How to Rock an Icelandic Hot Pot

Icelanders love their hot pots.

And why wouldn’t they? An unlimited supply of volcanically heated water lies beneath this otherworldly landscape. No water heaters required. In fact, some buildings need water coolers to get cold water from the tap.

How is a hot pot different from a jacuzzi? I’m so glad you asked!

Hot pots are small heated tubs that seat up to eight people comfortably. Usually, benches stretch around the perimeter similar to a jacuzzi. But unlike a whirlpool tub, hot pots lack jets and mood lighting. Everyone sits upright in the hot pot. No reclining beds or odd-shaped seats.

The featured picture is from last summer. Those are my toes poking out of Skagastrond’s hot pot on a sunny day.

Why is the place so empty, you ask? Another great question!

The more frightening the weather, the more Icelanders LOVE their heated pools and hot pots. They don’t waste a sunny day lounging in the heated pool when they can work on their houses, clean their yards, or trek to town for supplies. SUNLIGHT IS TOO VALUABLE TO WASTE AT THE POOL.

Instead, they soak in the hot pot through driving snow. I once went over there on a rainy day to find the place too packed to enter. Why? “Because the cold rain feels good on my head while I soak my body in the hot pot,” one Icelander told me. “Like schizophrenia?” I said. “Sort of,” she laughed.

But Iceland’s community pools also act as a town’s social fulcrum.

Kids play together while their parents relax and catch up. They soak and gossip. Soak and tell jokes. Soak and argue. They probably even cut me to shreds in Icelandic for all I know. They have every pool toy and gadget ever manufactured. Everyone uses them communally.

But they make room for me. I had an animated conversation with the pool manager today, because he remembered me from last fall. We gabbed about the impending volcanic eruption in the south, and it was like I left town last week and returned yesterday. I walked into the women’s shower room and saw two people I knew.

Everybody knows one another well, especially since a fully naked shower is required to enter.

I’ve seen half the women and children in this town butt-naked by now, a familiarity that makes it easier to wave and chat at the supermarket or on walks across town. After I’ve been here a few days, most people won’t question whether I brought the first Covid case to north Iceland even though I’ve been tested three times. They can’t resist my unwavering American niceness. (Because of course I do my part to undo the damage of authoritarianism and sedition and insurrections and science denial and no empathy for suffering and death and I could go on and on.)

Here are a few other tips to enhance your future experience in an Icelandic hot pot:

• Remove shoes upon entry. Icelanders always take off their shoes upon entry to private homes, but they also require it at places like gyms and pools.
• Leave heavy gear in the lobby. They always have someone on the desk to watch belongings like parkas.
• Don’t break the bank. Community pools and hot pots are one of the best values in Iceland. I can join the Skagastrond pool for a month for around $35 and go multiple times per day. The same $35 also includes a gym membership. So much for the Blue Lagoon.

For anyone seeking a residency work update, here’s what I accomplished today:

• I set up my studio. I’m using a studio space this time to work on my origami project. I’m dividing my time between the studio and the house to have contact with people. We have two other residents onsite. I want to take advantage of the opportunity to be around other humans without masks and distancing as much as possible without falling behind on my writing.
• I promoted my upcoming keynote speech and did some work behind the scenes. HAVE YOU REGISTERED YET? GO HERE TO REGISTER.
• I revised two chapters of The Evangelicals. I’m probably ten chapters from the end and should be finished by the weekend.
• I journaled a scene for my next book. I’m starting a romantic comedy drawn from how I met Michael BECAUSE I FREAKING NEED SOMETHING LIGHT AND HAPPY AND NORMAL AND SEXY.