Here Lies the Once Great Geysir

The Golden Circle - July 16, 2022

Today we are going to the Golden Circle to see some great sites. Unfortunately, we have no food, and nothing is open. There is not a single store on the one-kilometer walk, so I go into a hotel that seems to be serving a continental breakfast. They are definitely not going to let us join the breakfast, but they agree to sell us some muffins. That should suffice for a few hours.

Surprise, surprise...when we get to the bus stop, it is pouring. Apparently, Icelanders do not use umbrellas. Rain is so frequent that they just wear waterproof jackets with hoods every day and put up their hoods when it starts to rain. That actually does make a lot of sense! You don't have to carry around a cumbersome umbrella every day; you are always ready for rain.

We get on our bus and head to southwest Iceland. Our first stop is actually a mini shopping center-turned tourist destination. Back in 2008, Iceland had a major earthquake that literally tore a crack in the earth's surface right in the shopping center. The crack is still there, but now it is covered in glass and is a small tourist attraction where you can set one foot in Europe, and one in North America.

They have videos running non-stop of the security cameras from that day. There was a liquor store in the shopping center, and one of the videos is of all the shelves crashing down. It's hard to watch all those expensive bottles breaking on the floor. Here's another interesting fact about the town this supermarket is in - there is no cemetery, because the ground is too hot!

After our tourist stop at the supermarket, we head to Kerid Crater. Kerid is a volcanic crater lake formed 3000 years ago when the magma chamber of a volcano collapsed.

The crater is mostly memorable for its vibrant blue pool of water resting at the bottom of a red and black caldera. I find it interesting that the crater is located on private property! It is a huge tourist destination. I just can't imagine having something like this in my back yard and having busloads of people visiting every day.

Mom and I walk around the rim of the crater, and then I run ahead so that I have time to go down and touch the water. I'm curious about the temperature after hearing about how the land is so hot. Turns out it is cold!

After we leave, we make our way through more Icelandic countryside to Gullfoss Waterfall (“Golden Falls“). If you decide to go to Iceland to see the waterfalls, or even to see Iceland in general, you really need to have a waterPROOF coat! Not water resistant! I learned there is a BIG difference and that my coat was water resistant. Also wear waterproof boots and waterproof pants and be sure to pack a winter hat and gloves - even in July.

Gullfoss is magnificent, but you WILL get wet.

After Gullfoss, we stop for lunch at Geysir Park, and I'm reminded how expensive Iceland is when I fork over nearly $30 for a fish and chip cafeteria lunch. Still, I'm in Iceland so I can't complain too much.

Here lies the once great Geysir, now dormant.

Geysir (yes, where the name comes from) is now dormant, but there are other active geysers at the park. The most significant being Strokkur, which goes off about every eight minutes. In addition to Stokkur, there are a number of boiling pools of water to catch your interest, and steam seems to sprout out of the ground pretty much all over!

After Geysir, we go to Þingvellir National Park, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. The valley is stunning, but my mother immediately declares the "whole thing" looks unsafe. She also states that the rock walls are too "precarious" and nervously keeps telling me not to stand too close.

This bridge was built after the original dirt pathway collapsed into the earth!

After all that, we get to stop and see some horses, and we have a delicious lamb dinner at Cafe Loki.

All in all, it's a pretty good day. I don't even have to threaten my mother with a nap, not once.