Exploring Iceland

Woke up to another beautiful sunshiny day. Of course, the sky was pretty much bright all night. Headed out to pick up the car. The streets were very quiet at 8:30. We quessed everyone goes to bed pretty late - no sense getting up early when you have sunshine all day long. Turns out the car rental was in a hotel. Of course nothing is ever easy. To make a long story short, we are now riding in a very lovely small car equipped with a free GPS and free airport drop-off. All this because the guy was late and they didn't have the car we reserved. Wanted a diesel and wound up with gas. But we are enjoying the GPS and got a refund on our return bus ticket back to the airport on Tuesday. All is good,

Finally, got the car and dropped by the apt to pack up for our day trip. GPS got us out of town and we were headed for the famous Golden Circle. On the way we stopped to build our cairn at a very popular site - not sure of the name. Moving on, the first stop of the circle is Þingvallavatn National Park.

Þingvallavatn is a rift valley lake in southwestern Iceland. With a surface of 84 km it is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Its greatest depth is at 114 m. At the northern shore of the lake, at Þingvellir (after which the lake is named), the Alþingi, the national parliament, was founded in the year 930. 

The lake lies partially within Þingvellir National Park. The volcanic origin of the islands in the lake is clearly visible. The cracks and faults around it, of which the famous Almannagjá canyon is the largest, is where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. 

They also have the most scenic bathroom I have ever been in. The views were absolutely breathtaking. In fact we haven't stopped  oohing and aahing since we drove out of the city.

Our next stop was Geysir.  It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser derives from Geysir.  Stopped to see the floor show and take lots of pix.

Gullfloss is the last of the major attractions of the circle and by far the best. Being fortunate enough to view the falls on a sunny day, we were treated to some fabulous rainbows. What a terrific feeling walking through the huge mist.We are now on the lower road home completing the circle back to Reykjavik. 

Arrived back at around 7:30. Parked the car and walked up the street to Cafe Loki. We had seen this little place on a video we had gotten about Iceland before we left. It is small and features Icelandic foods. We didn't do anything too daring - just a herring sampler and a veggie platter. The couple next to us tried the shark's head. Didn't go over too well. Icelanders also eat Minke Whale and Puffin. Not even going there. We had hoped to stop in the big church across the street after dinner, but they just closed the doors as soon as we left the restaurant. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. 

We liked the herring so much, we went down to the market and picked some up for breakfast. We are planning on taking the southern route tomorrow and stopping by a geothermal power plant along the way. Weather is still promising to be good.

Cannot express enough how amazing this country is - we were totally not prepared for the beauty that we saw today. Drawing the shades -- sweet dreams.

Next time...Nature's power