Blue Lagoon

Friday Oct 7
This is our last day in Iceland. We met Inga, Anne (McNamara) and Jason Kessler's sister in law, and her sister for a morning swim at Josh's favorite Reykjavik pool. It was great to catch up with Inga, who we met at Anne and Jason's wedding. Afterwards we went for a stroll along the beach, but the tide was too high to get to the lighthouse. We did get a picture though!

It was very windy today, and our plans to explore Seltún, the local geothermal area, was halted by flying gravel hitting the windshield, as we crested a hill. I'm not sure we would have been able to get out of the car anyway without potentially losing a door! Turning around, we headed for the Blue Lagoon.

By staying at the small hotel, we had a large "private" pool in the middle of the lava field just for the hotel guests. What a luxurious treat this was! The milky blue water was hot, and silica covered the bottom, perfect for a silica mud mask. I am usually sad at the end of a trip, in disbelief that our time has passed so guickly, but this was a great place to end our Iceland adventure.

Reykjavík

Thursday Oct 6
Reykjavík is a very clean and walkable city. After checking in, we walked to the church, Hallgrímskirkja, visible from the Ring Road and dominating the skyline. White concrete, the sides look like the basalt columns we have seen from mountain to sea. It is sparse inside - very Scandinavian. Two large icons, one stained glass window, one pulpit, one statue and a magnificent organ give a very minimalist look to this very holy space. I have included some details. Out front, the statue of Leif Eiríksson was given to Iceland by the US in 1930 to honor the 1,000th anniversary of the Alpingi.

Tom and I were able to catch the last tour of Harpa, Reykjavik's concert hall and cultural center. Harpa was a collaboration between a Danish architectural firm, and Icelandic design firm and an American sound engineering company. Harpa opened in 2011 and the Icelandic economic crisis of 2008 had a great impact on its completion. At times construction was halted, materials and finishes changed, but in the end, the changes made it better, more Icelandic. Again, the glass hexagons represent the basalt columns of Iceland and the building is stunning in the evening light.

Walking along the harbor, we see the sculpture, Sun Voyager, glowing in the setting sun.....on it's voyage to some primeval land.

Stöng

Wednesday Oct 5
Driving up the Pjórsá River valley, we stopped to climb a viewpoint and gaze over this glacial river to the volcano beyond. As we drove further up into the highlands, the landscape became more Mordor like, with very little growth on the volcanic fields. About a third on Iceland's hydroelectric power comes from the dams along the river and wind turbines.

We we are treated to another waterfall, Hjálparfoss, with its double chute, green pool and basalt formations. We have it all to ourselves in this rather untouristed valley.

Stöng is a 1930's archeological dig site of a Viking farm community, which had been covered in volcanic ash during Hekla's 1104 eruption. Imagining life then and trying to figure out the site plan was intriguing, and when we went to the reconstructed site at Pjodveldisbaerinn, we had been pretty accurate. Wish we could have gone in, but it closed for the season.

Dinner in Flúdir and an evening swim at the local pool and hot tube......

The Golden Circle

Tuesday Oct 4
Our house overlooks the Hvitá river - hard to believe that Gullfoss is not far upstream. We begin the Golden Circle, those "must see" sights, in the middle at Geysir. Sulfurous, boiling, and belching, the geyser erupts every 20 minutes, and if you watch closely, there are telltale signs when it is getting ready to blow. There was a huge gift shop here with fun items as well as beautiful (and expensive!) clothing and wool wear.

Wondering how Gullfoss or Golden Falls, could surpass the magnificent falls we had already seen, I was again awestruck by its layered beauty and power. With a flow of 109 cubic meters per sec, Gullfoss casts mist and rainbows high into the air. Spray from its deeply dug canyon whipped like rain around us. At flood stage, the falls can carry 2000 cu m/sec and overflow the canyon - just unbelievable. With today's weather, we were lucky to catch the rainbows - but I didn't see the golden light or chest of gold for which it is named.

Pingvellir sits on the tectonic plate boundary where North America and Europe are tearing away from each other at a rate of about 3/4 of an inch a year. Walking alone the rift (there is a paved path) was dramatic with fissures on either side and the cliffs above. This is also a very historic place for Icelanders, being the spot of the first general assembly or Alpingi, back in Viking times, 930 AD. There is the Lögberg or Law Rock, now marked by the Icelandic flag, where the laws were read, the wallsL acting as a naural amphitheater, projecting over the gathering of people, traders and entertainers who assembled. Trials were held and sentences carried out. For the most serious crimes, there was a large pool for drowning women and chasms for burning at the stake. The water is so cold, (2 degrees C) that your heart would stop in ninety seconds - burning would take longer, I fear.

Flúdir

Monday Oct 3
Leaving Vik, we stopped at Reynisfjara one more time to see the huge, pounding surf and snap a shot on the rocks.

At the Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced ay-ya-fiat-la-yo-gootl) Visitors Center we watched a documentary film about the volcano's 2010 eruption which disrupted European air traffic. Seeing a local farming family deal with the disaster gave us insight into the Icelandic psyche. Perhaps we can reflect some of this spirit as hurricane Matthew roars toward our home.

We we are staying at Laugarás, not far from Flúdir and the Secret Lagoon - Gamia Laugin. Our hot pot professional, Bill, gives the OK, and in we go for a soak. Surrounded by boiling pools and small geysers, this large pool is delightful, with varying temperatures throughout for your perfect spot!

In Flúdir and the surrounding area, 80% of the vegetables in Iceland are grown. Huge greenhouses, glowing orange at night, are filled with tomatoes and lettuces, and the fields are full of cabbages. We also found a fun phot op and an Ethiopian restaurant - one of the only two restaurants in town!

Hidden Falls

Sunday Oct 2
Dyrhólaey was our first stop today. Jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the point is home to sea stacks, arches and a lighthouse, with beautiful views of the long black sand beaches from its cliffs. Summer finds this cliffs full of nesting birds - puffins and Arctic terns. Now we see only kittiwakes sailing on the air currents. Mary and I meet an Icelander who told us his family caught and ate puffins for generations but now have stopped. Global warming has changed the available food source, and many puffins have left the cliffs of Iceland. He described how they build their nests and that puffins have lice, an interesting fact.

Walking behind the waterfall Seljalandsfoss was our next adventure. Spray in our faces, we found niches to shield us from the mist. It is so difficult to capture the size and power of these falls in words or pictures, but it is simply amazing to look up through them, to hear the thunder, to see how small people look in front of them. I spotted a little Icelandic graffiti!

Just a few hundred meters on, we found the falls Gljúfurárbui, with its hidden canyon. The question was - How to get in? On the far left there was a crevice in the rock face and a small stream. Looking up the stream, the chamber was visible, and rock hopping was the way to get there. It was exhilarating inside - the falls tumbling into their pool, the mist highlighted in the darkened circular rock chamber. I climbed up on a large rock to feel more a part of this magical place.

Waterfall Way

Saturday Oct 1
The beautiful waterfall Skógafoss gave us a rainbow as we began our hike up the river. This is the beginning of the Fimmvörduháls trek, 23km from here to Pórsmörk, past the eruption site of Eyjafjallajökull in 2011. We hiked for a couple of hours before turning back, photographing waterfalls, each more amazing than the last. Supposedly there are 22 chutes along this section of the trek. These waterfalls are very deceiving in pictures - without human scale, they appear small. In reality, they are immense, spray rising into the air like rain. The trail is signposted, but we could just follow the sound. It was easy to find a perfect picnic spot!

Our hot pot search continued to Seljavallalaug, a pool built in the 1920's so local children could learn to swim. About a 10 minute hike up a river valley brought us to our most "in the wild" pool yet. This was our first experience with algae, but I tried not to think about that and just enjoy the warm water and the mountain view. We enjoyed our earlier hike in the sun, so now we have a little rain!

As we travel south, there are definitely more tourists. With only two restaurants in Vik, even this time of year there is a wait, so I can't imagine the crowd in summer.