Iceland certainly lived up to the hype today!
We woke to more rain and drove out of Reykjavik in heavy showers which wasn’t very encouraging. However they tell you that if you don’t like the weather in Iceland just wait 5 minutes and it will change…and it certainly did! Throughout the day we went from heavy showers to sunshine to drizzle , and then repeat.
We headed out of Reykjavik on a scenic route that took us up into the highlands but the fog rolled in and obscured the views. However we could see the pipeline running along the side of the road. This pipeline delivers hot water to Reykjavik from the geothermal power station in the highlands.
Our first stop was at Þingvellir National Park, which is both geologically and historically significant. It’s one of the places where you can see the great rift where Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are pulling apart from each other, and it is also the sight where the ancient Icelandic parliament was founded in 930 AD.
The view out over the valley is lovely and then we walked down through the great rift to the Oxararfoss waterfall.
It was aabout a 50 minute drive from here on to Geysir, the site of the original geyser from which all the others in the world take their name. The original is pretty quiet these days but the Strokkur geyser shoots up a gush of hot sulphurous water into the air every few minutes. I managed to get a great spot for a photo… but ended up drenched by the spray! Strokkur puts on a good display but , as it says in my guidebook, if you’ve been to Yellowstone National Park this area won’t overwhelm you.
We stopped in the cafe here for lunch, lovely bread rolls and chips for us while Simon opted for chicken wings and Jatta chose the burger. The visitor centre is huge with several restaurants and a massive shop.
On to our second waterfall of the day, the massive and incredible Gulfoss. Photos don’t do it justice!
On the road again we were headed south towards the coast. The Tom Tom took us over some rough gravel roads for the second time that day but there seemed to be a stream of people going the same way so I guess we just have to assume that Tom Tom knew what it was doing 🙂 The sun was shining on us for the rest of the afternoon and the drive through the vivid green countryside was lovely…especially after Simon said thoughtfully from the back seat… “Errr, is that a glacier over there??” Sure enough we had a great view of the edge of the massive Vatnajokull Glacier which covers a massive area of Iceland, it’s one of the largest in Europe.
We drove along the wide flat plains that seperate the highlands from the ocean here and had a good view of the Vestmannaeyjar ( or Westman islands) that rise up just to the south. These volcanic islands increased in size by 20% in 1973 when they saw their last eruption but despite that are popular as a holiday destination.
Our final destination for the day ( after a quick supermarket stop for provisions) was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This isn’t the largest or highest in Iceland but it is in a pretty location that you can see for miles as you approach it and also has the distinction that you can walk behind it… if you;re prepared to get drenched. We were and it was worth it!!
Finally after another 15 minute drive through beautiful scenery we arrived at Asolfsskali Cottage. Our little log cabin is one of two on a working dairy farm and Katarin, the owner rode up on her ride on mower to check us in. The cabin is delightful but the best thing is the location. The four of us went for a walk up the canyon behind the cabin and discovered a gushing river, a small waterfall and , after a slightly hair-raising climb, a fabulous view!
Dinner was another easy one , a smorgasboard of cold meats, salmon, dips and bread..washed down with a celebratory chanpagne to toast our first day on the road.
