Our last full day dawned bright and sunny. We were up and out by eight, stopping at the bakery again for some croissants. Alas, they somehow forgot to put mine in the bag and we didn't discover that until an hour down the road. Luckily I had eaten a bit at home.
Our destination was the Golden Circle, or as much as we could do without a 4wd vehicle.
I could go on and on about the beauty we encountered. Read the previous posts, imagine I'm saying those things here, and you get the gist.
But damn. English doesn't have enough words to describe it, so go simple: very pretty.
There is a continental divide in Iceland, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates slowly spread away from each other:Þingvellir (Thingvellir). It's around 25 miles from Reykjavik. Like most other major tourist areas in Iceland, we had the place largely to ourselves. We found the road closed, which was good thing because that forced us to stop and talk to the person at the tourist information place; our GPS was taking us to someplace that wasn't the main focal point of Thingvellir.
The rift valley is a stark reminder that Iceland is a country constantly at the whims of geology. We did the short hike up the valley. Above us was a clear blue sky, beautiful with thin fingers of clouds here and there. Visibility was perfect; we could see the glaciers far to the east. It was warm, too, and the landscape seemed alive.
Another benefit of the road closure: we were forced to drive along the lake, where you can get cold-water certified in scuba diving as you descend between the continents. I made a note to tell my scuba diving friends of that little adventure, which would be a perfect thing to do on a cold, rainy day.
We headed to Bruarfoss, a waterfall that required a short hike through a field of horses.
It's an easy walk of two and a half miles through a field and a neighborhood of vacation cabins, flat for the most part but occasionally rough. Like pretty much any walk in Iceland, it's well worth the minimal effort to get there. Never have I seen a cascade like Bruarfoss. It's not just that it is pretty. It's so peaceful there. I could feel my stress and anxiety diminish in that steady roar of water making it's long tumble down the gradual set of falls. Water, by the way, that was an amazing color of blue that contrasted wonderfully with the sky. We spent an hour there, my wife and son taking photographs, me helping when asked but mostly sitting beside the water relaxing.
On the way back the horses had decided to come to the walking trail. The sign at the trail entrance that says "don't pet the horses" was clearly not communicated to the horses, who eagerly walked up to everyone. They are beautiful animals, like all horses, sturdily built and friendly.
Near where we parked is Efstidalur, a dairy that has diversified to now have lodging, a restaurant, and an ice cream cafe. While I cannot vouch for the quality of the lodging, it is in a wonderful location and I found myself wishing I'd dug a little deeper into my options. We went for the ice cream. There's nothing in the world quite like ice cream made fresh by the milk of cows you can see just outside the window. Efstidalur didn't disappoint.
From the dairy we drove to the famous Geysir, a few miles up the road.
I want to say it was awesome. But if you've been to Yellowstone, it's hard to get too excited about the smaller Geysir. I walked up the hill above the geysers and surveyed Iceland. I could see for miles. It was breathtaking.
We ate a snack in the visitor's center and continued to our final destination: Gulfoss.
It's like the Niagara Falls of Iceland, so powerful that it's a wonder the rocks can contain all that water. The crowds made it slightly less enjoyable; everyone was crowding around for the perfect selfie, making it difficult for me to do what I like to do: relax and reflect, purge my mind of negative thoughts and refocus on the positive.
We didn't spend long at Gulfoss because of the people. That's not to say it wasn't worth the effort to get there; it definitely was, if or no other reason than it confirmed my feeling that a 4wd vehicle would be a lot more fun in Iceland. From Gulfoss the road becomes a road where only off-road vehicles are allowed, and there were many large Ford Expedition and Mercedes tour vehicles, massive and kitted out for going off road into Iceland's back country. I wouldn't do that sort of tour, but would like to have had something that would make that trip. Next time.
As I drove back to our apartment, I was firmly convinced that there would, in fact, be a next time.
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