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Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

theguardian.com

21–30 of 52 posts

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#21

I always found it interesting that Iceland has no indigenous population (like the inuit), prior to Scandinavian and British immigration. Like, what if it's because it is regularly buried in lava or something.

The 1783 Laki eruption killed roughly a quarter of Iceland's human population via famine & majority of its livestock via poisoning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#22
post #2

I was there in January the weather was hailing and of course it's Iceland, windy as all get out. Love Iceland yet the Blue Lagoon compared to the govt run bathhouses in Reykjavik (where I socialized & met locals/made friends) was lacking for me.

I went to the Sky Lagoon too and at night. Had I see the northern lights there or at blue lagoon I'd be a ton more positive about these places.

Overall both to me are must visits and fun i just had a better experience at Reykjavik's govt run bathhouses. My friend i met there just sent me northern light pics from this evening. I didn't get to see them during my nine day visit there last winter. They are elusive.

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#24
If you've lived through even a tiny earthquake it's much like if you've experienced a solar eclipse: even when short and mild, they elicit an otherworldly body-terror.

The people living on that peninsula right now are stressed out in a way most of us have never experienced.

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#25
post #24

If you've lived through even a tiny earthquake it's much like if you've experienced a solar eclipse: even when short and mild, they elicit an otherworldly body-terror. The people living on that peninsula right now are stressed out in a way most of us have never experienced.

Disagree with this - I was in Iceland this summer when the volcano erupted (ironically at Blue Lagoon just 2 hours before it erupted) and people there just go about their daily business like nothing happened. There was a 5.2 earthquake the day before it erupted and kids kept playing in the street.

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#26
post #19

> The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa south-west of Reykjavík, announced it would close its doors on Thursday for a week This is temporary, not permanent. Short of the whole thing being swallowed by a lava fissure there's no way they will close Iceland's most famous tourist trap.

Yep. But: the upcoming eruptions could limit or destroy access routes, change geothermal patterns, create other nearby health risks – or even, as you put it, result literall in "the whole thing being swallowed by a lava fissure".

I'm not sure why this is being downvoted since there is considerable evidence that a new fissure might open very close to this area. The three eruptions in the last few years on the peninsula have not been far from Blue Lagoon.

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#27
post #24

If you've lived through even a tiny earthquake it's much like if you've experienced a solar eclipse: even when short and mild, they elicit an otherworldly body-terror. The people living on that peninsula right now are stressed out in a way most of us have never experienced.

Hmm. I've done both. Tiny earthquake is no big deal. A big one, different story.

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#28
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Were your ancestors there before the immigration the parent post alludes to? Are you a Huldufólk with internet access?

Hi, I'd suggest looking it up..

Paraphrasing what I remember from a museum....

"We mostly had sheep. The danish king was hard to work with and always let us down. Every 150-200 years things started looking up, then there was a volcanoes. Some percentage survived on boats, then the majority starved over the winter bc all the sheep had died."

I am sure there are many many more depths, but this struck me as considerably dark history tbh

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#29

> The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa south-west of Reykjavík, announced it would close its doors on Thursday for a week This is temporary, not permanent. Short of the whole thing being swallowed by a lava fissure there's no way they will close Iceland's most famous tourist trap.

I liked my time there, but yes it's a tourist trap.

Is there a comparable experience elsewhere (in Iceland or not) that's not overpriced, overcrowded, or out of the way? (a lot to ask I know)

Re: Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes

#30

> The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa south-west of Reykjavík, announced it would close its doors on Thursday for a week This is temporary, not permanent. Short of the whole thing being swallowed by a lava fissure there's no way they will close Iceland's most famous tourist trap.

I liked my time there, but yes it's a tourist trap. Is there a comparable experience elsewhere (in Iceland or not) that's not overpriced, overcrowded, or out of the way? (a lot to ask I know)

When I spent a week in Selfoss, the landscape was littered with natural hot pools. Local guides could help you navigate them safely. It was sublime to be in them mid-day, mid-winter, with nothing around you for miles in every direction.
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