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The weather was turning a bit rainy and fairly windy on the exposed coast road. There is plenty to see with the lava fields and hundreds of waterfalls.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/294/1...f3931c8b_c.jpgiceland 2 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/329/1...c6ab2ca1_c.jpgiceland 2 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/521/1...0e897eee_c.jpgiceland 2 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3900/...387fb486_c.jpgiceland 2 22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/...8940a29a_c.jpgiceland 2 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The two main attractions on the coast here are the waterfalls of Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss. The first is one of the biggest in the country and drops 60 meters. Legend says there is a Viking treasure buried behind the falls. We hiked up to the top, but the best view if from the halfway mark. We also met this crazy Canadian there with the same shirt on as me!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/394/1...5362b14c_c.jpgiceland 2 28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/...d4422e2a_c.jpgiceland 2 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/265/1...38977433_c.jpgiceland 2 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/543/1...248e0fbe_c.jpgDSC02943 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3953/...debe4c59_c.jpgiceland 2 27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Next we moved onto Seljalandsfoss, where you can walk behind the also 60 meter falls. Leaving here there was some very gusting heavy winds. This is the same location where near the end of our trip the highway was closed due to high winds that had blow several cars and a camper off the road.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/462/1...99d327f9_c.jpgiceland 2 29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/386/1...c85ec443_c.jpgiceland 2 30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/493/1...ed39cb8a_c.jpgiceland 2 31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/359/1...d331fef2_c.jpgiceland 2 32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived in Grindavik in the south west of the Island with the intention of camping, but the winds were howling and it was 4 degrees and raining. It is shocking how expensive a room in a guesthouse (shared bath) is on Iceland. Almost as much as Scotland Gino. We did not have much choice and hunkered down for the night.
We woke up to a dreary day, but it was barely raining now and not really very windy. From Grindavik we rode up to the airport to meet our friends Gord and Adrianna who have come from Vancouver to spend 2 weeks with us exploring Iceland. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/438/1...19336b62_c.jpgDSC00974 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had tickets to the Blue lagoon today, but instead of taking the paved road there we rode cross-country on a dirt track that was on the GPS, but not on the map. This was thru a lava fields. Along the way there were several steam vents visible and finally the pipes for “harvesting” the steam.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/398/1...a82d2f01_c.jpgDSCN3328 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/335/1...b7402a53_c.jpgDSCN3327 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3794/...e1e9d3c9_c.jpgFILE1721 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/303/1...cc25e32c_c.jpgDSC00988 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/...dc9c82bc_c.jpgDSC00989 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/529/1...5de8ab25_c.jpgFILE1727 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/427/1...c2f77852_c.jpgDSC00994 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/504/1...f70c0e4f_c.jpgDSC00996 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3722/...cb6aa4c7_c.jpgDSC00999 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Blue lagoon itself is very expensive for a soak in the wastewater from the nearby geothermal plant, but was a relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3894/...406c13b9_c.jpgDSCN3331 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/385/1...aed57150_c.jpgDSCN3335 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/500/1...067a52db_c.jpgFILE1764 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/423/1...68d09131_c.jpgFILE1771 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/366/1...6e94b0a5_c.jpgFILE1825 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/505/1...97dc2354_c.jpgFILE1889 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/316/1...e779da5c_c.jpgFILE1876 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/444/1...d09be43a_c.jpgFILE1883 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we continued north towards Reykjavik, but stopped for the night in nearby Hafnarfjordur, which according to the signage is the city of Vikings, Elves, and lava. It apparently has the largest concentration of elves, dwarves, and hidden people on the island! It is set in a 7000-year old lava field and is home to a large Viking festival every summer. That said it is a very picturesque fishing town with brightly colored metal or wood clad houses.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/544/1...bdcee3d6_c.jpgDSC01002 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/269/1...e5c7c4c5_c.jpgDSC01003 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/333/1...aaba8122_c.jpgDSC01006 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/447/1...bc336a08_c.jpgDSC01008 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/...4cb16892_c.jpgDSC01009 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Most visitors to Iceland land in the capital and then only do a tour of the “golden circle” This includes the major attractions in a 300 km loop. They see Thingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Geysers as well as a scenic drive.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/412/1...410acd83_c.jpgGolden-circle-in-Iceland by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did a 212 km route that was off road and on the secondary roads. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/424/1...edaafcc9_c.jpgScreen Shot 2015-07-21 at 8.15.05 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We started our tour in Reykjavik with a visit to the waterfront and then the Viking ship sculpture.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/376/1...06f599af_c.jpggolden circle 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/273/1...e6ee5bfb_c.jpggolden circle 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/549/1...8653086d_c.jpggolden circle 7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Driving into the city center the skyline is dominated by the huge tower of the Hallgrimskirkja church. It was designed to look like the forms and shapes that lava makes when it cools into basalt rock. The statue out front is of Leifur Eiriksson, who was the first European to discover America in 1000AD.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/289/1...ca1e376b_c.jpggolden circle 9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3775/...e8947ba1_c.jpggolden circle 11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3770/...faa995c3_c.jpggolden circle 8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we decided to take the small dirt road and cut cross-country to skip the highway driving and head right to the main sights.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/390/1...a9e1beb2_c.jpggolden circle 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/333/1...9483a522_c.jpggolden circle 13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/405/1...d4015cab_c.jpggolden circle 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3782/...39dbdb97_c.jpggolden circle 22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/289/1...fdc09c05_c.jpggolden circle 31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/510/1...c947bba3_c.jpggolden circle 28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
On the way we did have some incredible view across the lake to Thingvellir.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/305/1...377b3172_c.jpggolden circle 17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/313/1...7ee860cd_c.jpggolden circle 18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/272/1...2bd8f1bc_c.jpggolden circle 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/...b8b8f7a7_c.jpggolden circle 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/437/1...3ef4a102_c.jpggolden circle 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/411/1...0b53e5f4_c.jpggolden circle 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/463/1...89c616af_c.jpggolden circle 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/476/1...979216e1_c.jpggolden circle 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/557/1...0767d9ee_c.jpggolden circle 26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/505/1...4107158c_c.jpggolden circle 29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/336/1...a02903df_c.jpggolden circle 30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The first stop was at Geysir to see the hot water eruptions. The Great geyser was dormant before an 1896 earthquake and by 1910 was active about every 30 minutes this frequency declined over time and then only rarely. Since an earthquake in 2000 it became active again but by 2003 was only erupting about 3 times a day. The nearby Strokkur geyser erupts up to 30 meters every few minutes. It is very cool to stand there and watch the pool start to swirl and then splash over the sides. This increases in intensity until suddenly a large bubble appears followed by a huge plume of hot water.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/548/1...70e6684f_c.jpggolden circle 32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/379/1...3b51385b_c.jpgIMG_4157 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/316/1...a0e18b07_c.jpggolden circle 34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/455/1...e78234f2_c.jpggolden circle 33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/548/1...416a3562_c.jpggolden circle 40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/393/1...6c5035e2_c.jpggolden circle 41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/534/1...655d11cb_c.jpggolden circle 43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/485/1...ce5400e3_c.jpggolden circle 35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/406/1...e9d8980f_c.jpggolden circle 38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/315/1...e41271ca_c.jpgIMG_4446 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/342/1...d4daf614_c.jpgIMG_4446 (1) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/536/1...0d9a7d96_c.jpgIMG_4446 (2) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Next we rode over to Gullfoss, which is one of the most popular attractions on the island. The river makes a sharp turn and flows down a wide 3-tier staircase and then abruptly crashes into a 32-meter deep crevice. From a certain angle it looks like the river disappears into the earth. There was a lot of controversy here since the plan was to use the river to generate electricity. It was saved because of the failure of investors to raise the money and the land was sold to the state for protection.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3685/...a1a52deb_c.jpggolden circle 44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/346/1...bdc3ed72_c.jpggolden circle 46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/278/1...8be4b8bb_c.jpggolden circle 47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/291/1...b9077491_c.jpggolden circle 48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/366/1...f83f4ec4_c.jpggolden circle 50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/506/1...d1d2c457_c.jpgDSC02960 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3709/...f7dfeebc_c.jpggolden circle 53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/526/1...8f8176a7_c.jpggolden circle 54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/496/1...8b9d0dc2_c.jpggolden circle 57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/486/1...600f0a65_c.jpggolden circle 60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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