Iceland's Natural Beauty

Iceland sits at the meeting point of the North American and Eurasian continental plates. The plates are slowly moving apart, which means that the country is slowly, by just a few centimeters per year, growing wider. The rift runs diagonally from the southeast corner of the country to the northwest and makes Iceland a hotbed of weird geological activity. Geysers that shoot water into the sky, geothermal hot springs provide electricity for the country and heat Iceland’s many public pools, and volcanoes explode and form underground caves, black sand beaches, and even entire new islands.

We were also surprised to learn that the country experiences earthquakes every single day, usually every 3-4 hours. After we returned from a day driving the Golden Circle, I checked my email and noticed that the homepage on the guesthouse’s computer opened to the website of the Iceland Meteorological Office, which has a section devoted to earthquakes. The whole area we had just been visiting was covered on the map with various colored dots, denoting how long it had been since the last earthquake. While we had been exploring, the area had experienced 3 separate quakes. Of course, each one was of a very small magnitude (most of the country’s quakes are under Magnitude 3) so we hadn’t even noticed.

We had originally wanted to drive the Ring Road, the main road that encircles the whole country (which is roughly the size of Ohio), but time and weather concerns kept us based in Reykjavik. If you are planning on driving, check conditions on the road webcams. If not, you can still see some of Iceland’s natural beauty close to your home base.

The Golden Circle is the name given to the route that connects three of Iceland’s most famous attractions – Geysir, Thingvellir, and Gullfoss. The route can be covered almost all year round in just a few hours. According to a guide we had later on the trip, in summer there can be as many as 90 tour buses making there way along the route in a single day. It made us very glad we visited when we did.

We set out on our second day, around noon, and returned by 6 p.m. Make sure you have a full tank of gas, and pack a lunch if you are on a budget. Gas stations are few and far between and while there are options for dining, (like at the Geysir Hotel) they can be expensive. We made sandwiches from Olivers & CO. for around $10 and brought plenty of bottled water.

Starting from Reykjavik, head first to Thingvellir National Park. In summer it’s a popular place to camp, horse-back ride, fish and swim. While we were there, it was blanketed in snow and very quiet. We would go almost an hour without seeing a single car.

Thingvellir the site of the world’s first Parliament, formed by Vikings in the 10th century. The Icelandic people are very proud of this fact. They aren’t as proud of the fact that women (who were thought to be witches) were also brought here to be drowned. Thingvellir is located directly on top of the continental rift and it’s here that the splitting of the earth is most visible, in the cracks and crevices that dot the land.

You can actually walk between them in Almannagjá canyon or dive in the crack in some of the clearest water in the world at Silfra Lake (which we did).

From Thingvellir, continue on to Geysir. The original geyser and the one from which all others take their name, Geysir is actually dormant now. But Stokkur still regularly erupts, shooting scalding water into the air every few minutes as smaller hot pots hiss and boil nearby.

We got up very close to watch it explode twice and then, as we were leaving, watched a group of Asian tourists get soaked standing exactly where we were just minutes before!

From there, it was just a few more kilometers to Gullfoss, one of Europe’s largest waterfalls.

Take in the view from above, or make your way down the steeply inclined path for a closer look. When we were there the path was covered with a layer of icy slush. We made it about a quarter of the way down, hanging on to the flimsy rope guardrail before giving up and heading back up top.

We stood and watched a bit longer as several more brave souls slide their way down.

As we drove back to Reykjavik that day, we stopped several times to snap some photos. We came upon a field of Icelandic horses and I spotted a driveway and decided to turn off to get some pics of them grazing.

As soon as I walked up the fence two horses came up to me, nuzzling for attention.

I’d read that Icelandic horses are very friendly, but I wasn’t prepared for this!

Of course, then the rest of the herd came over and a little fight broke out. Eyeing the insubstantial fence, we reluctantly backed away. We didn’t want to be the Americans who let some farmer's horses escape.

A few days later on the way to our dog sledding tour our guide stopped at Seljandfoss, another waterfall.

Not nearly as wide and powerful as Gullfoss, Seljandfoss may actually be more impressive. It looks more like a traditional waterfall – just one big curtain of water making a significant drop.

You can get right up almost to the base or take the rickety steps up and behind the falls. We weren’t exactly dressed appropriately, so we contented ourselves with the view from the front.

On our dog sledding, snorkeling and caving adventures, we got to see even more of the country’s amazing landscape . . .