I It was a 3 hour flight to Iceland from Germany, but we passed through 2 time zones to get there. Our driver was in no rush to get to the hotel. Robbin and Ron sat in the front seat with him and they talked all the way. We rushed to the restaurant where the driver told us to go, and had fish and chips for about $20.00 each. It was tasty, very tasty, but I think we could have gotten it for half that in the USA.
By then it was time for us to meet our bus for a chance to see the Northern Lights. It was a nice ride into the country in the dark. We made one stop at a nice large hunting lodge turned hospitality center. I am sure it belonged to Gray Line. There were 12 busses there. Of course they had drinks (I heard the coffee was $4.00per cup. They also had sweets. There were tables and chairs. There were also sofas and overstuffed chairs. It was nothing like we expected. We thought we would travel to one place and if we did not see lights, we would look somewhere else. Not so. Our tour left at 8 pm. Our body time was already 10 pm. It was rather boring at the lodge. Several of our group were seen napping on the couches. It was cloudy outside, so I felt like if we did see lights, it might be for just 3 or 5 minutes. An announcement was made at 10 pm saying the clouds were expected to lift in 30 minutes. We waited impatiently. Ten o’clock is our midnight. They made one more announcement that we would get another announcement at 11 pm (that’s 1 am for us.) At 11 pm, the announcement was to scrap the lights for today. Happily we climbed aboard the bus, and the snoring symphony began. I can’t remember anything after getting on the bus. Tomorrow our tour begins at 8 am.
The temperature was 40 something and there was NO wind. Perfect weather conditions for travel. Our first stop was a geo-thermal hot springs called the Secret Lagoon. See pictures below. It was cold outside but once you got inside it was warm. Actually if you were very close to one of the springs, it was extremely hot. There were over a million gallons of water in this lagoon. And it recirculates every 30 hours, it was amazing. When we looked into the water, we could see the minerals floating all around us.
Our next stop was to see a geyser. It spouts about every 6 minutes. Iceland still has volcanoes. Remember the explosion of one in 2000? We were in Spain and the flights were all grounded. Fortunately for us, we were staying an extra week.
Then we went to Gulfoss Water falls. It was pretty, but it was also cloudy. Actually there were two waterfalls, but because of the fog and steam, you could hardly see the second one. To see it, you will have to enlarge the photo and look just above the second one and also look a little to the left.
Our next stop was at the tech tonic plate, where Europe is separating from North America. Of course, if you do not believe in evolution, then neither do you believe the world is milllions of years old. Therefore, we prefer to believe that Noah’s flood would be a more accurate reason for the shifting. The commentator already said that during a recent earthquake, it shifted about 3 feet from where it was before the earthquake. It was hard to get photos of both North America and European split. Here are some scenery shots. Even though it is winter in Iceland, the lakes and mountains and sky colors made for a beautiful landscape.
Our last morning was spent just browsing town and going to see a Lutheran Church. This monument of Leif Erickson was given to Iceland from the United States on the occasion of their 1000 birthday. It stands in front of the church. The last picture is of Maria and Gerard standing in front of the Lutheran Church.
All in all this was an outstanding trip with enough free time and a mix of tours and hop on hop off rides. I am seriously considering doing it again in 2019. I plan to change one hotel because I did not like the location. Other than that, it will stay the same. I hope some of you would like to join us in 2019. It is not too early to start thinking about it.
Again, thanks for reading and I hope I have given you a spectacular ride along with us.
Sue Biggs, Custom Holidays