Icelandic Horseback Riding

After breakfast, we were picked up and shuttled to Laxnes Horse Farm just down route 36 a ways towards Þingvellir. We got our helmets and horses from the staff. My horse with Binko and Sandy's was Harpa. Our group was pretty big, about 20 riders, and soon we took off. I probably should have left the camera as it was just something else to worry about and I wasn't able to take any shots from on the horse anyway. I've only ridden a horse once and I'm a little nervous up there. But Binko was a sweet horse. And a hungry one too. As we headed down the trail, she wanted to stop frequently and munch on the grasses growing along the side. But she didn't want to lose her spot, so after grabbing a bite, she took off to get back to her spot in the line. She also seemed greatly offended when the horse in front of her had gas. Shaking her head in disgust, she sped up and passed the horse so we wouldn't be violated again! But when we got behind the guide, she knew to follow her. It turned out to be a pretty exciting and enjoyable ride, with Binko galloping a bit and a few fords to cross streams. I think she also did the unique Icelandic gait, but I'm not familiar with horses well enough to recognize it. We followed the Kaldakvísl river down to just upstream of the Route 1 bridge and then stopped for rest. Getting down, I let Binko eat while we were resting and fill up before the ride back. At one point, she wanted some grass deep in a bush and nearly pulled me over trying to get at it. Sandy's horse Harpa had an inch and tried to use her as a scratching board. After a few minutes, we got back on our horses and headed back. Those who wanted to ride faster went first, but I figured it best to stay slow. We made it almost all the way when a horse behind me got spooked. The man riding yelled "Stop!" (like a horse is going to listen) and startled Binko who took off. I nearly fell back off the horse, but was able to catch myself and rein in Binko. I sure didn't want to fall after doing well for most of the way. Back at the farm, we returned the horses and were shuttled back to our hotel.  It was just after lunchtime so we took the bus to downtown Reykjavík. We had Thai lunch and stopped at the Icelandic Phallalogical Museum. Truly an original museum. We didn't actually go in, but peeked in the window. Then we headed down to the water and walked for a bit on the Shore Walk. Sólfar, the Sun Voyager, sculpture was along here. It was a metal ship, symbolizing the journey into the unknown. Unfortunately, it started raining, well drizzling really, so we headed up to Laugavegur, the main shopping district. To get out of the rain and use the restroom, we stopped in Lebowski bar and had a drink. And another and another. The bartenders were really great here and we stayed for quite a while. Across the street was some type of festival with a DJ spinning house music and hair stylists cutting hair for charity. Sandy ended up getting her hair cut. We had dinner at the bar and then took the bus back to our hotel, a little bit sad knowing we had to go home. Iceland is a wonderful place. I usually try to travel to places I've never been before, especially for big trips like this one, but Iceland is definitely a place I want to visit many more times.

South Coast Tour

Thursday was our last tour with Iceland Guided Tours, the South Coast Tour. We had a new tour guide this morning, Javier. Originally from Spain, he had a Masters Degree in glaciology and had worked for an engineering firm, before falling victim to the financial crisis and now worked as a tour guide. With his science background, he made a great guide in terms of explaining the fascinating geology of Iceland. Our first stop was Skógafoss, meaning waterfall of the forest.

At 60 meter tall and 25 meter wide waterfall, it is one of the biggest and most beautiful in the country. According to legend, the first viking to settle in Skógar, Þrasi hid a chest of gold behind the falls. A young man tried to get the treasure, but was only able to pull a ring off the chest before it disappeared. The ring was affixed to the wall of the church in Skógar and is now in the museum. They say that when the sun is shining, you can see the gold shimmering in the spray. But it was a cloudy day when we visited so no such luck.

But we did walk as close as possible and stared straight up to really get a feeling for the power of this mighty waterfall.

We also walked up the cliffs to see the falls from different angles.

This trail continues up along the Skóká River with many more waterfalls, but unfortunately, we didn't have the time. So we took a few more pictures and then headed back to the bus. Our next stop was Sólheimajökull glacier, an outlet on the southwest side of the larger Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

Past Sólheimajökull, it becomes liquid water and flows to the sea through Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi River.

It was a little cold and windy as we made our way through a lava field to the glacier, towards the river where several icebergs were floating just past the end of the glacier. Javier explained that we were walking through a moraine, a valley that has been cut by the movement of the glacier.

Surprisingly, the glacier was black!

Most of Sólheimajökull was covered in black tephra from an eruption of Katla Volcano, under the icecap of Mýrdalsjökull.

This made for a very interesting coloring of the ice, mostly black and gray with patches of white here and there.

As we approached the glacier itself, there was a weather station.

Being a tourist spot, it didn't seem the best choice of location.

We walked a little bit on to the glacier and found various hole and crevices in the ice and a few spots of blue ice.

It was starting to rain now, so we headed back and bought some hot chocolate at the little restaurant at the entrance to the glacier area.  Next we headed to the beautiful little village of Vík, right on the south coast and one of the southern-most points in Iceland. We had lunch at a gas station restaurant and spent a little time in the town. Javier washed the bus while we were looking around; Sandy went to Vík Wool and bought an Icelandic wool fleece and I walked around and took some pictures. Reynisdrangar, the basalt columns sticking up out of the sea were visible just off the coast, where Reynisfjall mountain ends.

According to legend, trolls were bringing a ship to shore when the sun came out and turned them to stone. These sea stacks were really cool, but unfortunately I didn't have enough time to head down the trails and get a closer look. I also had a good view of the Vikurhamrar cliffs that were just north of the village.

When everyone was done with lunch and shopping, we headed back to the bus and drove a short distance to Reynisfjara beach, just on the other side of Reynisfjall. Of all the places we visited in Iceland, I think this was my favorite.

A beautiful black sand beach with Reynisfjall and its basalt columns along the edge of the beach and the mysterious sea stacks of Reynisdrangar and Dyrhólaey out to sea.

And of course a colony of puffins!

Walking down the beach, we could see these delightful birds flying from the nests on the cliffs to the sea to catch some fish and back. I climbed up a section of the columns to get a closer view of the puffins.

These basalt columns formed several vaulted caverns in the cliff face, the largest being Hálsanefshellir.

Sandy and I both went in briefly for a quick picture, but didn't stay long as Javier had warned us not to linger as there was a risk of falling rocks. We walked all the way down the beach, close to Reynisdrangar.

It was very interesting how different these sea stacks looked from here than from Vík. Then slowly we made our way back down the beach and back to the bus for our next stop.

I would have liked to have stayed longer, but we did manage to come at the perfect time. The tide was out so it was possible to walk all the way down the beach.

When the tide is in, the beach is quite dangerous due to powerful and unpredictable waves combined with a strong rip current.  Our next stop was just a short distance away at Dyrhólaey, a 120-m high promontory sticking out into the ocean. It's the southern-most point in Iceland. We stopped here for about 30 minutes to walk around on the cliffs and see the beautiful sights. Looking south, there were several sea stacks out in the ocean.

And we got another view of Reynisdrangar to the east.

Between Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara was a thin stretch of beach with another stack shooting out - Arnardrangur.

These stacks are so amazing, seemingly shooting out from nothing.

To the west, we could see the Dyrhólaey promontory. The word Dyrhólaey means door-hole island, although it's a peninsula, not an island.

Tóin, or the door hole is a huge arch-shaped hole in the promontory. In the right conditions, 30-ton boats can sail through! There was also a really cool rock arch near where we stopped that was almost heart-shaped.

Besides beautiful rock formations, the area is also home to a number of birds and we got the chance to see a few more puffins, as well as gulls and eider ducks.

Dyrhólaey is actually a nature preserve and has been protected since 1978.

In early summer when the birds are nesting, public access is prohibited to protect them.

When we were finished here, we headed to our last stop of the day - 1 more waterfall! And along the way, we saw a dozen or more smaller waterfalls easily visible from the side of the road. Some day, I'd love to come back to Iceland and drive around the Ring Road stopping at all these waterfalls. It's probably not possible to hit them all since there are so many, but I'd give it my best. Seljalandsfoss is a really neat waterfall.

It's about 60 m high, similar to Skógafoss, but not nearly as powerful.

However, it is somewhat unique in that you can walk behind it. We left the bus and made the short walk around the falls, getting shots of it from all angles.

After going all the way around, we crossed a short footbridge and followed a trail north with a few smaller waterfalls.

The first two are unnamed (as far as I can tell), and although they're not that impressive compared to Seljalandsfoss, on their own they are quite beautiful.

I only made it as far as the second waterfall and then headed back, but further down the trail is another waterfall - Gljúfurárfoss.

In between the two unnamed waterfalls, there was a steep trail leading up the mountain.

I followed Sandy up there and we found a small cave, but there wasn't anything in it. So we headed back down the trail and back to the bus, making our way back to Mosfellsbær.  We had a quick dinner and while Sandy took a bath, I went for another hike in Mosfellsbær. This time I headed towards Reykvavik, going across a footbridge over Route 1 and then through a neighborhood and around Lágafell Mountain. After passing a church the trail went down and ran along Route 1 until I got towards Úlfarsfell mountain. At the base of the mountain, I saw something I hadn't seen in a while - trees. Hamrahlíð is a forested area on the base of Úlfarsfell where Iceland is conducting an afforestation project. There were clear trails while I was in the forested area, but I think I got off the trail a bit past the trees trying to hike up Úlfarsfell. I got to a part that had no semblance of a trail and was quite steep with loose rocks. But there was a park bench up here! So I sat at the park bench and enjoyed the view over Reykjavík before heading back. It was getting late, after 10, and though it wasn't getting dark, I decided to head back. It would be our last day Iceland tomorrow. :(

Golden Circle Tour

Wednesday, we had our tour of the Golden Circle, perhaps the most popular and famous tour in Iceland. We had Helgi as our tour guide again today. Our first stop was in the town of Hveragerði, a very seismically active town. At the small mall where we stopped to pick up lunch, a rift in the floor could be seen from a recent earthquake. Continuing on the Ring Road, we turned onto Route 35 just before Selfoss and shortly after stopped at our first sight for the day - Kerið crater.

The crater was formed about 6,500 years ago and is the northern end of a row of craters called Tjarnarhólar in the Grímsnes area.

The oval-shaped crater is 270 m long, 170 m wide, and 55 m deep, with the water depth varying from 7 to 14 m. This water in the crater is the water table - it is not primarily fed by rain and does not drain out, so the crater lake acts as a window to the groundwater.

Our next stop was the first waterfall of the day - Faxi. As we arrived at the parking area, Helgi told us this was the "small" one. It didn't seem that small to me. Although not particularly high, maybe 5 m or so, it was quite wide, spanning the width of the Tungufljót river. Although there was a trail down to the base of the falls, we didn't have time to run down there so we stopped at an overlook to view and take pictures of the falls.

We could see the salmon ladder built right next to the falls near where a few people had gone down to the base. After five minutes or so, we got back on the bus and headed to Gulfoss, the big one. Gullfoss, which means Golden Falls, is perhaps the most visited waterfall in Iceland. And for good reason - it was amazing. Comparable to Niagara in terms of size and power. We parked at the lower parking lot, which even here had a great view of the falls.

Since its actually two waterfalls, this provided a good opportunity to see both looking up the gorge.

Then we followed the trail down to the falls, where an rocky outcrop allows visitors to walk out in between the two tiers for an up-close view of the power of the falls.

It had started to rain, just drizzle really, but we were getting soaked from the mist. We walked around on the outcrop to see the falls from different views. The upper tier, which is an 11-m drop, is almost like a staircase with water bouncing down the rock stairs.

After the upper tier, the water cuts sharply to the right and plunges down the second tier, a 20-m drop into the ravine.

From a distance, it looks almost as if the water is falling directly into the earth.

But from close by, we could peer down the lower tier and see massive amounts of water plunging into the ravine below. The we headed to the upper area to view the falls from a platform above.

Helgi had pulled the bus around to the upper parking lot, where there was a restaurant, gift shop, and restrooms. When we were ready, we hopped back on the bus, heading to our next stop.  Helgi dropped us off near Geysir as it started to rain lightly. Geysir, from which the word geysir is derived, was the first geyser described in printed literature.

Unfortunately, it doesn't erupt much anymore. It may erupt once or twice a day, but didn't the day we visited.

We followed a trail past Geysir and saw Konungshver, a hot springs.

Past the springs, there was a trail leading up Laugafell Mountain. We passed another hot springs, Háihver, that was bubbling and had to climb a ladder to cross a fence before reaching the summit.

Up here, we had great views of the Geysir area and surrounding landscape.

Although Geysir doesn't erupt, nearby Strokkur erupts every couple of minutes, and we had a great view of the eruptions from atop the small mountain.

After a few minutes, however, it started to rain heavier. Knowing we had to go down a short but steep gravel trail and cross a ladder that could be slippery, we headed back down and got back to flatter terrain. We got a little closer to Strokkur, but by this time, it was raining heavily, so we hurried to the restaurant and gift shop across the street. We used the facilities and bought some drinks then got on the bus to eat our lunch and try to stay dry. Sandy had the bright idea to wear jeans today, so she was soaked and didn't dry out to quickly. I had worn hiking pants so I was dry in a couple minutes. Helgi told us that this heavy rain was unusual in Iceland, it was "like what we see in the movies." But definitely not unusual to us; this was more like the usual North Carolina downpour. After lunch, we headed to our last stop on the Golden Circle, Þingvellir National Park. Þingvellir is the site of the oldest parliament in Europe, established in the year 930. It is also the spot where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are separating and the rifts mark the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The rain had lightened up considerably and our first stop was near the Þingvallakirkja church.

Right at the parking area was Flosagjá rift, one of the main rifts in the area.

Just north of us, it split and the eastern rift is called Nikulásargjá.

When the rift was bridged in the early 20th century, it became popular to toss coins into the rift and the rift became known as Peningagjá or Money Rift. The water in these rifts was amazingly clear, even on a day with poor weather.

Just south of here is Silfra, a popular spot for diving in the rifts, something I'd definitely like to try if we come back. Walking past the rifts, we could see the church and to the west was Lögberg or Law Rock, the original assembly site of parliament.

Further to the distance, we could also see Öxarárfoss waterfall. We spent about 15 minutes here, before heading to another stop in the park. On a nicer day, the tour normally hikes between the sites, and I would have preferred to have hiked, but was voted down, so we drove. We parked at the Fræðslumiðstöð visitor center and walked out to the overlook Hakið.

From here we had really good views of Þingvallavatn lake and the landscape below.

There were also two rifts here, though they weren't filled with water like the others we had seen - Hestagjá and Almannagjá.

There was a trail from Hakið that led down through Almannagjá towards Lögberg, but a hole had developed between the trail and it was blocked off for safety reasons. When we were done here, we headed back to the hotel.  We walked over to White Knight for dinner and afterwards, it had completely stopped raining so Sandy and I decided to go for a hike. It was relatively early, around 730, and we had plenty of daylight left. From the hotel, we hiked towards Álafoss and continued on, running parallel to Route 1. At the roundabout, we turned right and stopped at a small parking area off Route 36. There was a sign here showing a map of the area and the trail leading up Helgafell, the small mountain right in front of us.

Although the mountain is only 216 m above sea level, it gains most of that in a short distance. The steep made for a good workout, even though it was short.

As we were ascending, a car pulled up and a small dog ran down the trail towards the car and his owner. Even the little dog was losing his footing on the trail. When we got to the top, we headed over to the actual summit and rested for a bit, enjoying the beautiful views over Mosfellsbær and Reykjavík in the distance.

There was a logbook to sign at the summit. I'm pretty sure we were the only ones from North Carolina! Then we headed back down and stopped in the pub at the hotel. We wanted to try some local drinks, so Sandy had a screwdriver with Reyka Vodka and I had a Gull, an Icelandic beer. The vodka was really good - made with glacier water purified through volcanic stone, or so they claim. But we really liked it and planned to get some from the duty free store when we left. I liked the Gull beer, a little light for my taste, but I always like to try the local beers when I'm traveling. After enjoying our drinks, we headed to bed.