Swimming outdoors in April

Yesterday I decided to check out the local swimming pool to get some exercise and take in some of the geothermal activity. The closest pool is a short twenty minute walk and so I decided to start my day with a dip. It was lovely. The water was between and 28-30 and the pool was outside. 7:45am and the pool was quite busy with people of all ages. I swam for about 20 minutes and then took in one of four hot tubs at the edge of the pool. Each of the pools was a different temperature. I popped into the hottest one (40-42 celsius) and was only able to stay in for about 5 minutes. After all my nights of hotspringing in Banff I thought I'd be able to last longer. My hot springs sensai (Mr.Walker) might be a bit disappointed. Oh well- not bad for the average neighbourhood pool. I bought a ten visit punch card because I knew I'd be back soon.. A very wonderful way to start the day!

Today I woke up really late (10:30) and decided to experience the landscape through walking. I took bus no.1 to Hafnarfjordur and walked part of the way back. Ever since I participated in the  "Ministry of Walking" 's tour from the outskirts of Calgary into town it has changed my perception of urban walking. Saw some odd things worth taking pictures of- one was a soccer field almost totally surrounded by lava. When I spoke to Bjorn (extended relative) later he said Icelanders don't like to walk and so when you see someone walking it is probably a foreigner. Guess I stuck out like a sore thumb! Oh well. You often find different perspectives while walking so I enjoyed myself. 

Later I met up with two relatives, Sigga and Bjorn, and their son, daughter and granddaughter. They are really lovely, friendly people and were very helpful in being able to find places - the old farms of ancestors- on the map. I now have a rough itinerary of where to take photographs and am planning on renting a car tomorrow. They also took me on a small tour of Reykjavik and the surrounding area which was great. It's quite astounding how quickly the landscape changes from the city to wilderness, and it's a different sort of wilderness than what I am used to. There aren't as many tall trees but there is a rambling sort of way to it, interspersed with hunks of lava and small birch trees that look more like shrubs at times. There are also old volcanoes everywhere which is quite bizarre to me, given that I used to a different kind of mountain. All in all, an interesting experience each day. Excited to get out of the city tomorrow!