Today marks the official start of our tour. It is a small group, 17 people, which is about the right size from my PoV.

It actually seemed windier today than yesterday with gusts of 60+ kmh; almost enough to send me off like the Flying Nun.

I loved out first stop – The Sun Voyager. It is an ode to the sun, symbolic of hope, progress and freedom, with the tumultuous Atlantic just behind.

From there we went to Harpa, a stunning concert hall located right at the water’s edge. It is used by the Icelandic Symphony and Opera as well as visiting entertainers. There wasn’t much going on today, but the architecture is really spectacular with its black and glass interior.

We trundled by the Prime Minister’s offices and the Parliament buildings. Sadly, not terribly photogenic or architecturally interesting. I did enjoy hearing about the Prime Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, described as “handsome, but hugely unpopular”. Sound like any politicians we might know? BTW his may be the only name I have had any chance at pronouncing of the many names I have stumbled over so far on this trip.

Our guide is a lovely middle-aged woman who’s first name is basically unpronounceable after multiple attempts. The first letter is a “B” – which in fact sounds nothing like a “B” at all – and that was the easy bit. I just sat there staring at her while my lips contorted soundlessly. She goes by “Linda” out of necessity, adopted after a few too many attempts by foreigners mutilating her name.

On our wanderings through town we came across this statue called “The Unknown Bureaucrat”. It is carved out of basalt, deliberately faceless.

Monuments to an unknown soldier are common around the globe, however, Iceland has no army. It is unclear as to whether this is a serious or tongue-in-cheek tribute to the next best thing.

Next, a brief return visit to the Hallgrímskirkja church, though this time the organ was being played. The music was unfamiliar. I confess that I rarely find the sound of an organ particularly melodic, though it can be quite rousing when the right piece is being played.

Our last city stop was The Perlan. We did not manage to see any of the exhibits, though we did sneak peeks at a few things like entrance to the ice cave (built from actual glacier ice) and the recreation of a seabird nesting area, complete with Puffins.

The view from the 360 degree deck was spectacular and I managed to capture the exact image on the airplane TV screen, so that was rather fun. (Though theirs was made more magical in the snow.)

We had a short time for a coffee stop – which was served to us by a young Sean Penn look-a-like. Neither the coffee, nor the snack, were particularly good….

And then, we were on our way to the Blue Lagoon! I had been having mixed feelings about this adventure. Would it be too cheesy? Too crowded? Too meh? Well, I loved it! Yes, it was all of the above and even more.

We loved the warm mineral water, signed up for the mud face mask, and indulged in the symbolic blue slushy drink. I had purchased a ridiculously expensive plastic bag to protect me phone so the number of photos was a bit excessive. I will share just a few here.

The Blue Lagoon is described as one of the wonders of the world. I am a bit conflicted by that. I guess it is not considered a “natural” wonder (e.g. The Great Barrier Reef, Victoria Falls) and there are many man-made wonders (e.g. Machu Picchu, The Pyramids) This happens to be a bit of a hybrid.

The Blue Lagoon was accidentally created by condensed discharge from the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant. The water was supposed to disappear in the permeable lava field, but sedimentation from the discharge gradually made the coarse lava field watertight, and the lagoon was formed in about 1976. It is renowned for its healing powers – rather like the Dead Sea. It is hard on the eyes if the water gets in, though not quite as buoyant for floating.

The return trip to the hotel was very, very quiet as everyone happily snoozed after lengthy our warm water dip. I did manage to get a better photo of the steaming lava flow.

After a very brief stop over in our hotel room we decided to walk to the famous hot dog place, more of a food truck than a restaurant. We timed our departure so that our return might be late enough ,and dark enough, to hopefully catch the northern lights which had a high probability of appearing. Spoiler alert – not tonight. At least not during the time window of our consciousness. Our guide has reassured us that there is a high possibility we will see northern lights at some point on this trip, though they are famously unpredictable.

The hot dogs were tasty, with more fixings than one might find in Canada. The ratio of wiener to bun was also different – in favour of the wiener.

Good dog. But it was still early, cold, and windy. We needed a warm place to hang out for a bit. There was a Food Hall just down the street and it looked pretty nice when we peered in the windows.

We stopped at a stall called “Drykk” and had a cocktail; two rosemary mojitos for the modest sum of ~ $27 each. Things are expensive here, but booze is on a whole other level! Then Rick nabbed some chicken wings, which were pretty yummy.

There will be no sleeping in tomorrow as we head off into nature and the (relative) wilds of Iceland. There are at least 2 hikes in plan, so that’s exciting. And maybe… just maybe… if we are lucky, those northern lights will magically appear. Meanwhile – sweet dreams!