Iceland is a harsh mistress but one
that you come to appreciate after spending some time there. Iceland
has a cold and inhospitable climate that is almost impossible to live
in. At any moment an
earth quake or volcano eruption could occur that can put the entire island at risk. Yet this constantly changing and dangerous land is unbelievably diverse and beautiful. This place is a geologist dream. Iceland sits astride the North American and European tectonic plates so it is very geologically active. As you drive around you will see evidence of volcanic explosions and lava flows as well as the presents of geothermal activity. The produces a constantly changing landscape filled with natural wonders like waterfalls, geysers, glaciers and many other strange things. If you are lucky you may even be able to experience the northern lights on a clear night.
earth quake or volcano eruption could occur that can put the entire island at risk. Yet this constantly changing and dangerous land is unbelievably diverse and beautiful. This place is a geologist dream. Iceland sits astride the North American and European tectonic plates so it is very geologically active. As you drive around you will see evidence of volcanic explosions and lava flows as well as the presents of geothermal activity. The produces a constantly changing landscape filled with natural wonders like waterfalls, geysers, glaciers and many other strange things. If you are lucky you may even be able to experience the northern lights on a clear night.
But as important as the seeing the many
sights in this country is understanding the history and folklore of
Iceland. The harsh nature of the land has created some interesting
legends and given a special character to the people here. The way
they have harnessed the forces of nature here and learn to live with
the constant threats is an amazing story and one that you only
appreciate after seeing the landscape
I can not fully describe all that we saw and experienced but will try to provide the highlights. The first cool thing we did just after landing in Iceland is to go to the blue lagoon. This is the most famous of the many natural hot springs in Iceland and really lived up to the hype.
Since we got to Iceland early in the morning it was still dark when we arrived at the blue lagoon at eight o'clock in the morning. The heat coming off the water created a fog that made it hard to see more than a few feet. Spending a couple of hours at the hot springs while watching the sun rise was perfect start to the trip.
We spend the afternoon near our hotel in Reykjavik walking around town. I had planned to go the bed early but saw that the sky was clear and there was a good chance for aurora activity so I headed down to the water front to try and catch the show. I saw the hazy greenish clouds of the aurora as I got to the water. It was very faint but over the course of the
next hour it moved and changed had a few brilliant outbreaks. The best way to describe what the aurora looks like is that it is a lot like greenish clouds except that they are more narrow and can twist and turn as they move. The pictures you see of them are not what you really see with your eyes as the time exposure of the camera catches more light than your eyes can. However the camera doesn't catch the subtle spiky patterns that can sometimes be present.
One of the reasons we came to Iceland at this time of year was to try and catch the northern lights. Iceland has a lot of cloudy weather and aurora activity is unpredictable so there is no guarantee that you will see them. Although I was really tired I am glad stayed up to see them because I didn't know if I would get another chance.
The second day in Iceland was the first day of our seven day tour. This would take us counter clockwise around the ring road of Iceland. We decided on a guided tour instead of doing it on our own as we knew the weather could be unpredictable this time of year and we wanted an experienced guide to get us around any problems as well as provide details about what we were looking at.
The first day of the tour we did the Golden Circle which includes the Þingvellir National Park where you can see where the North American and European tectonic plates meet.
The second stop is Geyser.This is an area where there is a lot of geothermic activity and some active geysers. The word geyser was actually invented here and is an Icelandic word. There was a geyser that erupts every few minutes so it was cool to stand around and watch it erupt.
The last stop of the day was the Gullfoss waterfall which is an impressive two step waterfall. Pictures just don't do it justice.
The second day of our trip was on the south coast of Iceland where we saw some of the many waterfalls as well as visited a horse farm to see the famous Icelandic horses.
The Icelandic horse is the only type of horse in Iceland and is unique because it has 5 gaits. One of the gaits is so smooth that you can carry beer with out spilling it. I'm not sure how useful that is but it made for a good demonstration.
Since we got to Iceland early in the morning it was still dark when we arrived at the blue lagoon at eight o'clock in the morning. The heat coming off the water created a fog that made it hard to see more than a few feet. Spending a couple of hours at the hot springs while watching the sun rise was perfect start to the trip.
We spend the afternoon near our hotel in Reykjavik walking around town. I had planned to go the bed early but saw that the sky was clear and there was a good chance for aurora activity so I headed down to the water front to try and catch the show. I saw the hazy greenish clouds of the aurora as I got to the water. It was very faint but over the course of the
next hour it moved and changed had a few brilliant outbreaks. The best way to describe what the aurora looks like is that it is a lot like greenish clouds except that they are more narrow and can twist and turn as they move. The pictures you see of them are not what you really see with your eyes as the time exposure of the camera catches more light than your eyes can. However the camera doesn't catch the subtle spiky patterns that can sometimes be present.
One of the reasons we came to Iceland at this time of year was to try and catch the northern lights. Iceland has a lot of cloudy weather and aurora activity is unpredictable so there is no guarantee that you will see them. Although I was really tired I am glad stayed up to see them because I didn't know if I would get another chance.
The second day in Iceland was the first day of our seven day tour. This would take us counter clockwise around the ring road of Iceland. We decided on a guided tour instead of doing it on our own as we knew the weather could be unpredictable this time of year and we wanted an experienced guide to get us around any problems as well as provide details about what we were looking at.
The first day of the tour we did the Golden Circle which includes the Þingvellir National Park where you can see where the North American and European tectonic plates meet.
The second stop is Geyser.This is an area where there is a lot of geothermic activity and some active geysers. The word geyser was actually invented here and is an Icelandic word. There was a geyser that erupts every few minutes so it was cool to stand around and watch it erupt.
The last stop of the day was the Gullfoss waterfall which is an impressive two step waterfall. Pictures just don't do it justice.
The second day of our trip was on the south coast of Iceland where we saw some of the many waterfalls as well as visited a horse farm to see the famous Icelandic horses.
The Icelandic horse is the only type of horse in Iceland and is unique because it has 5 gaits. One of the gaits is so smooth that you can carry beer with out spilling it. I'm not sure how useful that is but it made for a good demonstration.
These horses also seem to like to unzip jackets
The third day we continued on the south coast heading east. We saw yet another waterfall before heading to the famous black sand beach near Vix. Besides the black sand there are also basalt columns in the cliffs. These columns form as the magma from a lava flow cools.
The highlight of the third day of the tour was Diamond beach which was littered with tiny icebergs.
This was next to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon which was filled with icebergs that have fallen off the glacier.
The number of icebergs in the lagoon and beach varies a lot. Sometimes the beach and lagoon are empty. However it was full when we were there and was a sunny day so it was impossible to take a bad picture.
The fourth and fifth day of the trip was spent on the east coast in fjords and bays there.
It had snowed the over the past few days so the mountains were spotted with snow as was some parts of the ground but there was not much snow on the roads.
On the fifth day we visited another hot spring. This one was by lake Myvatn. This time we got to relax in the hot springs while watching a sunset. I could really get use to these hot springs.
We also visited the town of Akureyri the second largest city in Iceland. It reminded me of a ski town as it was built next to a large mountain. The harbor was very scenic.
The last day was another couple of waterfalls each beautiful and unique. The last one was really cool because the water for the waterfall came out of the rocks.
We saw and learned so much about the many cool geological oddities on our trip that I have probably absorbed enough information to get a degree in geology. And as a bonus we got to see the northern lights a couple of more times during our trip. Although my wife and I don't like to have our picture taken I couldn't resist getting a picture of us with the northern lights in the background. After spending a week in Iceland I can now see why so many people say it is one of the coolest and unusually places they have ever been.
No comments:
Post a Comment