Early in the planning, Morgan determined Friday would be couples’ day. Marshall and Brooksie made plans to go horseback riding and visit the Blue Lagoon for back and foot massages. Carie and Dave went on a separate horseback riding tour and visited a geothermal swimming pool in the city. Morgan and Joe slept in and then went to the Blue Lagoon where Morgan rendez-vous’ed with Marshall and Brooksie at the spa for her own back and foot massage.

Brooksie wanted to go horseback riding because Icelandic horses are unique to Iceland. Often referred to incorrectly as "ponies" because of their smaller size, the Icelandic horses remain a pure breed, descending from the horses brought over by the first Norwegian settlers, as no other horses have been imported. Their most fascinating feature is a fifth gait known as the tØlt, a smooth fast trot.

Sadly, Marshall and Brooksie, both very inexperience riders, never got to experience the tØlt. They did, however, enjoy a private lesson with two women from Laxnes, a facility just outside of town, and two hours of riding over streams and rocky terrain. At was a little scary at first, but once Brooksie got used to sitting up high on the horse, with her legs out straight in front of her, she felt more balanced and really did enjoy it. After riding, they were off to the Blue Lagoon for back and foot massages.

The Blue Lagoon is a world renowned spa which truly highlights the ingenuity of the Icelandic people. The warm water in the spa is supplied by the Svartsengi Geotheromal Project. The heat exchange system allows the run-off water, rich in silica, to feed the lagoon. That’s right, it’s a spa created by the run-off of a power plant. How cool is that?

Very cool. Having spent some quality time soaking and getting a professional rub down, both Morgan and Brooksie can confidently state that the Blue Lagoon is one of the neatest vacation experiences ever. Even Marshall and Joe, who had never been to a spa before were into applying the silica onto their faces and shoulders as masks. A word of warning though, while the silica in the Blue Lagoon is fabulous for the skin, it turns your hair into a bit of a matted straw mass. Take lots of conditioner and be ready to wait several days for your hair to return to normal. Sadly, after a few hours, it was time to catch the bus back to Reykjavik.

On the way back to the city, Brooksie took on the Kringlan Shopping Mall. Because as most people know, Brooksie considers shopping a sport similar to big game hunting. Unfortunately, store hours in Iceland are quite limited. Really sad and one of the major draw backs to the place. Brooksie therefore, only had an hour before closing time and was forced to power shop. She fell in love with a store called Tiger, a gift shop which sells a little bit of everything, picked up a few souvenirs and noticed that kitten heels are all the rage in Iceland (note to self: self, buy some kitten heels!).

After intimate dinners each couple returned to the hotel rather early. All the fresh air was beginning to take its toll.