Woke up to rain, this am. Began our day, driving to the Southwest / Interior of the island - to see Geysir (where the world gets the name Geyser), and some more, spectacular waterfalls - Gullfoss.
The main geyser is nearly twice the size of Old Faithful, in Yellowstone Pk., back in the States. But, it has been plugged up for nearly 40 years, due to kids throwing things down into it to try to get it to erupt.
However, the geyser directly next to it, called Strokkur, is nearly as big as Old Faithful, but erupts far more frequently - every 10 mins!
It's center is a deep azur blue pool, which bubbles like a boiling cauldron, and expands into a giant bubble, just before it explodes into a giant water spout, which looks like a giant spaceship rising from the center of the earth! Spoooooky!
The trip there, took under an hour, and this time, the road was fully black-topped - and designed for tours to come through. There is a hotel and a large souvenir shop / visitor's center, with ample parking. There were a couple of tour busses already there. But no lines, nor crowds to speak of.
The rain had been coming down all morning, but the geysers didn't mind!
After about a half - hour, we drove up the road to our next destination, Gulfoss. It gets its name from "Golden Falls" for the many rainbows it produces.
There, we found the most incredible falls, I think I've ever seen! Not as wide as Niagara, but the same height and power.
It was pouring rain, but that didn't stop us from making the trek up to the top. The falls have two distinct levels, forged out of a narrow chasm carved from 2 rivers, one of which is the Hvita R., (not sure the other one). As we hiked up to the top to view this magnificent natural wonder, we got to one point, where we were looking up and ahead to the top of the falls in this spectacular 3-D effect. We turned around, and were looking down upon the lower falls, as it flowed dramatically down the valley!
The mighty roar was very powerful, and really gave you a sense of awe, just how you fit in this big-wide world of ours! I definitely look at things differently, now.
We drove back to the visitor's center, there, as there is a separate parking lot, just a short drive, behind that, enabling you to get closer to the falls, and the pathway to the top.
There were maybe 5 people there, that day. It was just after tourist season, but I think mainly, most people don't want to walk up a waterfall in the pouring rain. This part of Iceland is a popular destination for folks from all over the world, and we saw at least one major cruise ship coming into Reykjavik, each day we were there, if not several a day.
Most of the tourists in Iceland, were either young Japanese, or senior citizens, it seemed. This particular falls and the geysers are on what is called the "Golden Circle Tour" - and attracts most of the tourists via tour busses.
Well, after Gulfoss, we were pretty much ready for some hot coffee or hot chocolate. (European hot chocolate is the tastiest in the WORLD! Not sure why that is!!!) We drove back to Reykjavik after hot drinks, via the Whale Tunnel shortcut (Toll = approx $10 US) It saves you hours of driving, when time is limited, there is just so much ground to cover! Attractions and natural wonders - EVERYWHERE!
When we got back to Reykjavik, we got directions to a public lot, over by Parliament, as parking was hard to find, at that time of day. There is a vending machine, where you pay and are issued a sticker, which you run over and put in your windshield. A little different than in the US. There is generally no charge after 6pm, at any lot or meter. Free parking on weekends. (Very good deal, by Chicago standards).
We freshened up, back at the Hotel Borg, and walked around the downtown area to find a restaurant for some dinner. Ended up at the "Opera" Restaurant, with no reservations, which is why we couldn't get into any of the best restaurants in the downtown area. The fish was excellent, had some mediocre wine with dinner, and had a relaxing meal.
Walked over to a couple of 'in-spots', and ended up at the ultra-modern'Thorvalds', not far from the Hotel. It was jam-packed with the cool crowd, and it took some maneuvering to find a spot at the bar, just to stand. The 'in-drink' to order was a Mojito. Everyone was ordering them. (Rum and crushed mint leaves with a twist - really nasty.) We taught the bartender how to make Mint Juleps - which is where the Mojito originated - only with Bourbon, instead of Rum - which makes a much tastier blend for a drink.
We ordered mint juleps, stayed for about an hour, and then went back to the Hotel. End of another spectacular DAY IN ICELAND! GOOD NIGHT GULFOSS AND GEYSIR!
Day 1 and 2:
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