We got into port later than planned and so our excursion was changed a bit. We had been booked for the Golden Circle for 8.5 hours but instead we had a shortened version for 5.5 hours, starting at 6:30 PM but since hte sun doesn’t set until around 10:30 it was fine. We met in the Theater and were sent to our bus from there. It’s not a port where we need to tender so it was pretty easy. We met our guide Herman who was really good, and we headed off for the Golden Circle. The landscape here is extremely rugged and it’s an island really made from volcanic lava. The total population of Iceland is around 340,000 people, and Reykjavik which is the capital has about 100,000. It’s a fairly large city but all of the inhabitants could fit into Beaver stadium to give you some perspective.
The view from our Balcony where we are docked
We headed fairly quickly away from Reykjavik and into what they call the Interior of Iceland. It was made up of mountains and rugged fields where many sheep and horses grazed in what seemed to be just open wild areas. We learned that in the spring the farmers bring their sheep and horses to graze and they come and get them in the fall. There were white and black sheep, and every color of beautiful horses everywhere.
We also passed a number of geothermal areas. 98% of the houses and businesses in Iceland are heated from power generated by these geothermal areas, and they actually have water tanks that hold near boiling water above Reykjavik.
This is what the landscape looks like in the Interior
We headed towards Thingvellir National Park which had a beautiful lake and a huge geological fault which we could walk down into. This area is also the original place of the Icenland Parliment, the oldest continuous national assembly in Europe. They have met every summer in this location for nearly 800 years.
The Lake at Thingvellir
Walking down in the Geological Fault
Walking down in the Geological Fault
Walking down in the Geological Fault
The Lake
Next we headed to a Geyser that is just called “The Geysir” it is the first one named a Geyser and all others that followed were given the same name. The hot spots below these pools move over time but the currently active Geyser erupts about every 4 minutes so it’s much more frequent than Old Faithful.
The Geysir
Before the eruption
Erupting. If you look on the left you can see people, which show you a perspective of how big the geyser is.
Some of the pools were different colors
Anther eruption from a different viewpoint
We stopped in the cafe at the Geysir location and had the best soup! They also had some pretty good chocolate. We headed off again through the interior towards Gullfoss which means Golden Falls. It was huge and the amount of water going over it was hard to show in pictures and impossible to describe. It was beautiful and massive and powerful.
We also had the treat of seeing the sun set while we were there.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss – on this one you can see the huge cavern that the falls are creating.
Gullfoss – on this one you can see the huge cavern that the falls are creating.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss
We drive mostly through the dark for about an hour to get back to the cruise ship, arriving around midnight. We have an early excursion to the Blue Lagoon in the morning so we wont get much sleep but it was well worth seeing the beauty of the interior of Iceland.