Iceland Part 3: Excursions.

As I said yesterday we went on 3 excursions. The Golden Circle, the Blue Lagoon and the Landmannalaugar and Saga Valley tour. These were three of the so-called "must-do" trips around southern Iceland. We enjoyed the trips and took a lot of photo's (just look at the smile on Tracy's face if you don't believe me!). I doubt any description or amount of photo's will do justice to the things we saw, but I'll have a go nonetheless!

The Golden Circle or "if you get lost in an Icelandic forest, just stand up"
You read correctly - the quote is but one of the many pearls of wisdom imparted to us by our tour guide. Our distinctly Euro-sceptic tour guide. The driver on this trip looked very happy to be there - smiling most of the time he was driving. I think he may possibly have been high!

First stop was a geothermal power station where we had a little presentation, got to walk around the visitor centre and take some pics. What I didn't realise is that this power plant also supplies most of the hot water needed in Reykjavik.

Another thing I didn't realise is that the city centre has heated pavements and heated car parks. Seriously - there are hot water pipes beneath the pavements and other key public areas to save the effort of snow ploughing. Since the hot water is supplied by nature there's no worry about having to heat the water in the first place. How cool is that?!

Anyway, off we went across the lava fields (I got the impression that anywhere that wasn't mountain/volcano, glacier or lived on was a lava field) and we eventually arrived at the Gullfoss waterfall.

Wow, it was stunning. All the water, if I remember correctly, was running off a 'nearby' glacier. Words, indeed pictures, can not do this justice. It was beautiful and I managed to take a hundred photos there alone! See Flickr and YouTube for more.

After the waterfall, we went to the Geyser Park. Home to the first geyser known to academia - Geysir. It was also home to Strokkur, who erupts every 4 to 8 minutes and it was this one we went to see.

It was just a big hole in the ground with some bubbling water in it. Then, after a long wait, a big bubble came to the surface and popped. Some people were saying "is that it?" but the pro photographers knew there was more to come.

Then, a few moments later the water level dropped rapidly and up shot the geyser. Easily 20 to 30 feet into the air!

That was my first geyser experience. I was impressed.

Landmannalaugar or "on your left is a prison for white collar crime... it's full of bankers... the bankers who ruined our economy with their greed!"
Our very cheerful driver/tour guide was kind enough to take us on a couple of rants and I mean proper rants - he must have gone on for 15 minutes. I think I was the only one actually listening with interest though :-s

The rants were about the state of Iceland's economy and it was quite clear who he blamed for it. He was in the pro-Europe camp as well so you can't say we didn't get a balance of opinion over the two trips!

Anyway, to business. First stop, random waterfall. Not as impressive as Gullfoss but nice.

Then we pressed on into the highlands and even further away from civilisation. Off-roading in a minibus! Didn't know it was possible.

We stopped by a lake in the crater of a volcano. Now that was impressive. Again, in the middle of nowhere. Little sign that we were anywhere near other people.

Then we pressed on, complete with flat tyre and huge chip in the windscreen, to the Landmannalaugar camp-site. Now this, if you like camping, is the place to go! Lots of hikers and campers use this place as a hub. Not only that - but it has its own thermal pool - what more can you ask for after a day or 4 of hiking?!

Being in the area, we went on a hike too, only for a couple of hours though. Up to and across another lava field, up the mountain and to a geothermal area. Some of the hills were streaked in different colours; reds, greens, blues and oranges. Very striking.

Then while the minibus was repaired we ate lunch and took lots of random photos. Like we need an excuse to do that though ;-)

We then made our way out of the fields of Cotton Grass, across the plains of volcanic ash to a vantage point where we could see the volcano known as Hekla (the same name as our plane if you remember from earlier in this series). Though it had been quite cloudy all day, there was enough of a break in the clouds to get a half decent photo!

So that was it. We made our way home after the volcano. Okay, so we had to stop to allow a veritable armada of horses to pass. But after that, oh and removing the brick stuck between the rear tyres (using an ingenious method), we were merrily on our way.

I think you could safely say we got our money's worth! It was planned to be a 12 hour day but ended up at just over 13 hours! The driver was kind and stopped off at a service station when we were nearly back in Reykjavik so we could pick up some food for an evening meal.

The Blue Lagoon or "shit fucking holy christ"
Ah, this beautiful specimen of Anglo-Saxon came out of the mouth of a man whom I don't think was British. The accent seemed German or similar. The outburst, though really quite offensive to anyone of a Christian disposition, was almost justified.

You see, the blue lagoon (and I mean the lagoon itself) is outdoors. Okay, so that's no big revelation but picture this...

You're in the lagoon. You've been in there some time. Salty, opaque, slightly blue water surrounds you at an ambient temperature of between 30 and 38 degrees Celsius (that's 86 to 100 Fahrenheit for you old skoolers). It's a pleasurable experience. The water isn't that deep so you're crouching to neck level in the warm soothing blanket that is the water.

Above you it's started raining. The air temperature is around the 14 degrees Celsius mark (57 Fahrenheit) but with your body immersed in the lagoon and your head so close to the warm water, the rain is merely a refreshing spray on your face.

Then you need to go into the main building. Perhaps you want something to eat, need the toilet or are going for a massage. Maybe you just want to get something from your locker?

So you make your way to the exit of the pool - some steps at one end of the lagoon.

You stand up to go up the steps.

Most of your body is now out of the water and, crucially, above that layer of warm air hugging the surface. The cold air and the colder rain assaults your warm flesh and you look up to see that the door into the main building is still another 7 metres (21 feet) away.

You climb the stairs and start making your way along the path to the door. You feel the cold air against your skin and for the first time notice that it's really quite windy. The wind in Iceland is chilly at the best of times.

So you make your way along the path, trying to tread quickly but carefully so as not to slip, gusts of icy wind blow cold raindrops onto your already shivering form. That door isn't getting closer fast enough and it seems to be taking ages to get there.

And then you see someone about to come out of the building and there's only the one door. What do you do? Do you throw open the heavy and slow moving door and thrust yourself into the warm interior or do you stand and wait for the others to come out?

The swearing guy in this story had to wait in the wind and the rain. As he almost forced his way through the door, that is when he made his little outburst. So you see - justifiable. Well, aside from the blasphemy.

I should probably talk a little about the lagoon. We enjoyed our visit and we spent 3 or so hours bathing there. We didn't take advantage of the other stuffs such as steam rooms, massages etc. but were content and very chilled out never-the-less.

Not sure on why we had to shower before going in the lagoon though. That remains a bit of a mystery and if anyone would like to explain, then please do so.

I thought it was a good idea for the tour operators to offer people the option of stopping at the blue lagoon on the way between Keflavik (airport) and Reykjavik. After a long journey I can imagine that the lagoon and a massage would be most welcome! We didn't do this though.

~ In Conclusion ~

We had a great holiday to Iceland and really enjoyed exploring the country and seeing the dramatic scenery first hand. I think we'll definitely be going there again. I'd be happy to return to Reykjavik but I'd also like to visit the north of the country. Which would mean getting to Akureyri but that's not that big a problem. Well, not in the summer!

Thanks for reading this account of our holiday and I hope it has been interesting and possibly even helpful. So until the next post, take care all :-D