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ICELAND
WIZZ MAGAZINE
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51
GEOTHERMALWATERS
O
neof Iceland’sbiggest
draws is theeggysulphur
waterof theBlueLagoon.
Iceland’sMyvatnNatureBaths
in Jardbadsholar is thenation’s
second largesthotpool,but
remainsrelativelyunknown.
These less-touristysulphur
poolscontain3.5million litres
of36–40°Chotwater. “The
watercomes fromaspring
2,000mdeepcontainingwater
that is thousandsofyearsold,”
explainsgeneralmanager
GunnarAtliFriduson.
Believed tocureailments,
aches, painsandskin
conditionspeoplecome to
experience thewater’shealing
qualities. “There’sabsolutely
nobacteria in thiswater,”
Friduson says. “Wedon’thave
toput anychlorine into it.
We’ve justhad thecast and
crewof
FastandFurious8
here!”headds.
Themaindifferencewith
bathinghereover theBlue
Lagoon is that yourhair
doesn’t get stiff. “Youdon’t
getwhatwecall ‘wirehair’,”
laughsFriduson. “Yourhair
gets stiff at theBlueLagoon
because there is somuch
algae in thewater,which
seems to thrive in the salty
conditions.Hereyouwon’t
needasmuchconditioner.”
m
yvatnnaturebaths.is
SPACEDISCOVERY
H
usavikoncehostedApolloastronauts. In the
1960s,NASAchose thearea for itsgeological
uniqueness, so that theirastronautscouldpractise inan
environment withconditions similar to thatwhich they
wouldencounteron themoon. LocalÖrlygurHnefill
Örlygsson isproud, to say the least, of this sliceof
history. “Being from suchavery small country, I’mvery
pleased that Icelandplayedapart in the first trip to the
moon,”he says.And soÖrlygssonhas setupamuseum
dedicated to theNASAexercises.
Visitorscan learnabout theastronauts’ travailsat the
ExplorationMuseum,whichboasts60original photo-
graphs, plusvideosand interviewswith the spacemen.
“Among the12men thathave set footon themoon,
nine trained in Iceland,”Örlygsson says.Thehighlight
of their trainingwasavisit toAskjacaldera, known for
multiplevolcaniceruptions.Thisautumn, themuseum
will holda festivalwith talksand screeningscelebrating
theworld’sgreatest explorers.
explorationmuseum.com
NORTH
Dosanddon’tsonIceland’smagiccircle
Do:
Checktheweather.Iceland’sweathercanchangeinamoment;youcouldendupinasandstormorblizzard.
Oneofthebesttoolsisthewebsiteroad.is,whichallowsyoutochecktheforecastandseecurrentroadimages,
pluscheckhowmanycarshavepassedthatday.
Don’t:
Setoffwithoutfillingupyourtank.Petrolstationsarefewandfarbetweeninremoteareasoftheisland.
It’sbesttofillupeverytimeyoucomeacrossapetrolstation.
ExplorationMuseum
Myvatn
Nature
Baths
Reykjavik
483
KM
