Iceland Day Two

Where the Hot Springs Flow

This morning we were up and at ’em bright and early. After a few rounds of coffee and a hearty bowl of Skyr we loaded onto our coach for a nine hour Golden Circle tour! The three primary stops on the route are the Thingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Geysir Geothermal Field. We would also be adding a bonus stop at the Fontana spa.

Our chariot for the day. Spot the photographer.

After just a few minutes on the road, the scenery changed to this!

Deb was on the good side of the bus. Move out of the way, Deb!

A quick stop at the restroom. That’s not a painting on the wall. That’s the view from the loo!

Þingvellir or Thingvellir in English parlance, was the first national park established in Iceland. This was founded to protect the remains of the parliament site which we’ll see in a moment.

I should take a moment to mention that the forecast for the entire week was steady rain. Not so. It was stunningly beautiful the whole day.

The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks running through the park.

Speaking of watching your step, the walkway through the crevasse was as slick as an ice rink! Thank Odin for hand rails!

Gorgeous, moss encrusted rock face. Remember that wall fountain art piece from our last installment?

The *Lögberg* or Law Rock was a natural platform for holding speeches.

The looming rock wall behind would echo the proclamations of the Lawspeaker who presided over the assembly and recited the law of the land.

Apparently one can scuba or snorkel in the park if they chose. An activity for the next visit!

We were hustled out of this park a little quicker than I would have liked. I could have lingered for a bit more, but we had a tight schedule to keep. Next stop was Geysir Hot Spring Area in Haukadalur Valley.

Boiling mud pits and exploding geysers. Seems safe to me.

Or not… the last admonition is the most disconcerting.

This area comprises more than a dozen hot water blow holes (Tee Hee). Geysir is the geyser that gave the name geyser to geysers. I’m a writer, guys. However, Geysir is not currently active. After being dormant for some time, it was revived by an earthquake in 2000 and erupted for a couple of times a day for a few years. Now, Geysir is once again mostly dormant, though other hot springs in the Geysir geothermal area are quite active.

A smaller geyser called Strokkur still erupts every 15 minutes or so. It seemed to be timed to go off just before I got my camera ready.

Here’s an actual good video. Thanks, Youtube.

The ole’ Geysir just laying there all chill.

Back on the road. Picture a little bus chugging down the map to Gulfoss.

We parked at our next destination. Across the way you can see, if you squint, Glaciers in the distance.

The design of the Gulfoss
visitor center works well with the landscape.

I knew we would be seeing a waterfall here. As we rounded the bend, I was not prepared for what I witnessed.

Gulfoss is one of the most magnificent sights I’ve ever seen. Technically, Ive been to Niagra Falls… but I didn’t actually see it.

We tore ourselves away from the falls and made our way back on to the bus for our last stop on the excursion.

The Fontana – Icelandic Fountain of Wellness

“A unique experience of the healing powers of the geothermal springs. Soak in a natural pool, listen to the bubbling hot spring in the steam rooms, or for the venturesome, take a dip in the refreshing lake.”

This was the perfect way to end the day. While my companions enjoyed the steam baths and challenged their constitutions by jumping in the freezing lake, I soaked in the hot spring fed pools. I’m not much into sucking hot steam into my lungs or shocking myself in icy water. That’s just me.

You can make your way up on to the grass roof for an even better vista.

Steam pours out of the surrounding springs.

We got showered and dressed in time for the last bit of the tour. A guide from the Fontana took us down to the shore for a bit of a science/history/cooking lesson.

Nothing, just boiling water coming out of the ground.

Icelanders have been baking Rye bread or Hot Spring bread right in that volcanic ground for a hundred years. The process starts with a mixture of dark rye and whole wheat flour, buttermilk, golden syrup, baking powder, baking soda and a little salt. The dough goes in to a metal pot sealed with Saran Wrap (prob not the century old way) and buried in the boiling ground to bake for 24 hours.

We got the whole tutorial from a very handsome silver fox Icelander. This is the where I find out if Jeff even reads my blogs.

The bread was yummy. More like that brown bread in the can than deli style rye.

Our adventure was officially concluded. We were delivered back to our hotel. We were all pretty hungry, but none of us had the energy to explore the city for food so we decided to dine right in the hotel restaurant.