After a fairly lazy day the day before, we had another busy day ahead of us. We had the second of our included tours that day, which was a Golden Circle Tour. We did not have an early start as our pickup was not until 09:30. We still got up at 08:00 and headed down for breakfast.
Breakfast was nice again. We both had latte and some juice. I made good use of the sparkling water. Graham decided to try the mango skyr with the chia seeds with his fruit. He also had some toast with various cold cuts and cheeses. I tried the forest berry skyr, which also was topped with chia seeds. I came to the conclusion that I really do not like chia seeds. I also had some hash browns, mini frankfurters, and a couple of boiled eggs. After breakfast, we headed back up to our room.
We still had some time until we had to be at the bus stop. I spent some time reading and Graham just chilled. About 15 minutes before we were due to be at the bus stop, we put on our layers, grabbed our woolly hats and gloves and then we headed downstairs. This time round, we knew what to expect. Shortly after we had got to the bus stop, a pickup and drop off bus pulled up on the opposite side of the road. I went over to check if the driver had us on his list and he had. I was a bit surprised how early the pick-up was. They do ask you to be at the bus stop about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time, but at this stage, it was still more than 20 minutes. Still, we were there, and all was good. We saw some parts of Reykjavik that we had not previously seen. Suddenly things started to look very familiar. Soon afterwards we pulled up in front of the hotel. It turned out that we had got on bus when it was doing drop offs. Still, those buses are quite comfortable and sitting in the warm was definitely preferable to standing in the cold at the bus stop.
The bus station was not quite as chaotic as it had been when we did the Northern Lights tour. However, there were still plenty of people milling around. This time round, we only had our tickets checked at the exit. When we were sent to a coach, this already looked pretty full. We did however manage to get two seats together about five rows from the back. They were not quite so organised that day. They had sent more people to our coach than there was room for and two people had to get off again. Once we had the right number of people on the coach, our guide introduced herself and our driver and then we headed off. On the way to our first destination, we got a potted history of Iceland. This was not only really interesting, but it also helped set the scene for what we were doing later in the week.
Our first destination was Thingvellir national park. Thingvellir is one of three national parks in Iceland. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Thingvellir was Iceland’s first national park and was established in 1928. It has a long history. The name Thingvellir means “Assembly Plains”. The Alþingi, or Iceland’s parliament, was founded there as early as 930, making it the oldest operating parliament globally. The parliament continued to convene at the fields of river Öxará for 868 years or until 1798. Therefore, many significant events of Iceland’s history have taken place there, and Icelanders consider it the nation’s birthplace. One of the best-known features of Thingvellir national park is the Silfra fissure. Silfra is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the massive underwater mountain range which marks the boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The fissure of Silfra opened in 1789 due to the movements of the tectonic plates that frame Thingvellir National Park. It is filled with clear spring water. It is famous for being the only place in the world where you can go snorkelling or diving between two tectonic plates. I know people who have snorkelled there and apparently it is an amazing experience. I have done some cold-water snorkelling in Alaska, and I am glad I did, but I feel my days of snorkelling in cold water are over.
We stayed on dry land. A lot of websites promoting tourism in Iceland state that you can stand with one foot in Europe and the other foot in North America at Thingvellir. Our guide cleared up this misconception before we arrived at Thingvellir. There is indeed a chance that this was possible once upon a time, but as the tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart, this is no longer the case. It is however possible to walk through a gorge that was left by the drifting of the tectonic plates.
We had of course been to Thingvellir two days earlier for our Northern Lights tour. However, when we came back there that day, everything looked different. The approach road was different from how I remembered. I could not see the river that we were warned about and the parking area also looked different. Certain things I could explain that my eyesight is far from wonderful in twilight and after dark, but there was no chance that I see a river that is not there. I mentioned this to Graham, and he also thought we were somewhere different from where we were earlier in the week.
We only had 45 minutes at this stop, which was the shortest stop of the day. I initially thought that this was a real shame. Our guide recommended either to go to the lookout at the top level, go down the gorge formed by the tectonic plates or do both. Graham went to use the bathroom and then we decided to check out the lookout. The views were stunning, but it was freezing cold. My coat is essentially one big fluffy hug, but I was still cold. This was the first time my thermal hat and gloves had come out, but they did not help much either.
After a while we figured that we would check out the gorge. This was a bit more sheltered, and it was an amazing experience to get to walk in between two tectonic plates. I was wondering why there was a boardwalk for part of this. I soon found out why. There was a sign there explaining that a few years back, a very significant sinkhole had literally opened up overnight. I have to admit that made me just a touch nervous.
Even though it was more sheltered, we were still pretty cold. We decided to head back to the coach. We had lasted about 40 minutes. On the way to the coach, we looked downhill, and we recognized that this is where we head been on the Northern Lights tour. Everybody had come back to the coach slightly earlier and as soon as everybody was back, we headed out.
We stayed on national park land for quite some time and were treated to some amazing views. I took plenty of photos on the way. On the way to our next destination, out guide told us a bit about modern day Iceland. We also spotted our first Iceland horses. Even though they are relatively small in size, they are considered to be horses rather than ponies. We saw plenty of them during the course of the day, but unfortunately, I never managed to get a photo.
Our next destination was Haukadalur geothermal area. Haukadalur geothermal area is a collection of hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles (volcanic vents that emit steam). We were given strict instructions not to touch the water as it is literally boiling. Considering how well some people on the Northern Lights tour listened, I wondered how many people would return to the coach with serious burns. We parked in front of the visitor centre and from there it was just a short walk to the geothermal area. The whole area had a real otherworldly quality. The star attraction used to be Geysir. Eruptions at Geysir can typically hurl boiling water up to 60 m (200 ft) in the air. Geysir is dormant although there was an eruption in 2016 that was pretty spectacular. At some stage somebody worked out that eruptions could be simulated by the addition of soap, but this practice all but stopped in the 1990s due to environmental concerns.
The jewel of the crown is now Strokkur. Strokkur typically erupts every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 metres (49–66 ft), although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 metres (130 ft) high. We could hear an eruption just about as soon as we crossed the road from the visitor centre. On our leisurely walk, we heard Strokkur go off another two times. I figured we probably would have a short wait before it would go off again, but it erupted shortly after we got there. This was a sight to behold. We went a bit closer and waited for the next eruption. We were treated to two back-to-back eruptions. After this, we headed back towards the visitor centre. There is a circular path linking the visitor centre and Strokkur. We did not go back the same way we came.
We had 90 minutes at the Haukadalur geothermal area. Even with taking our time, we were done in an hour. We decided to check out the visitor centre. We both used the bathroom, and I browsed in the shop. I figured I could do with a snack. They had a cafeteria and a coffee shop at the visitor centre. I had read everywhere that one of Iceland’s specialities are the baked goods and pastries. Halfway through the trip, I had seen no evidence of this. The coffee shop had muffins, brownies and donuts, but nothing local. I passed. We headed back to the coach.
Shortly after we got back on the coach, there was some commotion. Somebody had sat down somewhere that one couple considered to be their seats. Our guide had to intervene and asked that everybody stayed in the same seats that they had when we leaved Reykjavik.
With this settled and once everybody was back on the coach, we headed for our final destination. This was Gullfoss, which translates to the “Golden Falls”. Gullfoss is not only Iceland’s best-known waterfall but also one of the most striking and impressive thanks to its double-tiered waterfall plunging a total of 105 feet (31 metres). I was under the impression that this was the waterfall that was featured in the Legendary Iceland film at Flyover Canada, but I learned afterwards that this is not the case.
The coach parked near the visitor centre and from there it was a trail of about one mile roundtrip to the waterfall and back. The Haukadalur geothermal area had lulled me into a false sense of security as it head felt relatively mild there. It was freezing at Gullfoss. There were two viewing options. One was a view platform at the top of the waterfall that was accessed directly from the trail and there was another viewing area at the bottom that was accessed via steep metal stairs. We passed on this pleasure. Gullfoss was impressive enough from where we were. On the way back, I spotted a glacier in the distance, which was a cool thing.
We had just over an hour at Gullfoss, but because it was so cold, we only spent about 10 minutes at the actual waterfall and the roundtrip on the trail with stopping every now and again to read some information had only taken 30 minutes. We headed for the visitor centre to check out the shop and the snack options, but did not buy anything. Then we headed back to the coach.
Once everybody was back, we headed back to Reykjavik. We went through some really pretty countryside and every now and again, our guide pointed something out. As we got closer to Reykjavik, I fell asleep.
This time round, we were taken back to the bus station. A few of the drop off buses were already waiting and more arrived in a steady stream. We had seen every bus apart from ours. We had a bit of a wait after the last bus had departed until ours finally got there. However, when it did, we headed straight for our hotel.
Once we were back at the hotel, we went back to the room to warm up a little. When we had defrosted, we headed downstairs. This was our wedding anniversary, but we had no intention to leave the hotel again. We had found out the previous day that they actually had a pretty nice menu at the beer garden. We headed down there and it was absolutely packed. It turned out that they had some live music there that evening. We headed back to the lobby to regroup. I suggested that we could just eat at the bistro, but Graham did not fancy it. I checked out if there were any restaurants nearby. It turned out that there was a restaurant offering gourmet burgers in a building just around the corner.
We went back to the room to get our coats and then we headed out. The restaurant was called Íslenska Hamborgarafabrikkan. It looked somewhat industrial, but the menu looked tempting. We both had a local orange soda. Graham had a burger called Morthens, which consisted of Icelandic beef with bacon, garlic grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese, Boston lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and sauce Béarnaise which was served in a freshly baked potato bun with French fries. I had The Captain, which consisted Icelandic beef, crispy Serrano ham, garlic-grilled mushrooms, caramelized red onions, melted cheddar cheese, Boston lettuce, bell peppers, French fries in the middle and chili sauce Béarnaise. which was also served in a freshly baked potato bun with French fries. The burgers were amazing.
I had navigated on the way to the restaurant and Graham was not sure if I had found the quickest route. It did turn out that I had found the quickest route after all. When we got back to the hotel, we headed back to our room. I read for a while and tried the Collab drink that I had got the day before. This was peach and ginger and I really liked it. When I started to feel tired, I got ready for bed and then I settled down for the night.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
Leave a comment