Faces slathered in white mud, we look like a collection of mimes in the making. But mimes remain silent, and we are anything but. Laughing and splashing in the cerulean pool, we wade over to the bar, steam rising all around, and order a cocktail. A blue one, naturally.

The Blue Lagoon ranks as Iceland’s most popular visitor attraction. Just 45 minutes from Reykjavík and 20 from Keflavík International Airport, it’s an easy daytrip or layover excursion between flights.

The geothermal seawater gets its bluish-white color from minerals, algae and silica, the same stuff that makes up the mud on our faces. You dip your hands into a pot of the natural exfoliant poolside and rub it on.

Black lava rock contrasts sharply with the milky-blue pool measuring 5.2 feet at its deepest. Water temperature fluctuates from 98 to 104 degrees. You can combine a soak with spa treatments and a meal in the restaurant or café.

The Blue Lagoon stays open year-round, though it will close Jan. 5–21 for a redesign and expansion featuring a new skincare bar and larger lagoon with more space for in-water body treatments. Construction will continue in the background until 2017, with the opening of a 60-room luxury hotel.