Reykjavík Grapevine - jun. 2023, Síða 30

The Reykjavík Grapevine 7 / 23 30Travel
Travel Feature Hot Pool Hopping
In The Westfjords
How many pools is too many?
WORDS Iryna Zubenko
IMAGES Art Bicnick
Car provided by gocarrental.is
In Iceland, swimming pools are
not merely places to take a dip; they
are a way of life. With more geo-
thermal swimming pools and hot
springs per capita than anywhere
else, Iceland has elevated ‘pool time’
to an art form. They appear in places
where you would never expect – with
the next one being better, bigger
and sometimes hotter. On our recent
journey to the scenic southern West-
fjords we tried to visit as many pools
as possible in a single day. Get ready
to steam, soak and surrender to pure
relaxation!
All of the thermal pools we visited
on this trip were free, with donation
boxes available on-site.
KROSSLAUG
Our first stop was Krosslaug, a site
with a man-made geothermal pool
with a more natural look and a spa-
cious concrete swimming pool, just a
30-minute drive from Patreksfjörður
(Route 62). Don’t get confused by
the name – there are at least two hot
pools named Krosslaug in Iceland,
the other one better known as Kros-
slaug Reykir in West Iceland.
The sign at the location instructed
us that the bigger pool was open in
1948 and was used for swimming
courses in the past. I changed into
a swimsuit in the car, the changing
rooms by the pool going completely
unnoticed in my excitement to jump
in and enjoy the views. I was greeted
by a couple of tourists, who brought
a thermometer with them. They told
me it’s 36 degrees Celcius inside
the pool, and without hesitation I
went in, the wind fighting to steal my
towel. I tried out the smaller pool as
well, but the water was much colder
and when a bigger group of tourists
arrived, chattering about “Oh, you
guys look so hot in the hot pool,” in
a thick American accent, I got out. It
seemed way more like one of those
‘Insta’-worthy spots.
HELLULAUG
Off we went to Hellulaug in Vatns-
fjörður. The hot spring is hidden from
the highway and it wasn’t long ago
that barely anyone knew about it.
The times have changed and now
With a steamy 45 degrees Cel-
sius, this was the closest I had
to a bubble bath in months.