Iceland Day 2: Blue Lagoon and Golden Circle

WARNING!!! Long post. Because we planned a LOT for our first day.

BLUE LAGOON
When we first started researching for the trip, the Blue Lagoon was always the first thing we found. And the pictures look amazing. But then we read how touristy it is and how you can get to some amazing pools off the beaten path. And then we remembered we were going to Iceland with a 5 and 6 year old. And decided a little touristy might be appreciated after a long day traveling.

So a few weeks before we left we made a reservation for the first of the day 9am. We were on the road with our rental by 6 so we had time to kill and got to watch the sunrise out at the lagoon. I'm sure the price of admission and whatever we paid for two towels was way overpriced. But the place was spotless and amazing. So glad we went when it opened and there were very few folks. We got to explore all the hidden nooks. It was absolutely freezing outside but nice and toasty in the water. Not sure what is in the water but we were urged to load up on conditioner before heading in. I probably went overboard and had the kids dripping in conditioner. By the time we were done exploring and taking pictures in the midst of the steam, the crowds had come. We showered, grabbed sandwiches t and grimaced at the number of buses.

STAYING CONNECTED
Everything we read said we needed to buy a SIM card with as many GBs as we could find, to switch out in our iPhones. Sounded easier than it was. Four stops later we settled for 1GB cards to make sure we had something. We are halfway through our Golden Circle drive and have yet to get Google Maps to work.... Update: Apparently, activating the SIM cards like the handy instructions say is helpful.

STOCKING UP
You can't do a road trip without loading the car with snacks and drinks - and SIM cards, if I could find them. Kids were passed out after the lagoon so I headed into the first Bonus we saw. I grabbed a lot of Icelandic snacks I couldn't read, some Coke for caffeine and some American snacks, just in case, and some strange giant chocolate egg that every other mother was buying. I wanted to feel "in the know" for Easter. I should have bought stuff for dinner....

STROKKUR Geyser
According to the guidebook, we did the Golden Circle backwards. Mainly because of where we were spending the night. So first up was Strokkur Geysir. Not to be confused with the Geysir 10 km down the road. That confused the heck out of my navigation. Basically right off the road was this big geyser that performs every 5 minutes. Kind of a lazy traveler delight, but no complaints. I convinced the kids not to run under scolding water while we got some shots and a bit of exercise.

PONIES
We ran into our first large group of Icelandic Horses on the way to our next stop. We shamelessly pulled over and taunted a bunch of horses by not allowing our children to touch or feed them. That worked great... Don't worry my phone was never harmed and we think that horse was just giving our son's jacket s kiss. They really are cute beasts in person.

GULLFOSS
Gullfoss Waterfall is ginormous and loud and terrifying. Those kinds of places terrify me with children. I cut the looking short because I couldn't take the anxiety with two exhausted and active kids. Luckily the snow covered path out to the rocks at the rushing falls was closed.

THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK
Research showed this was the most historical part of Iceland due to the history and home to the government for a very very long time. But what we really cared about was seeing where the two tectonic plates (North America and Europe) were meeting and causing Iceland to grow a bit each year. No, we didn't snorkel. Won't risk drowning like that with the kids for a while (bad Cruise encounter sung scared kids). I had scene pictures and pictured huge cliffs. It was beautiful but much smaller. There were a lot of quarters (or silver coins) thrown in at the bridge. No one told me the logic behind that.

SLEEPING
By now we were exhausted. 5:30 but we really had only slept a couple hours the night before. We purposely stayed up today to get onto the right sleep pattern. It was hitting is hard. Worried about missing our cabin, it became apparent it was impossible. We had rented one of the Cottages of Lake Thingvellir through Icelandic Farm Holidays. Luckily we found out LATER that the reservation hadn't been communicated to the owner and she didn't blink. Our cabin had a breathtaking view and was perfect. Simple cabin with two bedrooms. One double, two twins. We checked to make sure the forecast wasn't good for Northern Lights this night and headed to bed after dinner. (Dominoes rub nearby because we were in the middle of nowhere)