Another early start, yawn, yawn hotel pick-up at 8.30am to the bus station and we were on the bus to Blue Lagoon and on our way by soon after 9 am. The weather was cold and sleety and it was hard to get enthusiastic about the idea of stripping down to swimmers and going outside into the howling gales, no matter how warm the water was claimed to be.

Blue Lagoon is a very popular tourist destination and we arrived and queued along with a couple of hundred others to check in and receive our towel, robe and wrist band, a vital part of the Blue Lagoon experience, necessary for everything from lockers to drinks at the bar, so DON'T lose it!!

On to the changing rooms which were an experience in themselves, clean and modern, catering for hundreds of visitors in numerous small changing areas equipped with spacious lockers which lock and unlock by means of the wrist band. A mandatory shower and then through to the inside area of the lagoon itself.

Even relatively early in the day it was busy and getting busier all the time. There were some hooks for towels and robes, but not nearly enough for the number of people. Looking outside it really didn't look terribly inviting. It was only just beginning to get light as we looked out on the black lava rock pool filled with murky grey looking water rather than the blue of the title. There was thick steam swirling above the water making it look a bit like a crazy swamp land and the wind was blowing a real hoolie with towels and robes blowing here, there and everywhere.

Having paid the money we decided to brave it. We dashed outside and hung up our robes in as sheltered a place as possible and made a dash for the water. Yes, it is REALLY warm!! Once in you really don't ever want to come out again and we heard lots of people saying exactly the same thing, ie now I'm in I am definitely not coming out again, EVER!!

Through the steam we could see the little bar rising out of the water and we made our way over there. Our package included a face mask and a drink each and we wanted to get our money's worth. We had to scan our wrist bands first and were then given our face masks. To our surprise we were each given what looked very like an ice cube, yes, it was a frozen face mask! We had to dip it into the water to melt it a little and rub it on our faces then leave it on for about 15 minutes before washing it off with the lagoon water. As it dried on our faces it turned into a kind of white clay .. very attractive!

Sadly we have no photos of us cavorting around like baby whales in the steaming waters of the Blue Lagoon. We had not brought our camera in as I suspect that the high concentration of salts in the water and steam would not be good for it. Many other people were not so easily put off and there were selfies galore going on around us by means of iPhones and cameras of all types. Whether or not they will still be working tomorrow is another story! Simon braved a run inside to the bar/shop to see if they sold disposable cameras and was told that they sold them only outside in the gift shop. Now what is the point of that?!! They are definitely missing a sales opportunity there, I think.

Back at the little bar we zapped our wrist bands again for our included drink. Ice cold Sauvignon Blanc! It went down a treat as we struggled to keep our shoulders below water and our (plastic) glasses just high enough out to avoid getting splashes of salty water inside. The wind was blowing so powerfully that the water of the lagoon became quite choppy. So much for my intention not to get my hair wet! It was now a mess of stiff and salty rats tails! We moved around trying to find the warmest spots, exploring caves and sheltering under little bridges.

Stop Press! We do now have a photo of the two of us actually submersed in the waters of the not so Blue Lagoon, sipping a glass of white wine. We have this courtesy of the wonders of modern technology and a very nice couple called Brian and Emma whom we met whilst lurking close to the bar. Unlike us, they came equipped with a dive camera encased in plastic. They kindly took a photo of us, memorised my email address and job done, we have a photo! Thank you so much, guys!

Eventually we decided that we'd done enough lagooning for one trip and, staying in the water, we made our way in through a side door into the inside area and Simon dashed out to collect our robes. I collected our camera from the locker and we ventured outside to take a few 'out of water' photos but didn't stay more than a minute as it was soooo cold. Back inside we fortified ourselves with another glass of Sauvignon Blanc (those wrist bands really do come in handy!)

Then it was to the changing rooms for showering, changing and wrestling ourselves back into all those winter layers so very necessary outside. We hurried along the pathway with walls of lava rock to each side and just made it in time to get the 13.15 bus back to Reykjavik and luckily we were dropped straight back to our hotel with no need to change at the bus station.

By the time we had walked into the main street, done a little shopping and grabbed a slice of pizza for a late lunch it was almost time to get ready for our evening tour, a northern lights and lobster adventure, although the northern lights part was a bit doubtful due to the weather forecast. Nevertheless we were hopeful that the sky might clear for a bit as the forecast said that the lights would definitely be up there if only the sky was clear enough to see them!

We were picked up at 6.30pm by Stefan in a beautiful white Land Rover Defender. Fantastic! The weather looked quite clear, too, as we picked up our fellow travellers, Rob, a student, and Mark and Sophie, a young couple from London. We drove South and the weather got progressively worse. By the time we made our first stop on a black sand beach, very close to the lapping waves, the weather was the worst we have seen it since we arrived in Iceland and that is saying something!! We all huddled round the vehicle with rain and snow driven into our faces by the howling wind and it was so fierce that we couldn't stop laughing! I'm really glad we brought warm clothes on this trip! Stefan poured us all a glass of brandywine, a type of schnapps flavoured with Cumin also known as Black Death, and had to knock it back quickly before the wind blew it out of our hands.

Acknowledging that we were somewhat unlikely to see any northern lights at this point we got back in the car, dripping wet, and continued on our way. Next stop was the restaurant in a small fishing village where we were to have our lobster dinner. It was quite a large restaurant but we were the only customers tonight. The dinner when it came was fantastic. A huge pot of langoustines and potatoes, more than we could possibly eat between us and yet we somehow did. It was served with bread and dips and three kinds of salad, and couscous. A real feast and we enjoyed a convivial meal in great company.

It was clear again as we left the restaurant so we stopped in a dark place to look at the sky. No clouds, but not a trace of green either so after some time we moved on again. Stefan said he would take a long route back and go slowly, keeping an eye out in case there was any chance of spotting lights on the way. He pointed out quite a few things, pity that in the dark we couldn't see them! We did stop for one photo opportunity which was a church graveyard all done up with lights for Christmas, very pretty and very different.

We were passing over the central volcano area when the blizzard started, and this was a huge blizzard, even bigger than any of the other blizzards we have seen here. You could see absolutely nothing except non-stop snow coming at you into the windscreen against the pitch black night. Absolutely terrible driving conditions and I'm glad that it was Stefan doing the driving and not one of us. We abandoned all thoughts of northern lights tonight and just concentrated on the thought of getting back to Reykjavik in one piece, especially when we passed the wreck of a minibus which had gone off the road.

As we reached the lights of the town the storm eased and magically disappeared. As we drew up at our hotel we were pleased to have taken part in this fantastic tour with a great group of people. A fantastic and very different evening, even without those green gremlins in the sky!