14 August, 2014
The second tour, on my last day in Reykjavik, was what they call the Golden Circle because it’s a circular tour and visits Gullfoss, the golden waterfall. You need to use your imagination to see the golden tinge to the cascading water!
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| Does this look golden to you? |
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| Gullfoss - The "smoke" is spray, not steam |
This tour took in the geyser field at Geysir. I was surprised to learn there is in fact only one such field in Iceland. I’d imagined them all over the place.
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| Looking down on the geyser field |
The largest geyser rarely erupts these days but a smaller one does about every five minutes. Water shoots to about 30 m but I think 20 m would have been more like it when I saw it. And, after waiting, waiting, waiting ... it really is a case of “blink and you miss it”. Another belief of mine shattered. The water goes up and down, that’s it, it’s not a prolonged spouting. It’s also accompanied by massive clouds of steam, hiding most of the water anyway.
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| Big Geysir - rarely blows these days |
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| Little Geysir blowing |
There were lots of bubbling pools about and en route you saw pockets of steam dotted across hills and lava plains. You couldn’t mistake it for a fire, the “smoke” is too pure white.
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| Bubbling away |
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| Puffs of steam on the hillsides |
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| More typical Icelandic scenery, this time lava fields |
The third main stop was at Thingvellir where the first Icelandic “parliament” – Althingi – was held, starting way back in about 930 AD and held there until the mid 19th century. There were no structures here, it was more of a natural amphitheatre, of sorts.
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| Looking down on the Althingi site |
So not really anything to see in that respect but it is the location where tectonic plates meet, the cleaving line between Europe and North America. The crack obviously wasn’t too deep at that point and it was fascinating to be able to walk in that small valley between the plates.
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Path in the rift between
the European and American tectonic plates |
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| Rock face of the rift wall |
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| Coins in a pool of the river between the tectonic plates |
At the start of the day we drove through clouds.
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| Driving through cloud |
And most places you drive you see Icelandic horses. They’re like Shetland ponies with long legs! The horses are both raced and eaten … by humans.
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| Icelandic horses |
A completely different sight – and sound – finished the day. After having (not particularly good) pizza for tea, a ramshackle band came shuffle-marching down the main street, introducing Reykjavik’s jazz festival.It was a happy note upon which to finish my whistle-stop visit to Iceland.
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| Jazz band - everybody in! |
I went to Iceland because the cheapest flight from Boston to London was with Icelandair. I mentioned this to two of my daughters before I booked. One said “I’d love to go to Iceland” to which I replied “So would I but I won’t be stopping, just an hour at the airport.” At which they chorused “You can’t do that!!” Upon investigation I discovered you can stop over for up to seven days for the same airfare as not stopping at all. Great! But beware, everything else, accommodation and food, are top dollar.
