave even more time than we normally would.

We had time for a nice breakfast in the hotel before we left.

Breakfast at The Shelbourne.
Breakfast at The Shelbourne.

We checked out of the hotel around 8:00 am and headed outside to get a taxi to the airport. We thought that this would be quick and easy but we were advised that getting a taxi would take about 45 minutes! We decided to book a limo on Uber and pay the surge pricing, which was far cheaper than missing another flight!

We got to the airport and checked in, which was very smooth. Getting through security, however, is seemingly never smooth these days. We eventually got through security and headed for the gate, which was quite some distance away.

We had a fair bit of time before the commencement of boarding, so we just sat at the gate and waited. Once we were on the Icelandair 757, we settled into our seats (very relieved to get on board without incident) and looked forward to the flight. Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland and we were extremely impressed with them. Also, it seems that they take their chocolate quite seriously in Iceland, and the chocolates they served us were very nice!

Chocolates on the flight to Iceland!
Chocolates on the flight to Iceland!

Our flight landed around 2:00 pm Iceland time at Keflavik airport. We collected our bags and headed off to pick up our rental car. The people in line in front of us at the car rental desk seemed to be very clueless and we waited probably 30 minutes in line before getting our car. After heading out of the terminal, we found our car and loaded our bags, ready for the drive to The Retreat, our hotel on the Blue Lagoon. The drive to the hotel was pretty easy and we were there in about 25 minutes.

We enjoyed a glass of champagne while checking in and hearing about what was on offer at the hotel. We then went to our room, which was very nice. Right in front of our room we have a close-up view of the lava that is believed to have come from a volcanic eruption in 1226.

Our room at The Retreat and the lava right at our window!
Our room at The Retreat and the lava right at our window!

After settling in, we headed to the lobby restaurant for a very nice afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea in the lobby.
Afternoon tea in the lobby.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the spa. We were given a full tour of the spa area, which is pretty amazing. Also on the property is a viewing deck to the public area of the lagoon. The public area is accessible from the hotel but, unsurprisingly, we chose not to use it!

The public area at The Blue Lagoon.
The public area at The Blue Lagoon.

We got changed into our bathers, donned our fluffy robes, and headed off for some pampering. We decided to start with a nice long soak in one of the private lagoon pools. The pools are filled with geothermal seawater from more than 2,000 metres underground. The temperature of the water is a lovely 38C. The water is very rich in minerals and is considered to have strong healing properties. Regardless, it is very relaxing and surreal just floating in the pools between the 800-year-old volcanic walls.

Private pools at The Retreat.
Private pools at The Retreat.

After a lovely soak in the pool, we went inside (rather quickly because the air temperature was more than 30 degrees cooler than the water temperature!) and headed for the sauna. We didn’t stay too long in the 65C sauna because we just needed to be there long enough to open the pores of our skin for the next activity, which was a full body scrub called “The Ritual”. The Ritual is a multi-step process that comprises a scrub of salt, a scrub of finely-ground lava, a silica mask (that sets hard after about 15 minutes), and then a covering of green algae. All of these steps use ingredients sourced from the volcanic and geothermal sources at the lagoon. Lastly, a full-body oil is applied. We didn’t think this sort of thing was our speed but we sure did adapt pretty quickly!

After the wonderfully relaxing spa experience, we got changed for dinner and headed to Lava, the restaurant in the hotel.

Dinner at Lava.
Dinner at Lava.

The meal was lovely but it was nearly 11:00 pm before we finished eating! On the way back to the room we went via the outdoor observation area on the hotel’s roof to look at the Northern Lights, which were very pretty.

Northern Lights.
Northern Lights.

We headed back to the room and collapsed into bed after a pretty big day!