Bridget and Sarah enjoy the first of many bowls of delicious oatmeal with pure Icelandic rain.
After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal we head out to do the classic Golden Circle tourist tour. While most buses start at Geysir and end at Þingvellir we’ll be doing it backwards: starting at Þingvellir and camping at Geysir, so we have all evening to observe the springs.
The mid-oceanic rift valley at Þingvellir.
Jon lecturing on geology and making up stories on glaciers, volcanoes and Icelandic history.
Just in case you didn’t believe that it was pouring …
We listen to Jon making up half of Iceland’s history and explaining rocks (basalt) and tectonic processes to our class. Considering that it was pouring buckets at that time, he had an amazingly attentive audience. Afterwards we hike down into the Almannagja, inspect the drowning pool and walk across the valley to the waiting bus. Next stop: Gullfoss.
The Gullfoss waterfall.
On good days we spend about two hours at the falls. Today we were more efficient. After maybe an hour we’re on our way to Geysir, our camp site for the night.
Yes, I have more flattering pictures of Sarah, but this one is way more fun…
Giuliani still having world cup dreams.
Rain? What rain? I thought that was the spray from the waterfall.
The lower falls.
At Geysir we set up tents and waited for “a very old man”, who turned out to be in his sixties rather than nineties, to collect the fees for the campsites. Afterwards we explored the springs, watched Strokkur go of repeatedly and measured the temperatures of several hot springs.
The hot springs at Geysir.
Afterwards everybody seemed to congregate in the restaurant, enjoying the comfy leather couches and drinking beer and coffee.
Iceland’s national bird: the wild and ferocious Atlantic puffin.
Luckily, the campsite had a picnic table that was somewhat sheltered from the rain, so we enjoy a delicious dinner and had “snikkerkaka” for dessert (see below).
Dessert at Geysir.
Strokkur erupting.