Visiting Iceland in January, my husband and I decided we wanted to see some of Iceland's geothermal activity up close, so we drove to a little area outside Reykjavik, near the Blue Lagoon, called Seltun that's known for its geothermal pools, steam vents, and pots of bubbling mud. I loved the colorful minerals the sulfuric water left behind - shades of blue, gold, green.

I found Iceland to be a land of contrasts - light vs. dark, soft vs. hard, modern vs. traditional. The mud pots and bubbling pools introduced me to another stark contrast: frigid cold vs. boiling hot.