This travel blog is a continuation of my travel blog, A Lovely 3-day Stay in Reykhólar in the Westfjords Region - Part 1. There is just so much to see and do in this area that I ended up writing three travel blogs about Reykhólar.
After visiting the beautiful area of the loons, the day was only to get better, as now I popped in at the Reykhólar Seabaths to see if they had a spot for me, as the weather was heavenly.
The Reykhólar Seabaths
We had decided to hike to the northernmost glacier in Iceland, Drangajökull, but I very much wanted to try out the sea baths. So we visited the glacier the following day.
I had forever wanted to soak in seaweed, ever since I first heard about these sea baths when they opened back in 2011.
Seaweed is such a good product, and I can never get enough of it. I studied the art of cooking Macrobiotic style almost 30 years ago in London.
In Macrobiotics, a Japanese vegan cooking style, various types of seaweed are used in cooking. Until that time, I had only ever eaten dulse (söl) from time to time in Iceland.
I fell head over heels in love with seaweed in London, especially Nori, which is also used for sushi. This was way before people started raving about sushi.
Checking the temperature of the Reykhólar Seabaths
Imported seaweed used to be very expensive in Iceland, so every time I went abroad, I filled my suitcase with Nori seaweed. And here in Iceland, we are surrounded by the sea, imagine that I had to import seaweed to Iceland!
Knowing how nutritious and precious seaweed is, I often wondered through the years why we Icelanders didn't use it more, apart from collecting dulse.
One of the claimed benefits one can get from seaweed is that it slows down the ageing of the skin, delaying wrinkles, as it is so rich in antioxidants, and it is believed that seaweed increases the elasticity of the skin.
The Reykhólar Seabaths
When I arrived, a lovely lady prepared my seaweed bath while I showered. I couldn't wait to get in; it was a bit strange stepping into the green water, but once in, it felt heavenly.
It was even a bit oily, which I hadn't expected.
Every muscle in my body relaxed, and I felt like I never wanted to get out of this water. I felt like the seaweed in the water was hugging me.
It was sunny and warm, and sitting in the hot tub seaweed bath in this lovely weather, looking at the lush green fields in front of me, I felt so happy and thought to myself, "This is life!"
Soaking in the Reykhólar Seabaths
What a fantastic day this has been, first the myriad of loons which sang for me, and now being pampered like this.
After soaking for a while, I got a plate with green seaweed paste to put on my face. I couldn't put it on evenly as I didn't have a mirror, so I got help.
The same thing happens in the Blue Lagoon: when I want to apply the white silica paste to my face, I need a mirror to do it evenly.
Anyhow, it was a nice feeling to have the seaweed paste on my face, knowing it was sinking into my skin.
Seaweed paste at the Reykhólar Seabaths
After a while, I felt that I had become hungry from the smell of seaweed ;) Make sure to drink a lot of water while in the seaweed bath. A bottle of cold, clean Icelandic water is provided.
After stepping out of the seaweed hot tub after 40 minutes or so, my skin felt very refreshed, and I didn't want to take a shower immediately; I just wanted this nutritious seaweed to envelop me. When you shower, though, don't use soap; just rinse it off, and also the seaweed out of your hair.
Afterwards, I could still smell the seaweed, and it lingered until I had a shower the next morning, but that didn't bother me as I love the smell of seaweed. My skin felt like silk.
I bought some seaweed powder to take home, as I want to experience it again. Now I have to find somebody who owns a hot tub ;)
Seaweed powder at the Reykhólar Seabaths
Sjávarsmiðjan - Reykhólar Seabaths is a family-run business, located in an old, restored workshop where they also run a café. They sell seaweed products like seaweed flakes, seaweed salt, and this seaweed powder, which I soaked in.
Inside their café, I saw this green powder in 2 bowls; this is the seaweed powder used in the sea baths.
I heard on the news last spring that there are plans to expand and open up additional sea baths on the shore south of the village. That is an excellent idea, and I will have to try them out as well. Unfortunately, they had to close down the seabaths in the pandemic (2021), and I haven't seen that they have reopened.
Þörungaverksmiðjan factory at Reykhólar
The seaweed comes from a very environmentally friendly factory, Þörungaverksmiðjan Thorverk, which is the only seaweed processing factory in Iceland. It is located on Karlsey Island below Reykhólar village. So it was quite fitting that there were seaweed baths in Reykhólar village.
Þörungaverksmiðjan Thorverk started operating in 1975-1976, using hot geothermal water from Reykhólar, which is plentiful, as an energizer.
The seaweed (kelp) is dried by geothermal energy and milled into a powder.
This is the powder used for the seaweed baths and as a facial mask. This powder is called Algae Náttúra and is a 100% pure natural product. And certified organic.
Algae Náttúra
Þörungaverksmiðjan Thorverk harvests seaweed from Breiðafjörður bay. It is pretty amazing to watch these huge orange seaweed-harvesting machines out in the sea.
I saw them for the first time from the other side of the fjord when I was driving on Skarðsströnd a couple of years ago. I stopped the car and stepped out, as it was so amazing to see these huge machines out in the sea.
They take care not to damage the resource while harvesting seaweed, and generally cut each spot only every 5 years, once the seaweed has fully recovered. And the biomass has even increased over the past 50 years.
There is another factory opposite the Þörungaverksmiðjan Thorverk factory - Saltverksmiðjan Salt factory.
It has been operating since 2013 and uses waste heat from the Þörungaverksmiðjan Thorverk factory, which is very environmentally friendly - the factory is powered by geothermal heat from the wastewater!
If you drive down to the harbour at Reykhólar, you will see both factories. From the sea by the Saltverksmiðjan Salt factory, steam rises from the wastewater.
This factory uses only the heat from the water as an energy source, and the remaining tepid water is released back into the environment. Brilliant, I think!
Þörungaverksmiðjan factory
In my next travel blog: A Lovely 3-Day-Stay at Reykhólar in the Westfjords Region - Part 3, I will tell you a little more about Reykhólar and show you their museum and the church, amongst other things of interest in this area, and tell you about Vikings and elves.
Reykhólar is located 228 km from Reykjavík, a 3-hour drive. It is perfect to stay here for the first night when you are visiting the Region of the Westfjords of Iceland.
Or more nights; I stayed there for 3 nights.
To reach this area, you can rent a car in Reykjavík.
Have a lovely time at Reykhólar :)
