Exploring Iceland, the Island of Fire and Ice, Day 5

Geysir hotel dining room

For our fifth day of our exploring Iceland, the land of fire and Ice, we had ambitious plans, with three major attractions on our list. We left our elegant but dimly lighted room in the Geysir Hotel and headed for the dining room, anticipating another delicious and expansive breakfast. We were not disappointed. A huge buffet, offering practically every breakfast item one could imagine was set up in there (shown above), all sorts of foods located in an extensive area behind the spot this photo was taken.

Notice the steam

Look through the windows above and notice the steam rising from thermal areas just across the road. Notice also the parched land and rock just outside the windows. a feature I assume the hotel’s landscape architect left natural to reflect the nearby thermal areas. Also located nearby is the Great Geysir, one described in print in the 13th Century, and the source of our word geyser. The Great Geysir has pretty much run out of steam, so to say, and it rarely erupts these days, but another good-sized one is just a short distance from the hotel.

Strokkur

Known as Strokkur, this geyser erupts frequently. Since we were so close (Strokkur is just a couple hundred yards from the hotel), Anne and I went to see it do its stuff, examining various hot bubbling springs on the way. A group of maybe 50 folks stood upwind from Strokkur, their phones and cameras at eye level. We joined them, and within a couple of minutes, WHOOSH!! Off it went. Strokkur’s water source heats quickly, and it erupts every 4 to 10 minutes, often spurting its plume of boiling water up 100 feet into the air or more.

 

Strokkur errupting
                                   Anne caught this shot of Strokkur in action

After our inspection of the engrossing thermal area (which reminded me of similar spots in Yellowstone National Park), we set off in our trusty Land Rover to explore more of Iceland’s diversified topography, our first stop being another watery wonder, Gullfoss, the most photographed waterfall in Iceland.

Google maps told us it was a short trip from Geysir to Gullfoss, and it was. When we arrived and stepped out of the car, the wind was whipping wildly (I had to grab my cap), turbulent water was pounding nearby, and the sun peeped out!

Water and wind rushing at Gullfoss waterfall

We made our way to near the roaring falls and paused with opened-mouth awe at the tumbling waters, their churning force.  Anne walked down further down the path to where the mist was swirling and shot the video below. It’s best viewed on a full computer screen. After you click the play button in the center, I recommend you watch it in full view by clicking the symbol in the lower right corner. You’ll need to press your ESC button to come back to this view afterward. (I mention this because you may be as nontechnical as I am.)

GullFoss with its two tiers of falls is mesmerizing. We took time to stand and gaze at the scene, imagining the enormous source that fed this amazing waterfall, its average flow being about 375,000 gallons per second during the summer, less in winter. For more information about Gullfoss, see here.

Next we retraced our path through Geysir and drove on to see another fascinating example of Iceland’s topography. Google maps told us we had about an hour of driving to reach the Kerid Crater, a prediction that hit the target.

 

Route to the Kerid Crater

The Kerid Crater is believed to be a magma chamber that collapsed at the end of a volcanic eruption some 6.000 years ago. The crater is nearly 200 feet deep, including the water pooled at the bottom. One can amble all the way around the crater’s rim on the path provided and admire the colorful black and red slopes that contrast with the aquamarine water, but Anne and I had another major attraction on our schedule. More information about this ancient crater can be found here.

Our next target was Thingvellir, a fascinating national park that sounded absolutely fascinating. What made it so appealing?

Two reasons

First of all, it is the site where Iceland’s first governing assembly was formed, this occurring way back in 930. (Yes, in the tenth century. Think of that!). So Iceland developed a primitive representative parliament some 800 years before anything similar was adopted in the United States and France.

Secondly, part of western Iceland rests on the North American tectonic plate, while the rest of the country lies on the Eurasian tectonic plate. And these two gigantic plates are grinding and slowly moving apart from each other (at a speed of less than an inch each year), yet that slow, massive displacement is the cause Iceland’s frequent earthquakes, along with its clusters of erupting volcanoes.

Beyond that, Iceland is the only place in the world where this tectonic rift rises above sea-level, and, as we discovered when we arrived, you can see the edges of both plates clearly in Thingvellir. For more about this amazing piece of ground, see here.

Two gargantuan tectonic plates
Ready to hike between two gargantuan tectonic plates

The park is made for walking, and we set out to explore parts of it on foot. We hiked along a curling course, navigated lots of steps and stones, and discovered a hidden waterfall splashing over black volcanic rock. Much more information on this remarkable park can be found here.

Waterfall in Thingvillur
We found another delightful, crystal clear waterfall splashing merrily over black rock

We then returned to our car via another path, covering some 2.5 Km on that late afternoon ramble. By then it was time for us to return to our base at the Geysir hotel. We had reservations for a special dinner that evening. Although our 2022 birthdays had occurred months earlier, we planned to celebrate them again while in Iceland. Anne piloted our Land Rover back to Geysir, thus completing the roughly triangular route we had followed on this inspiring day.

Triangular route we followed today

Once back in our ultramodern Geysir hotel, not to mention our dimly lighted room (although the lighting was irritating, the hotel overall is great), we had time to freshen up and even mix cocktails before wandering down to the hotel’s restaurant. Anne had alerted the staff to our special dinner, and we were offered glasses of champagne to set things in motion.

 

Celebrating our birthday at the Geysir hotel
Celebrating 140 years!!! Anne’s 50 plus my 90
We ended out birthday fest with delicious chocolate caramel cake, a fitting end to our great day of exploration, a day that we happily noted had been nearly entirely free of rain! And more excitement lay ahead of us. Next morning, we were to return to Reykjavik, with one of our much anticipated stops along the way being the Blue Lagoon, a highly-touted and huge outdoor patch of milky blue waters. Anne had reserved time for us to float in its healing warmth. Stay tuned.
 
As most of you know, I am posting descriptions of each of our memorable days in Iceland. If you’ve missed any of our earlier days, you can find them by clicking on these choices: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.
 

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