This past weekend was full of blue skies and sunshine, a rare April treat for us up here in the Arctic. In fact, I am pretty sure last year it was snowing around this time, and I cried in the grocery store parking lot when a bunch of snow fell off the roof of my car onto me as I opened the trunk.
It wasn’t my best moment.
But this year both Iceland and I have redeemed ourselves from that snowy April day last year.
Well I kinda did, more on that in a minute.
Back to how Iceland has redeemed itself.
I know I keep talking about the weather, but this has by far been the best winter and start of spring weather I have ever experienced in Iceland! (I am writing this with my fingers crossed as I don’t want to jinx it, so cross your fingers for me while you read it as well, I don’t want a random April, May or even June snow shower to head my way!). When the weather is good in Iceland you just can’t help but talk about it.
And when Iceland throws a sunny weekend with temperatures almost in the double digits your way you better get outside and make the most of it!
Side note: This adorable red roofed cabin out in the middle of nowhere, I need to stay here asap. I think it would be the perfect spot to celebrate my birthday next month (hint, hint, wink, wink Viking).
While I love re-visiting some of my favorite places near Reykjavik my favorite kind of adventures are when the Viking and I head off somewhere new to explore. And with such nice weather on the forecast this past weekend called for new adventures.
My only requirement for the new adventure, I wanted it to include a hot spring. There is nothing better than spending a sunny day soaking away in one of the lovely hot springs around Iceland, the more out in the middle of nowhere the better. And the hot spring my search lead me to, the Blessed Pool located in Laugarvatn.
The Viking was sceptical about my amazing new hot spring I found, but since it was going to be nice weather he was on board for an adventure. We researched places in the area to check out along the way to Blessed Pool and just like that we had our perfect sunny Saturday adventure.
Our first stop took us to a volcanic crater lake, Kerið. I have seen so many pictures of the beautiful blue color of the water at Kerið and I can now say, not all of those images were totally photoshopped.
Let’s talk about my first fail of the day, not putting my hair up before stepping outside.
If you have long hair and are planning a trip to Iceland make sure to pack lots of hairties, trust me on this.
So my hair didn’t really allow me to see much of Kerið until I started walking the other way around the crater, but who needs to see pretty places??
I mean really having your hair down is more important for selfie taking.
Thankfully there was little wind when we made our way down into the crater so I was finally able to take in the turquoise blue water properly.
More on this pretty place in a post to come.
The credit for finding our next stop all goes to the Viking.
Faxi waterfall, not to be confused with foxy (personally I think foxy Faxi is the best name) is actually located along the popular Golden Circle route but for some reason is not as well known as other stops in the area.
This is fine by me, I am selfish and like having waterfalls all to myself.
This stop was the unexpected highlight of our adventure.
We enjoyed lunch outside in the sunshine with foxy Faxi as our view. The Viking went picture crazy and got a bunch of gorgeous shots. And I just danced around which may or may not have resulted in me gracefully falling…
I am constant entertainment for that Viking of mine:)
More beautiful pictures that my Viking took of Faxi to come.
After our stop at Faxi it was time for the grand finale of the day, soaking in the Blessed Pool. You guys, I was so pumped for this stop, I probably asked the Viking ten times if he had his bathing suit with him. There was no way I was missing out on soaking in this hot spring.
When we arrived in Laugarvatn, the town Blessed Pool was located, we weren’t exactly sure where to go to find the hot spring. But this town is small, as in it takes two minutes to drive thru, so we just drove around looking for signs.
When H pointed out where he thought it was, I disagreed, but we drove down anyways to check it out. And the Viking guessed correctly, there it was, the sign for my dear Blessed Pool.
Looks amazing right?
This is where my big fail of the day comes in.
The Blessed Pool is best described as a charming small hot spring for one.
Okay, let’s be real, the Blessed Pool is a tiny hole in the ground with dirt floating around not big enough for one person, and it is right next to some buildings…
As my Viking walked up he couldn’t stop laughing as I sadly dipped my hand into the warm water of Blessed Pool, which is now going to be known as the Blessed Puddle.
But hey it was by the lake so at least the view was pretty.
My Viking certainly enjoyed himself claiming he was right about my Blessed Pool.
I tried to hide my smirk from him, I didn’t want him to know just yet that I thought this fail of mine was funny too.
So, this adventure ended in a fail, but then I came home and enjoyed drinks and reading in the sunshine in our yard, so I think we can mark this day down as a win compared to last year.
More to come on Kerið and foxy Faxi. And even though we didn’t get to do what was the main point of the trip, soak in some hot springs, the Blessed Puddle will forever be an inside joke for the Viking and I.
Question of the Day?
Have you ever been disappointed by a place you visited?
