ICELAND: ICELAND - Day one, the adventure begins.

A journey of more than four thousand miles begins with...

Our ride's here!

a single step off the jetway onto the aircraft. Adventure awaits those who are not afraid.

And it's a lot easier if you can ride in Business First!

Lucky us, our Global Entry cards, and print-em-at-home boarding passes got us the short lines, no undressing for the TSA Group Grope and, once on board... some sparkling wine with o.j. And shortly after launch... here comes breakfast. A lot of it. And it was pretty good, all things considered.

As we turned, heading East towards the rising sun, the mountains had just started to catch a few rays to begin warming the cool, blue landscape. Adios, PDX, we'll be back way to soon, a little heavier, and a LOT more tired.

I always enjoyed flying over Washington and Idaho... It kind of reminds me that getting a bit older and substantially more wrinkled isn't such a bad thing. These hills from 6 miles up look almost liked crushed velvet with soft earth tones delicately applied. I can almost feel it's softness...

Another advantage to riding in the front are the many World Clubs that "go with" the B-1st ticket. "Free" food, booze, wi-fi, television, showers, etc. I almost choked typing "free" Snork! There ain't no free lunch.

At JFK... look at how tiny the El Al 747-400 looks hiding behind the Emirates A380. I hope that Winnie gets to fly one of these some day... one just never knows.

then, hours later....

We're shuffling off the jetway in Keflavik. Bleary eyes. The ol' bod is hurting in places that formerly did not hurt. Greasy faced. Gaack, what's that coating my teeth? Is this the same day?
And we're supposed to tour some kinda lagoon? Can't we just have a nap, instead?

The Blue Lagoon, just outside of Keflavik, Iceland

First comes a hot, naked shower in a room with 50 other men. No bathing suits allowed. Get over it.
And then... and then... into the mineral packed waters. Ahhhhhhhh.

and now, a brief word from our sponsor, The Blue Lagoon: The Lagoon's algae is only found growing in extreme conditions of heat and pressure.
The lagoons geothermal seawater is part of an ecocycle where science and energy cohabit. The seawater originates around 2000 meters below the surface of the earth (think of that as 20 USA football fields laid end-to-end, plus a little extra room at the end) and begins it's filtering seepage upward at 240 degrees Centigrade (or 464 degrees Fahrenheit) cooling as it rises. By the time it gets to the top, it's cooled to 37-39 degrees (100f). The flow completely replenishes its two million gallons of geothermal seawater every forty hours. The minerals, silica, and algae in the water kill "common bacteria" (that's a code word for E. coli, I'll bet) such that chlorine is neither needed, wanted, nor dumped into the lagoon. The high temps, salinity, algae, and silicates are touted as having significant skin protecting and anti-aging effects.

Winnie's dad and mom, George and Pat, were first into the healing waters.

There are big wooden boxes filled with the healing silicates, other minerals, and algae. Just scoop yourself out a few ladles-full and apply it to the portions of your body that you'd like rejuvenated!

k,thx,i'mgonnauseoneextraladle. juscause.
Winnie just needs a partial scoop, though. She moisturizes.

I can feel it!

And a little bitty bit for Ms. Winnie

Apply, rinse, repeat.

And HA! After that eternal plane ride, we both FEEL 20 years younger after an hour of "treatment".

And now, it's time to head into Reykjavik and check out our hotel.

As we checked into the Icelandair Marina Hotel, I just happened to notice this little signpost in the hall (opposite the bar) that leads to the WC's:

The next thing we noticed upon check in were the hotel's rather "Cheeky" signs in the rooms themselves asking you to "be nice", chill out, and just go with it: