Most tourism in Reykjavik is based on tours. The night before, we had stopped by the gift store/customer service office of the hotel and checked out our options. We decided we would take the "Golden Circle Tour". This tour would take us out into the countryside and show us some of the highlights of this section of Iceland. The tour was to last 8 hours, leaving at 9:00 a.m. The cost was 9100 Kronas or around $82.00 per person.
The bus picked us up at the hotel and then proceeded to other hotels to pick up other travellers. Once again we were in one of the newer Fly Bus buses, complete with seat belts and wi-fi. The bus accommodated about 100 people and it was full. Our guide spoke in both Deutsch and English throughout the trip. Almost everyone we ran into on this short vacation spoke English, luckily. The language of Iceland was nice to listen to, but there is no way I would have understood anything. Most signage was in both Icelandic and English also. Americans are pretty fortunate that in most foreign countries one can find someone that speaks English, especially anyone involved in the tourism business. On our bus today, we had two French people that did not speak either Deutsch or English, so they had a rough time interpreting what was going on...more about that later.
Once we were on the road it was about an hour before our first stop. Sunrise was not until around 10:00 a.m., but we could still see some of the countryside under the lightening skies. Iceland has lot of geo-thermal activity which allows for very inexpensive electricity and hot water. You can read more about this here. As we were headed down the highway, you could see the steam rising out of the ground creating some interesting views.
Geo-thermal activity.
Lightening skies allowed views of the landscape.
The sun starts to appear.
Taking the picture out of a moving bus causes the blurriness in the foreground
The first stop on our tour was at a greenhouse where tomatoes are grown. This particular greenhouse grows about 18% of the total tomatoes used in Iceland. Since the growing season is so short in Iceland, most vegetables are grown in greenhouses. The mired bug is imported from Holland for pest control...this bug eats almost all insect pests and hence, pesticides are not needed. Bumble bees are also imported from Holland to pollinate the plants. Tomatoes are grown year round, 365 days of the year. To read more about this greenhouse, click on Frioheimar.
The owner of the greenhouses explains the growing process.
You can see some of the tomatoes in the ripening process.
We each had a cup of tomato soup and a fresh baked roll. OMG, that soup was amazingly good!
The roll was quite good too. On each table there was a potted basil plant where you could just tear off a leaf and add it to your soup...mmm good. This is not the most complimentary picture of Mike, but it shows our tasty snack.
Signage for the greenhouses...embiggen to read.
More signage.
A small portion of the greenhouses.
We all climbed on the bus and headed to our next destination. It was a short drive to Gulfoss. Up until this time I had been able to handle the cold without a hat, but when we walked to view the falls, it was extremely cold with the wind howling. Luckily, Mike had a parka with a hood and he loaned me his beanie until we got back to the gift shop where I purchased my own. What a difference the beanie made. The falls were quite spectacular and there was mention in their signage that the falls were bigger than Niagara Falls. Having been to Niagara the previous fall, I tend to not agree.
This is another type of vehicle for checking out the back country.
The bus we were in resembled a Greyhound Bus.
A mountain off in the distance.
It reminded me of the Sleeping Giant near Helena, Montana (minus the head).
Signage showing the walkways and viewing platforms for the falls.
Signage telling the history of the name.
Signage about some of the history of the falls.
The falls as seen from the top of the hill.
Using the telephoto from the same place as the last photo.
At the closest point open to the public. The rest of the trail was under ice.
Using the telephoto again.
Ice forming on the side of the falls.
Monument erected to honor the woman who fought to preserve the falls.
Signage about Sigridur, the preservationist.
During the warmer months you can get much closer to the falls using
the trail on the left of this picture. At this time the trail was iced-over.
View of the iced-over trail closed during the winter months.
Signage describing the falls.
Signage telling how the falls were formed.
Signage showing some of the features around this area.
More of the same.
Why off-road driving is not allowed.
Whenever we stopped, there was always time allowed to shop in the gift shop. And as I said earlier, that beanie was a much appreciated item.
Once again we loaded the bus and drove back down the road we had used to get to Gullfoss on our way to the Great Geysir, a series of geo-thermal pools and geysers.
Not sure what this cement structure was used for, but it was sure putting out the steam.
Looking up the path towards where a geyser had just erupted.
Never did see the little geyser erupt, but the water was sure boiling.
People gathered around Strokkur waiting for it to erupt.
Marker for the geyser below.
This is what all those people were looking at in one of the previous photos.
This geyser erupts around every 7 minutes so it is easy to catch an eruption.
This shows the water as it first exits the ground.
Here you can see that bubble burst with some water going to the side
and the rest shooting up into the air.
Unfortunately I was taking pictures so fast, I did not pay attention to
the height of the geyser.
And finally, the geyser drops down to its pool only to perform the act in
about another 7 minutes.
Further up the hill there are a few more pools...again similar to Yellowstone Park.
This sculpture was near where the bus parked...significance unknown.
Once again we were loaded onto the buses and headed to our last stop, a Unesco World Heritage Center
...Þingvellir National Park. The Icelandic alphabet has a few extra letters in it including the "Þ" used in the name of the park, which is pronounced like "th". It is one of the largest tourist attractions in Iceland because of its historic importance (a Parliament was established in 930 A.D.) and its geological importance (site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge).
A farmhouse seen through the window of the bus. Notice the irrigation ditch in the foreground.
These ditches were really deep. I asked the guide why they were so deep and I was told
they are made deep to help dry out the land quicker.
The homes you see here are "summer" homes. Many are used as getaways during the
winter also. We were told they all had hot tubs using the naturally
hot water. I can imagine sitting in a hot tub and watching the
Northern Lights dance in the sky above you.
Shooting this photo from across the aisle in the bus to capture a steam plant.
This mountain reminded me of Ayres Rock in Australia.
The moss and lichen covered stones at Þingvellir.
There were a lot of low growing shrubs along our whole route,
but you rarely saw any trees unless they had been recently planted.
As you can tell, I have a fascination with rocks.
The moss and the lichen brought some color to the landscape during this time of the year.
In this land of volcanoes and earthquakes, it seems like rock
structures like this would have crumbled by now.
Evidence of a lava flow.
The rift valley provided a beautiful backdrop.
More precarious rocks above us. The trail led us through a dramatic
landscape formed as a result of sitting along the border between
the North American and European tectonic plates.
the North American and European tectonic plates.
Close-up of previous picture.
Water coming down under the ice and snow.
This is a telephoto of the picture below.
As we were approaching this area we could see a waterfall spewing water
over the edge of these rock cliffs. This photo shows where it traveled next.
Further up the trail from the previous picture.
The rift valley once again.
More rocks waiting in precarious positions.
Close-up of above picture.
The bus had let us out at the bottom of the rock cliffs and we followed a trail to the top.
Along the way we were afforded some great views.
Really...how did that rock get lodged there?
And these rocks are leaning out...
thankfully there was not an earthquake as we walked underneath!
Some of the very few trees we would see.
The lake is the largest natural lake in Iceland.
It provides some great diving experiences if one is into that.
Another view of the rift valley.
Here is yet another link to information about this park.
When we reached the top of the trail there was another visitor center and our bus was there waiting for us. Our guide stated over and over at the beginning that the bus would meet us at the top of the trail, so we should not go back to where the bus let us out. At the top, we were all on the bus when the guide came through counting people and it was discovered that one person was missing. It was the Frenchman mentioned earlier. His wife was on board, but he could not be found. A person on the bus who spoke French was asked to talk to the woman to see where her husband was, but the wife did not know. It was decided that the bus would go back down where we were let out and see if the husband had gone there. He had not. We drove to other parking areas looking for him and still could not find him. We went back up to the top to check once again, but still no sign of the Frenchman. It was decided that the guide, the man's wife, and a few volunteers, including two who spoke French, would stay behind and walk back down the trail looking for him. A special bus would be called in to bring them back to Reykjavik. The rest of us stayed on the bus and it headed back into town. This ordeal had taken well over an hour and some people on the bus had to call ahead and cancel plans for the evening as they were not sure they would make it back in time. We would learn later that evening that the Frenchman had hitch-hiked back to town and was in his hotel room when they found him. He could not figure out why everyone would be looking for him. What a jerk!
When we got to the hotel, we decided to go to the bar for a drink. I stuck to a beer, but Mike had a Manhattan made to a recipe he had gotten from one of his sons: 4 parts Maker's Mark whiskey, 1 part Bjork, a dash of orange bitters, and a twist of orange. I am not a Manhattan drinker, but this tasted pretty good.
For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant that was nearby. This was one of the only places where there was no English translation. Luckily there were pictures. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to get a little rest before our next adventure, a tour to see the Northern Lights.
We were picked up by another Fly Bus and once again it was packed when we headed out. The cost for this adventure was 5400 Krona or approximately, $50.00. This is when we heard the follow-up story about the Frenchman. The guide filled us in on some of the history and some of the landmarks in the city as we headed out. He had the bus stop at the home of Iceland's President before we headed to a darkened beach to look for the Northern Lights.
There is no guarantee that you will see the Northern Lights when you take one of these tours. They do not schedule them until late in the day when it can be better determined if the sky will be clear that evening. When we got to the parking area, we all climbed out of the bus and went down to the beach to search the sky. The guide told us we had to be patient and that he had a good feeling we would be seeing the lights. It was a very cold evening and I was really glad I had my beanie. It seemed like a very long time before we could see a beam of green light start to form. It wasn't anything spectacular and again the guide told us to be patient. We watched and we watched but nothing was happening and people started getting cold. The guide suggested we get back on the bus and get warm. He came on the bus and asked us if we would like to go somewhere to use a restroom and then return in about 15 minutes to another location. We all said yes and he got off the bus to gather the remaining stragglers on the beach. Before he got back, the sky all of a sudden started dancing with color. The guide came on board and told us to get out "now" and view the display. It did not take much encouragement as we were seeing it out the windows. What an amazing sight. The color was mostly green but it was moving in really interesting patterns across the sky. Growing up as a child in Montana, I remember seeing the Northern Lights on the horizon, but it was nothing compared to standing right under them. We watched the wonderful display for a few minutes and then it settled back into its previous form of just a band of green across the sky and then that too disappeared. It was a great experience and we felt fortunate to have seen them. The only disappointment was that the camera equipment I had did not allow me to capture any pictures...they all turned out black.
We got back to the hotel a little after midnight. It had been a long day and we immediately went to bed.
The former school house in front of the President's home.
The President was at the Sochii Olympics, so there was no activity around the area.
I found it hard to believe we were allowed so close to the President's residence.
There were no guards and no fences.
No comments:
Post a Comment