Golden Circle

We booked a one-day trip on the Golden Circle.  This was so that Jeff could enjoy a bit more of Iceland. The vehicle we were to ride in was a bit large.  

 Unfortunately, Jeff has had to cut short his trip and return home to prepare to teach his classes on line but we had a little time together.

This section of the blog will be a combo of our one-day trip and the first day of our Northern Lights four-day tour since they overlap.

We started our tour with the Northern Lights Museum, a compensation for not seeing the lights.

The lights originate as electrical charges from the sun.  They begin in the interior of the sun where  hydrogen is converted to helium. On the surface of the sun the helium becomes plasma creating a solar storm. 

The rays of light stretch and break from as little as 8 meters to as large as a kilometer in an hour.  It takes these rays 18 hours to travel from the sun to earth where they are attracted to the magnetic poles and become the lights.  All this said and done and we still await seeing the real thing.

Iceland was under Danish control for about 1000 years.  The Danish king determined all the businesses and took the profits.  In 1944 the country got its independence.  During the decades of the 1950-1960 major changes occurred including  Reykjavik’s growth from a few thousand to over 200,000.      

Iceland has three main sources of income.  Originally, it was farming.  By farming Iceland means animals, pigs, cows, chickens and sheep.  Then fishing became a major industry.  Now it is tourism with the other two as lesser industries.  Some farms now include tourism with rooms to rent.
 
What is now Thingvellir National Park was the location of Parliament from 930-1798.  This was the seat of government, art, sports, social life, and the judicial system.  One form of justice was to drown women and behead men.

The Tectonic plates of North American and EuroAsian meet here with a rift of flat land, known as No Man’s Land,  between them.  This land expands 2 cm per one hundred years.

It is rare to have ice on the lake but we saw some.  We walked down from the edge of the North American Plate to No Mans Land

These Icelandic horses are a unique breed that have been here for 1000 years.  They are small and friendly.  They have five gaits including one so smooth they claim a glass of beer stays level while they run.  If a horse is taken out of the country, it may not return because it might bring in contagious conditions from which these horses have no immunity.

The only other native animal is an arctic fox (sorry, no photo)

Our stop at Fontana Spa was not to enjoy the steaming water to but try some rye bread baked for 24 hours in a hot sand pit. 

Yes, it was delicious with a tinge of sweetness.  We did see people going from steam rooms to steaming spas.

We drove passed several RV parks used as summer homes.

Strokkur Geiser has two eruption cycles, one 76 feet high and the other 140 feet high on a 5-10 minute cycle.  On our first trip there we were advised to keep upwind to avoid odoriferous residue. 

On our second day, the wind was so strong the geyser blew right across the ground.  We chose to stay in the bus on the second day because the wind was fierce.

The wind continued to be freezing cold and fierce as we returned to the Golden Waterfall.  The name comes from a golden rainbow or from the story of a rich man throwing his gold into the White River.  The two main waterfalls are 17 meters high and 20 meters high.  The falls are in shades of blue and white and absolutely gorgeous.   Parts of the falls are frozen at this time of year.

The waterfalls were almost dammed.  A young girl saved them.  She threatened to throw herself into the water but instead walked in the river to Reykjavik where a women met her.  The woman’s son was a lawyer and he presented her argument to Parliament and the river and falls were saved.  That lawyer later became the first President of the country.

About our bus tour group.  We are an international group from the Netherlands, Britain, Belgium, Australia, Canada and more.  We enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner at Iceland Air Hotel in Hruni.  The conversation with our dinner mates was enjoyable.