Only a few kilometers away from Keflavik, in a large field of old lava, reigns Svartsengi Power Station - one of the several geothermal power plants here, on Reykjanes Peninsula.
Those are the plants that harness the hot steam released by underground tectonic activity. The steam is then used to turn a turbine that turns a generator creating the electricity. Of course it is all more complicated than this but in essence that's the basic understanding of it.
Such electricity can be used in many ways - from heating the houses and greenhouses to some commercial activity such as producing sea salt from sea water or powering aluminum producing plants or running a fish farm or .... many, many other things.
There is also a bunch of surplus hot water that can also be redirected from the plant to other locations for municipal or commercial use.
The extra water from Svartsengi is used to fill the Icelandic icon - Blue Lagoon, the geothermal spa.
My apology for the quality of our images - the day was rainy and pretty dark and above all, we did not dare to take our good cameras into the pool. But it was all good for making a record.
(Excuses, excuses!)
The artificially created pool of
water is set in a surreal lave field - nothing but mounds of dark basalt and a thin cover of courageous lichens and mosses. That at least is the very first impression of the countryside that leads to and surrounds the lagoon.
By the way - Svartsengi means "black meadow" and it is not hard to imagine why.
We understand that the entry fee will be a bit steep, but this is once-in-a-lifetime thing and that is THAT.
Water in the lagoon is pleasantly warm - somewhere near 38 Celsius.
Absolute heaven after the long overseas flight.
Also, there are large troughs full of warm, sterilized white mud.
Everyone is encouraged to follow the suit of the young lady who overlooks the pool from this large billboard.
Silica and its compounds are known to create the most intricate formations.
They are also believed to be beneficial to the skin, hair and nails.
This water will surely turn all of us into youthful teenagers.
Or not but it feels very, very good.
Everyone in the pool is having fun; there are dozens of white-masked faces happily gliding along the surface of the pool. And while all the women are thinking BEAUTY the men, masked or otherwise, obviously think about something entirely different .......
BEER!
Oh yes, we are in Europe where they do not frown at a cup of beer. There is a beer and beverage stand right in the water - and it is busy!
Global problems?
Consider them solved!
Done!
The skin feels soft like the proverbial baby's behind and it
is going to feel like that for the next three days.
But at the moment we do not know that yet.
It is back to Keflavik and a wonderful dinner of fish and lamb.
While electricity and hot water are abundant the lichens, mosses and tiny plants are not.
They and an army of invisible microbes are the ones making sure that one day this lava field might turn into deep, fertile soil.
Unless there is another volcanic eruption, of course ....
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