The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist destinations has been re-opened after being closed to the public for two and a half weeks. On January 5 the lagoon was closed and emptied so that the lagoon could be expanded and improved. A new, greatly expanded and improved lagoon opened on January 21.
Two new coves were added and the lagoon expanded by more than 3,200 square meters (34,500 sq. feet). As well as expanding the lagoon itself a new refreshment stand and bar has been added in the lagoon.
The lagoon, its water and the silica which accumulates at the bottom of the lagoon are cleaned regularly with specially designed equipment. Margrét Stefánsdóttir at the Blue Lagoon explained to Iceland Insider that even if this was the first time the lagoon was completely emptied since it was opened at its current location, the draining did not reveal any surprises at the bottom. “The entire body of water in the lagoon is renewed every 48 hours, and we also clean the lagoon regularly, so if anything has fallen to the bottom, for example jewelry, it is sucked up during that cleaning.”
However, she added that the cleaning did reveal how the lava in the lagoon had been covered with a solid white enamel. “It was pretty astonishing, white and beautiful.” Dagný Pétursdóttir, the manager of the Blue Lagoon, told Iceland Insider the volume of the lagoon was expanded from 6 million liters (1.6 million gallons) of geothermal seawater to 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons): “We added two beautiful bays to the lagoon, and they look like they have always been there.”
The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist destinations has been re-opened after being closed to the public for two and a half weeks. On January 5 the lagoon was closed and emptied so that the lagoon could be expanded and improved. A new, greatly expanded and improved lagoon opened on January 21.
Two new coves were added and the lagoon expanded by more than 3,200 square meters (34,500 sq. feet). As well as expanding the lagoon itself a new refreshment stand and bar has been added in the lagoon.
The lagoon, its water and the silica which accumulates at the bottom of the lagoon are cleaned regularly with specially designed equipment. Margrét Stefánsdóttir at the Blue Lagoon explained to Iceland Insider that even if this was the first time the lagoon was completely emptied since it was opened at its current location, the draining did not reveal any surprises at the bottom. “The entire body of water in the lagoon is renewed every 48 hours, and we also clean the lagoon regularly, so if anything has fallen to the bottom, for example jewelry, it is sucked up during that cleaning.”
However, she added that the cleaning did reveal how the lava in the lagoon had been covered with a solid white enamel. “It was pretty astonishing, white and beautiful.” Dagný Pétursdóttir, the manager of the Blue Lagoon, told Iceland Insider the volume of the lagoon was expanded from 6 million liters (1.6 million gallons) of geothermal seawater to 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons): “We added two beautiful bays to the lagoon, and they look like they have always been there.”
