May 15, 2016: Golden Circle

Sorry for the delay in blogging but the last hostel had horrible internet connection and I couldn't access the blog. 

Oddny, the owner of the hostel gave us a dozen eggs she received from a neighboring farm so we had scambled eggs, skyr, sweet rye bread, crackers and tex-mex cream cheese for breakfast. 

We drove north towards the Golden Circle. This typical tour consists of visiting three nature/historic sites that are close to Reykjavik. We added a few extra stops to make the trip more interesting and informative.

First we stopped off at the crater Kerið. 

It was formed approximately 6500 ago when the magma chamber beneath the crater emptied out and collapsed. The water in Kerið does not empty out but rises and falls according to the changes in the water table. During late summer, Kerið is used as a music venue with people sitting on the slopes of the crater.

 

The students are the group walking along the upper right edge of the crater.

Continuing our journey north toward Þingvellir, we stopped at Ljósafoss power station on the river Sog. This is operated by Landsvirkjun, the national power company of Iceland. This hydroelectric power plant began operation in 1937. 

 

 

At first, we thought we could only look at the dam but realized that the visitors’ center was open. We were the only people visiting at first. They had coffee and juice for us and lots of interactive displays about the history of electricity, how it is generated, how much is utilized in everyday objects.

In addition to hydroelectric, Landsvirkjun is beginning to experiment with wind energy and had a fun ‘game’ to see how to harness the wind.

They have one minute to capture the most wind by moving the turbine into the wind.

We drove the 35 km to Þingvellir, a World Heritage site. The literal translation means "Parliament Plains". 

This is where in 930, AlÞingi, the first parliament was held. This location was chosen because it is conveniently located for all regions of the country by old overland routes. Traditionally, it lasted for two weeks with some people traveling up to two additional weeks to attend. 

When Icelanders swore an oath of loyalty to the King of Denmark in 1662 and submitted to his absolute rule, the last remnants of their self-government were wiped out.

River Oxara

Þingvellir is located at the western end of a rift valley. Over the past 10,000 years the earth crust has been subsiding and diverging here. 

We had a picnic at Þingvellir before we continued on the Golden Circle.

Pink Footed Goose

Oxarafoss and Langjokull in background

Geysir is the geological hot spot, where mud pots and boiling geysers are located. The geyser that named all geysers is located here. Unfortunately, the original Geysir does not blow anymore because people used to throw rocks and other stuff into it and plugged it up. Instead we saw Strokkur blow approximately every 8 minutes. 

Geyer with Langjokull in background

After Geyser, we headed to Gullfoss. This is known as the golden waterfall. We had amazing weather and saw a rainbow from the spray of the waterfall. 

 

 
 We could walk out to the edge of the falls. You did get wet on the way but it was wonderful.










 There was a staircase to the top overlooking the waterfalls that also had some information about the local area.

 After the golden circle we started driving back to the hostel. On the way we stopped at Urriđafoss. 

This waterfall is in complete contrast to Gullfoss where there were hundreds of people walking the paths. Instead there were 5 other people there and it was just as beautiful. Interestingly, Landsvirkjun would like to dam this river to create another hydroelectric dam. There is a large battle taking place between the national power company and the environmentalists. Part of the issue is that the electricity would be contracted and sold to a foreign company for either aluminum production or a data center.

We finished the day with split pea soup at the hostel. Everyone was tired from our long day of exploring and hung out in the dorms.

Here is the sunset at 10:30pm from the hostel window.