Daily Archives: June 5, 2018

Another early rise on a grey morning – I was up earlier than Frank so I got to break the news to him that while he was asleep, the Capitals had won their playoff game and were now one win from the Stanley Cup.  That woke him up!

We breakfasted on fried eggs and the stuff that looks like Canadian Bacon and then I packed the picnic lunch before we headed out on the most touristy of routes: the Golden Circle.  We didn’t really do the  actual circle since we had done part of it yesterday so we really did the northern upper arc. We had another otherwordly morning drive with clouds so low and thick that we often couldn’t see the cars in front of us.  We had planned to reverse our strategy from yesterday and stop at the various sites on the way out then do the long drive back but the dark greyness of the morning convinced us to keep driving and hope that the skies cleared. So off to the farthest point of the day: Gullfoss or “golden waterfall.” It is a beautiful tiered waterfall with easy access and lots of good vantage points. By the time we got there, our cunning plan had come to pass and the sun was out.  Therefore we got to see not only the amazing waterfall but also panoramic views of the mountains around us.  It was truly breathtaking.

But that was not to be the most spectacular site of the day by far.  Next stop, a mere 10k down the road is the Geysir hot spring area.  Yes, this is the place that gave us the word geyser and where regular eruptions occur.  The granddaddy of them all, Geysir, hasn’t erupted regularly since a 2008 earthquake but when it did, it was bigger than Old Faithful.  The nearby Stokker geyser is still very active – erupting every 8 minutes or so – but is slightly smaller than Old Faithful.  The most amazing thing about this area wasn’t the natural wonders but the commercial bonanza that had sprung up around it.  There weren’t many people at the hot springs themselves when we were there but there were busloads of tourists in the Visitors Center which was an amazing shopping mall.  Whoever came up with this was an absolute genius! They even have a clothing line names for the place.  Very impressive.

By now it was lunch time and we needed to find a place to picnic.  We drove along the road looking for a place to have lunch when we came upon a small layby stuffed full of cars.  Brúarfoss is a little know waterfall compared to some in Iceland but it is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  If you needed any evidence that God exists, this is it.  The water is an impossible blue.  I can’t even describe it and the pictures don’t do it justice. We found a place on the rocks by the water to enjoy our sandwiches and snacks and just soak in the sunshine and quiet roar of the water.  Absolute bliss!

We left the unplanned but amazing stop to head for an Icelandic treasure: Þingvellir National Park where the Mid-Atlantic Divide is slowly ripping the island apart.  According to Wikipedia (which matches the placards in the park BTW): “The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.”
Apparently the plates are moving apar at a rate of 2cm per year which doesn’t bode well for Iceland. This beautiful and historic place is where the local government of Iceland met for nearly a thousand years up until the 18th century.  It’s where executions took place and apparently a fair amount of Njal’s Saga is set there. (I have to read that book when I finally get unpacked!) One of the amazing geographic characteristics is Almannagjá, a fissure or crack in the rocks that is so large cars used to be allowed to drive through it.  Oh sure, there’s a waterfall too but those seem to be a dime a dozen around here. 🙂

The sun had held out for the entire excursion and as we drove back to the city we found ourselves tired – and sunburned!  We spent a few minutes working on some “business” stuff: apparently buying a house occasionally requires some paperwork even when you are on vacation.  Once that was completed, it was off to dinner at a lovely little place called Messin at the edge of the tourist district.  It does fish and does it well.  There are no 7 course tasting menus here, or puffin/horse/whale dishes.  Just fish served in frying pans with buttered potatoes and salad.  Frank had the ling with fennel, chili, ginger and brandy (and breadcrumbs so none for me) but I had the arctic char with honey, almonds, and lemon and no breadcrumbs.  Absolutely delish! A short walk back along the harbor and it’s time for tea and off to bed.  We have more hiking to do tomorrow.

Today’s data:

Drive: 253 km
Steps: 24,336 (11.8 miles)
Waterfalls: 3
Average price of an Icelandic knit sweater: $250

After 9.5 hours of sleep, we managed to get the day started.  We are nearly adjusted to local time but it still took some time getting organized to head out.  We breakfasted on Skyr – if you think it’s the same as Greek yogurt, it’s not – and coffee and made some sandwiches to take on the road.  Then it was on the road south toward the town of Vik where we hoped to find Reynisfjara – the Black Sand beach. It was close to a 2 hour drive along the two lane road that is Highway 1.  Well I call it a highway because it was paved – many of the roads that turned off route 1 were not.

As it was another cloudy and grey day, we needed some tunes for the journey.  Thank goodness for Pandora’s offline stations. So Foo Fighters Radio got us through the first 100 kilometers or so as we wound through the countryside, heading up and down hills, where sometimes it looked like the clouds were touching the ground. The goal was to start at the point farthest away and visit other sights along the way back.  The scenery was interesting:  if you looked out the passenger window, it looked like Kansas (flat and uninteresting) but if you looked out the drivers window, it looked like Scotland (green and hilly).

And when we got there, it was amazing! The basalt columns along the shore had spectacular patterns and the rock formations were stunning (and somewhat phallic!).  The beach is black and the grain of the sand ranges from smooth black and grey stones about the size of a quarter or half dollar down to fine grains that look like pepper.  The water is a clear, COLD, blue with crashing waves that can sneak up the beach and be dangerous.  The warning signs actually call them “sneaker waves” because even on a calm day they can heave all the way up the beach and wreak havoc.

Next stop Skógafoss, one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland where the water drops 60 meters in sheets that are 25 meters wide.  You can walk right up to the falls if you don’t mind getting soaked. You can also climb the steps to the top of the falls and look down on the magnificent scene.  So you know we did – gotta go up!  We also grabbed a quick bit at the bistro for the Skógafoss Hotel.  I had to settle for a burger with no bun but it worked and was pretty tasty too. (For those keeping track of the Iceland Restaurant price index:  burger and fries: $24.  We did get the “upscale” burger that had bacon and bernaise sauce though.)

Moving back west along route 1, the next stop was Seljalandsfoss, another waterfall and a regular contender on the top 3 list. It also has a drop of about 60 meters but it’s a much narrower fall but with a very cool feature: you can walk behind it!  Of course we did, battling with selfie stick toting tourists who were not prepared for clambering over wet stone and were so busy filming things that they didn’t really stop to appreciate the scenery.  {sigh}

By this time the sun had broken through and the temperature reached a balmy 14 degrees! We continued the trek back west, stopping occasionally to check out a local wool market in Hella (meh) and visit the state liquor store in Selfloss.  Wine prices were high (about $20 for a bottle that would cost about $15 at home) but nothing outrageous. Apparently flavored apple cider is a big thing here so we decided to try the pineapple and passion fruit flavors.

Back in town to look for someplace for dinner. We decided to try Forrettabarrinn based on review of their gluten-free friendliness.  We went for the 4 course tasting dinners (about $55 each).  Mine had duck salad, a caprese salad that I swapped for the quesadilla, cod with fennel, and Skyr mousse with berries.  All very yummy.  Frank had salmon, beef carpaccio, lamb, and creme brulee.  Add his Brennavin cocktail and he definitely won the dinner war.

Then we wandered around town in the still-bright-enough-for-sunglasses daylight at 9:30 before heading home to wait for sunset. Although it was slated for 11:30 or so, a trip to the bathroom at 1:30 am revealed that it never actually got completely dark.  Yes, the sleep masks are coming in handy.

Drove: ~390 km
Steps: 18,745 (8.9 miles)
Steps to top of Skógafoss: 427
Tour buses passed on the road: at least 10