National Park, Iceland

Before we returned to Reykjavik we visited a national park. One thing you notice whist travelling around is the lack of trees. Landowners are encouraged to plant trees but on this part of the island they are few and far between. It is mainly birch shrubs that you see.

These channels are crystal clear and a beautiful shade of blue. You can snorkel here although personally I prefer to do that in much warmer water.

The air temperature was freezing as you can see from the ice on the plants.

A few trees stood out on the stark landscape.

 

Waterfalls

As we travelled around the Golden Circle in Iceland we stopped at a few waterfalls. 

This one I was able to walk around the back. A different experience for me.

 

You can't visit Iceland without experiencing the thermal waters. The Blue lagoon is well known but fully booked. We visited the Secret Lagoon which has only been open to tourists for a few years. The temperature was perfect although there were some spots near the edge which I found too hot to handle. 

Because of its geological position

Iceland is a volcanic hotspot. Geothermal energy is used for heating and generating electricity. 90% of all homes in Iceland are heated with geothermal energy. There are numerous thermal pools in Iceland which are a joy to use (once you have braved the freezing air to get from the changing room and showers to the pool).

Iceland: Day2

Today a group of us were going glacier hiking. I had my own boots and waterproofs with me so didn't need to hire anything.  Before starting the walk, we put on a helmet and harness. If you have ever worn a climbing harness, you will know how easy it is to put it on incorrectly. Anyway, once we were all kitted out with crampons and ice pick, we walked up the mountain towards the glacier.

 

We didn't put the crampons on until we were close to the glacier.

 

It was difficult to walk with the crampons on as you had to stamp your feet into the packed ice and walk with your feet slightly apart so that the crampons didn't get tangled.  Progress was slow as you can only walk at the speed of the slowest, so we didn't get as far as the white pristine snow. I would like to have walked a bit faster and gone further but this can be a dangerous activity with the slippiness of the ice and crevasses everywhere, patience was needed. Sadly, the glacier is receding by 60m per year and I imagine in the not so distant future this activity will no longer be feasible. 

Once the wind dropped it wasn't too cold and I really enjoyed the experience. We were out walking for about three hours in the end which was probably long enough.

On the way back once off the ice we removed the crampons and washed them in the lake taking care not to get wet in the icy waters of the melting glacier.

 

In the afternoon we visited Black Sand beach. Because it is a volcanic island all the sand on the beaches is black.  I wasn't that bothered about seeing a black sandy beach but what was impressive was the rock and cave formations.

The hexagonal basalt columns by the cave were very impressive. I have seen similar formations at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. This natural wonder is formed by the cooling lava which can form a variety of patterns, but they are mainly hexagonal. (Far more detailed and accurate explanations of  these columns can easily be found on the internet.)

The ideal place for a photoshoot.

Iceland: Caves, geysers and lights

 Last month I visited Iceland for five days with three friends M, C and L. We have travelled to many places around the world together, having first met in 2009 in Peru. We always use the same company G adventures and this trip was no different. It was a short road trip following the Golden Circle route around the South-West of Iceland that features beautiful scenery and major sites.

I met L at Heathrow airport for the 3 hr flight to Reykjavik. M and C were flying in from Gatwick airport which is what I should have done seeing as how it is my nearest airport. 

It was a clear but cold day as you would expect at this time of the year. It is well known that Iceland is expensive, but it was even worse as sterling had taken a huge dive due to the incomprehensible mini budget of the new (now sacked) chancellor of the exchequer. We opted to take the airport bus to the hotel rather than a taxi, even so, I was surprised that a bus ride of just a few miles should cost £58 ret. All four of us met up in the reception of the hotel and once we'd unpacked we went out to get something to eat.

M had done some research and found a food court in the middle of a bus station. It had a very good choice of food. Being in Iceland I chose the cod which was served with fresh veg and tasted delicious. None of us had a drink. Although the food wasn't too bad pricewise the wine was ridiculous at £36 a glass! I didn't bother drinking any alcohol whilst I was in Iceland as I couldn't justify paying that kind of money.

We didn't meet up with the tour group until the following evening and we spent the next day wandering through Reykjavik and I'll post some photos of the town another day. But it was whilst walking through the town that I lost my varifocal glasses. Disaster! I did however have a pair of prescription varifocal sunglasses with me, so all was not lost except perhaps the perception of me, that other members of the tour had. It was only later in the week, during a conversation with a young man from Nashville, that I learnt that they thought I was trying to be cool wearing sunglasses all the time even at breakfast and in the restaurants in the evening! There were 14 of us altogether on the tour with 2 from Switzerland, 4 from Canada, 4 from the USA and 4 of us from Britain. Our guide was Icelandic and she did an excellent job in showing us so much in a relatively short time.

On our first day we went into a lava cave which was much larger than I expected. Walking through it was not difficult as there was a pathway to follow but you still needed to watch your step as it was slippy in places.

Our next stop was to see some geysers. I was surprised that the smell of sulphur wasn't too bad.

Then on to see a waterfall which just seemed to disappear into the ground.

This is the guesthouse where we would be staying for the next couple of nights. It was in the middle of nowhere and it was hoped that we would see the Northern Lights whilst we were here. A rota was set up so that there would always be someone watching out for them. 

At about 12.30am there was a change in the cloud and a few of us put on some warm clothing and went outside. The lights came and lasted about an hour. I did manage to a couple of photos but most of the ones here were taken by others on the trip with better camera equipment and who happily shared them with the rest of the group. 

I went with no expectations of seeing the lights so was thrilled that on our first night of the tour we saw a spectacular display.