As I mentioned, a big part of the desire to visit Iceland was to sample its geothermal waters so a visit to the Blue Lagoon, promoted by some enthusiastic marketing people as one of the 20 Wonders of the World, was an absolute highlight of our trip. An afternoon luxuriating in naturally-warm, mineral-rich water was a great way to celebrate our Pearl Wedding Anniversary. We could imagine we were at a Japanese Onsen, sort of.

But first a morning walk around Reykjavik and another visit to the Hallgrimskikja, the Lutheran Cathedral, where we listened to the end of a recital on its magnificent organ and took the lift up to the spire to see the big bell, all the while reminiscing about all the steps we had climbed in all the cathedrals and monuments and, well, Hong Kong throughout our lives. My knee was hurting so I was glad of the modern convencience.

I admit that I was a little disappointed that the mineralised water for the Blue Lagoon isn’t pumped up directly from the earth into the baths, but its true story is more intriguing. The warm water is actually run-off from nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. It comes up out of the ground at about 240C, and pilsating with steam that drives turbines to make electricity. When they’ve finished with the water it’s still a lovely and warm 39C, so why waste it? Instead they fill a large pool with the silica-rich water that can be used to relieve aches and pains and skin conditions. While enjoying your included cleansing mud face pack and contemplating whether to treat yourself to a rejuvenating one, you can sit or wander around in the pool, brandishing a beer or plastic beaker of wine. It’s all very civilised. And communal. I didn’t take any pictures because I didn’t want the mineralised water to harm my phone so these are John’s pictures, but it was a popular place and well worth a visit.

The last picture in the gallery above is the Perlan, the Pearl, a glass dome that sits on top of a hill outside the capital on top of six huge hot water storage tanks that supply the local area. The Perlan is an audio visual attraction with interactive installations on the Northern Lights and Lava eruptions and other Icelandic attractions.

I really enjoyed my trip to Iceland. I was surprised by the excellent quality of the food, real gourmet offerings including the best halibut I’ve ever tasted. I was disappointed not to see any bubbling mud, and the midnight sun turned out to be light grey skies. We didn’t manage to catch the Northern Lights because of the time of year but I’d love to return and see them one day. I’d be interested in travelling a little further afiled, perhaps further north. There are no trains but the roads are good so maybe the next time we’d hire a car. Of course, just a few weeks later we read that there’s a volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula so we were lucky to be there at all.