Golden Circle
It’s back into a very full car today as we say goodbye to Reykjavik (for a while at least) and head for the interior to see the sights of the Golden Circle. Being just a short drive from the city, this is the quintessential day tour in Iceland, with busses full of blue-haired ladies making the rounds in both directions. We plan on spending the next three days in the area so will be taking things at a bit more leisurely place.
No more than 30 minutes from Reykjavik it is like we have entered another world. Signs of civilization have melted away behind us, leaving wide open vistas as far as the eye can see. Here is where our adventure really begins.
Now with no buildings here and very few trees, wind is not your friend, taking chilly temperatures and making them downright unpleasant. Grumpy cat is not amused.
Our first destination is Þingvellir (Thingvellir to us sorry folk with only 26 letters in their alphabet), a spot with both historical and natural significance. Deep under our feet, two continental plates are in motion, slowly tearing Iceland apart. At the rate of about 2cm per year, the earth here is moving in opposite directions, providing a unique opportunity to see forces of nature at work, literally ripping rocks apart.
This spot also served as the site of the Althing, where, not far from where these two goobers are standing, representatives, not far from each region on Iceland gathered for the world’s first (and now oldest) parliament.
And because I’m a sucker for waterfalls…
Next on the agenda is Geysir, the geyser from which all others geyser’s got their name. These days it is just a quiet, steaming pool with some bubbles here and there, but just a few steps away is another, named Strokkur, that erupts like clockwork every 5-8 minutes.
Last on our list for today is Gulfoss, one of the iconic waterfalls of Iceland where water from the Hvítá River seems to disappear into the earth.
Days are still fairly short here and by this time it is getting close to sunset. With the goal of finding the cabin we have booked for the next few nights while it is still daylight, we head of towards the town of Hella. As towns go it isn’t much to speak of, but with a gas station, a grocery store (creatively called The Grocery Store), and a bakery, it has everything the Roberts family requires.
Our cabin is just a short drive from town, but with the assistance of Google Maps a few wrong turns, we somehow manage to turn that into an hour long journey down a combination of back roads, and rutted gravel tracks that apparently bear enough resemblance to roads to pass Google’s exacting standards. As darkness falls, the instructions “look for a black house from the road, and just past that, turn left at the green gate” become surprisingly less effective.
On our third pass we finally figure it out and unload. Our hope is that, miles away from any city lights, we’ll be able to relax here in the hot tub at night and watch the Northern Lights overhead. We haven’t seen much clear sky since we landed in Iceland, but the forecast looks like it might cooperate tomorrow night so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Note to self, when confirming on AirBnB that the place you are renting has a hot tub, also ask if it has any water in it.