I
showered in the buff as required,
then shimmied into my bathing
suit and donned a robe. I stepped
outside and shed the robe. Brrr.
Quickly, I walked down some steps
into an immense pool surrounded by
black lava fields. Aaah, blissful
relaxation. The warm water level
nearly came up to my shoulders, and
the lagoon bottom was powdery soft
because that’s where the silica falls.
Iceland’s most popular tourist
attraction, the Blue Lagoon, is a
natural wonder, but it came about
completely by accident. In 1976,
a pool formed at the site of the
waste water from the newly built
Svartsengi geothermal power plant.
The minerals slowed drainage. The
pool was thought to be unsafe for
bathing, but workers would sneak
in from time to time. They claimed
it helped their skin.
Shrimp Appetizer
By 1981, investigators documented
the water’s healing powers for
psoriasis and many more came to soak.
In 1992, the Blue Lagoon Company
was established and the spa-like
facility was opened for the public.
The Blue Lagoon is a dramatic
free form pool, filled with a milky
shade of blue water, surrounded by
an ancient black lava field. Iceland
sits on a fault line and was created
by volcanoes. The level of magma (or
earth’s core) remains much closer to
the surface than usual. (This is true
in Yellowstone Park as well.) Thus,
you ll find geothermal power plants
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