July 22, 2019

July 22, 2019

We checked out of our Reykjavik hotel and were picked up by our rental car company. After signing the necessary paperwork, we began our Ring Road driving adventure around Iceland. We started with the Golden Circle, usually a day trip out of Reykjavik, for those wanting to just get a glimpse of Iceland.

The Golden Circle's first stop is thirty minutes inland at Thingvellir National Park. The Park is a two-fer. Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge where up welling of lava forces the North American and Eurasian continental plates apart. We start our visit walking down a basalt fissure where the two tectonic plates are splitting apart, America on the left and Europe to the right.

Thingvellir is also a World Heritage site because this gorge wall played a pivotal role in Icelandic history. From the year 930 AD Iceland leaders would hold an assembly (Althing) here two weeks a year to judge disputes and set new rules. This evolved into their modern Parliament making Iceland one of the oldest Democracies.

After seeing Law Rock and the fertile valley where the chieftains would stay during the Althing, we took a short hike to a waterfall. Before leaving we bought a sandwich for the ride.

Our next stop is another half-hour northeast at Geysir. Apparently I knew some of the local language and didn't realize it. Geysir is Icelandic for ‘Gusher’ and accurately describes these thermal fountains. Unfortunately the original one rarely erupts anymore. There are several other geysers nearby. One erupts every five minutes or so. It shoots water but for mere seconds. Still cool, but so lame if you have ever been to Yellowstone. Aimee, always the comedian yells at me, "Old Geezer, stand by the Old Geysir for a photo."

Next on the Golden Circle is Gullfoss, one of the bigger waterfalls in Iceland. Not only is it wide but it has several cascades. Interestingly the first angles one way and the second the opposite direction. We hiked all around it getting shots from every angle.

We drove thirty minutes south to our accommodations and checked in. Since it doesn't get dark till late, we went further south to Kerid and hiked around a little volcanic crater that now has a lake at the bottom. The contrast between the water and crater walls make for a colorful photo.

On the way back to our Guest House, we watched an Icelandic cowboy trying to retrieve a stray horse trotting down the road in front of us. Apparently all the horses here descend from the originals brought by the Vikings. They selected small stocky horses that would fit on their Long Ships.