This was our major port stop on this cruise. Cruise lines have been visiting Iceland for a number of years now, on their repositioning from North American ports to Europe and back. The country has become so popular now that there are also cruises which do round trip visits from the UK. Tourism is the number 1 source of income for the country, year round. In the more temperate months it is the natural wonders which interest visitors, but in winter there is a booming tourism industry because of the Northern Lights. We are really too early to enjoy a show, but there's always a possibility.
The Golden Circle is the number one tourist driving route and tour after tour heads out to the natural wonders easily accessible from this Northern capital city. Thingellir National Park was our first stop. This park is situated on the fault line where the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia are drifting apart by approximately 2cm each year. We literally walked through the widest part of this fault line.
Our journey continued to the natural wonder which is Geysir. This town is now the name used all over the world for the water which erupts from hot pools. The original geyser no longer erupts, but another one close by, Strogurr, erupts every 3-5 minutes. So we all waited and were justly rewarded with spouts of varying size and height.
Then it was on to Gullfoss Falls. These falls pour 22000 litres of water into the canyon every second. A greater amount than Niagara. Quite a spectacular sight.
We made a quick stop to feed some Icelandic Horses. A special breed, slightly taller than Shetland ponies, but do not refer to the Icelandic version as ponies! If an Icelandic horse leaves Iceland it is never allowed to return and no other horses are allowed to be imported. The breed is very pure as a result. They have five gaits, unlike other horses. The fifth gait, the horse has three of its hoofs on the ground at any one time.
Our lunch stop was at a greenhouse farm, where 20% of Iceland's tomatoes are grown. We were offered a taste of their tom thumb variety and they were so good. Lunch was fresh tomato soup with bread of different varieties. Absolutely delicious.
Our final stop for the day was at the Secret Lagoon. Unlike the man-made tourist site Blue Lagoon, this natural hot spring is where the locals go to bathe in the hot water (probably around 35-38 deg C). It was divine. Surrounded by extremely hot bubbling pools and a little geysir this was a delightful way to round off our day.
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| Thingellir National Park |
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| Lots of small plants and plenty of mosses and lichen grown in this inhospitable environment |
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| The Eurasian/North American fault line |
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| Walking between North America and Europe |
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| Our "CIA" convoy |
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| Gullfoss Falls |
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| Smaller falls than Gullfoss but this set is distinguished by having a salmon stairway - to the left |
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| Beautiful fresh tomatoes |
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| Close up of the salmon ladder |
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| In the Secret Lagoon |
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