Tuesday morning dawned with gray skies just like yesterday. Today would be another busy travel day with lots to see so we got up, packed our bags, and left fairly early. Our destination was the Golden Circle, Iceland’s best known tourist area. However, before we left. we drove to the nearby town of Borgarnes to get some breakfast and fill up our gas tank. Tank and tummies full, we were on our way.
Two days before we had crossed the nearby fjord, Hvalfjörður, by going under it through a tunnel. Today we drove all the way around the fjord. It was a beautiful little trip, and it let us see a different part of Iceland. Traffic was practically non existent so I was able to jump out and take a picture of the road with lupine growing on both sides. I have mentioned lupine before. It is an Alaskan species introduced to help with soil erosion. However, Andrea read that despite its beauty, as a non-native plant, many want lupine eliminated. It has taken over in some areas and hindered the growth of the native plants. There always seems to be an upside and a downside to the things that people have done to change their world.
We also stopped at a small waterfall. What makes Fossarétt more interesting is the rock structure nearby which reminded me of the fences we saw in Ireland. Apparently the structure is used for sorting sheep, and we did see sheep in the area along with more horses. It was a beautiful drive with wonderful viewpoints of the dramatic cliffs nearby.
Our first major stop of the day was Thingvellir National Park, the largest attraction of the Golden Circle. It is probably one of the most popular tourist site, and you could tell it. We saw a lot more people today as well as tourist buses. Sites were definitely crowded.
The national park has both historical and geological significance. From a historical perspective, this location was where the early leaders of Iceland’s government met. The local leaders from the various sections of the islands came to this location to establish some of the laws and governing rules for the island.
From a geological perspective this area reveals again how the two major continental plates are drifting apart. We saw a smaller location that showed that on our first day. However, here the distance between the two plates is quite large. The lake, Þingvallavatn, fills the space between the two plates and is actually growing as the plates drift apart. One can see the large walls of the plates. They are pretty impressive.
One fun thing about Thingvellir National Park is the bathroom. The sinks in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms are placed on a wall of windows so you can look out over the scenery of the park while you are washing your hands. Certainly a unique and unexpected perspective.
We drove through the rest of the park and didn’t find it that interesting. A lot of lava flows here and there which actually makes the place appear desolate.
So we went on to our next stop which was another waterfall. We drove along the Brúará River which had its own beautiful scenery. However the waterfall on it was our goal. We had a bit of a challenge finding the parking area for Brúarfoss and then debated whether to go as information indicated it would be a 45 minute hike in, but we decided to go for it.
The first challenge was the bugs. There are no mosquitoes in Iceland, but little gnats can swarm you, and they were swarming us. I ended up putting my mask over my face. Eventually, however, they seemed to disappear. We arrived at the waterfall much sooner than we anticipated. We were impressed with the unusual blue color of the water which the waterfall is known for. After checking it out we started back. About halfway back we saw a sign and realized that there were two waterfalls, and the second one was even larger than the one we saw and probably the one 45 minutes away.
It was about that time, as we were discussing whether to go back, that I was crossing a stone section over a stream and somehow slipped. I felt a pain in the back of my upper right leg as if I had pulled or torn something. It hurt. Choosing now not to go back to see what we missed, I was able to continue walking back to our car, but slowly. There were only a few movements that caused real pain. Andrea was quite anxious and worried. She had been fussing at me about my shoes, but there was nothing I could do about that. I got in the car, and we moved on. It was actually more painful to sit than to walk, but we needed to keep going.
Our next stop in the Golden Circle reminded me of Yellowstone National Park. It was called the Geyser Center. They said they had three geysers, but there was only one that was actually making any significant bursts into the air. Fortunately this happened every 5 to 10 minutes. It could spurt pretty high so people were happy to wait and watch the geyser. If you got close enough to the pool to watch it, you could see some of the activity begin in the pool before it shot up. Andrea has never been to Yellowstone so for her to see the geyser was exciting.
There were some other pools around and vents that were shooting steam into the air so there were things to see as we walked around. Of course there was the gift shop and food service here. There was even a hotel. I’m not sure who runs this, but considering all the commercial elements here, I was surprised that no admission was charged to go into the geyser area.
Our final Golden Circle stop was another waterfall. We had seen a number of these throughout Iceland, but this one was the largest. What is interesting about Gullfoss are the different angles and directions that the water is flowing. There is a canyon at the end of the falls which the water tumbles into which reminded me of Victoria Falls in Zambia.
One can see the falls from near the parking lot, but to get a closer look, there is a trail that goes down to the falls’ edge. I used my trekking poles to go down, and they helped me feel more stable. There are some rocks to ascend near the water; that was a bit more tricky. I really felt like an old man as I tried to maneuver my poles in just the right way to get me up and down. Fortunately I managed to do it without falling.
It was now time to head off to our accommodations for the night. It was over an hour’s drive to get there. This night we were staying in a very basic cabin. It felt more like we were camping. However, our cabin was on the edge of the river, and we had great water views to enjoy all day and night since the sun never disappears. Tonight we needed to rest well as tomorrow we would have a big day of hiking, at least I hoped so. I needed to decide in the morning if my leg was up for it. Tune in next week to find out.
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You are courageous. I am happy for you to get to travel. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Les, not sure I am that courageous.