icelandic escapades {volcano & glacier tour}

Day 2- Our itinerary was simple.  The travel package we purchased included a Volcano and Glacier Walk Day Tour provided by Icelandic Mountain Guides.   It was described as an all day tour and to plan for 8-10 hours.  We met in the lobby of our hotel along with at least 30 other tourists.  I kept looking for a large charter bus to load because I didn't realize that all of us on the tour were divided up into smaller groups and assigned to a guide that would take us in his personal Super Jeep.  Most of the Super Jeeps were Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Pathfinders, or Land Rovers.  All of them had tires that were very large but otherwise appeared normal, until we made a stop to see a volcano and our guide inflated them even more so we could cross a river.  This was not a drive by and look out the window tour and it certainly wasn't something suited for Sally our SadCar.  We were very happy to have the Super Jeep.

Our Super Jeep

Several of the Super Jeeps at a pit stop on our tour.

Our guide was Viðar {Vee-DAR} Helgason.  He took one look at us in the lobby and knew instantly that he scored the best group of all the guides.  Let's just say the other groups were not as excited or lively...or young.  We took one look at Vidar and knew instantly that he was no cracker jack tour guide.  Good-Clean-Livin' had paid us back once more.

Vidar the Great- the poster child for Icelandic Mountain Guides
(his mother knitted his sweater for him)

We set out east from Reykjavik: our destination, the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano.  Our first clue that we scored the best guide was our jeep took the lead.  There was no Super Jeep ahead of us to block the view of all Iceland laid in our path...including sheep crossing the road.

As we made our way to the volcano we could tell that Vidar not only loved being a guide, he was also extremely passionate about Iceland and the outdoors and was very eager to share his culture and heritage with us.  We also learned that he doesn't do this volcano and glacier walk tour on a regular basis.  His typical gig is taking groups {some military} on extreme camping trips for a two week duration over the glacier(s) to develop their survival skills.  But he has five kids, so a bit of extra cash in the off-season comes in the form of these easy little day trips.

Our first scenic stop was Gígjökull, a glacier that comes down the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.  It looks like a regular mountain with an ice cap but the glacier actually covers the volcano's crater.  The most recent eruption in 2010 created a break in the glacier large enough to spew ash into the atmosphere and wreak havoc on trans-Atlantic flight paths for several weeks.  {I secretly hoped for an eruption while we were there that would force us to stay a few more days.} 

The area where we stopped was covered in coarse black dirt which is actually the remaining ash and lava from the last time this thing blew.  

How much ash and debris settled in the field?  Here's a large hill of it.

Here I am standing at the edge of the river flowing through the lava field at the base of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.  

Vidar the Great took command of all Super Jeeps at this point.  Through radio communication he made the decision of where everyone would cross the river.  But he went first just to be sure it was safe.The view from our Super Jeep as we plunged into the river:

Super Jeeps do super things...like cross glacial rivers into volcanic fields:

  

We made our next stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall.  Thousands of years ago this cliff was actually the coastline of Iceland.  The water drops about 200 feet over the cliff. 

There are trails to walk behind the waterfall.  But since things were still a bit frosty the stairway was just a tad bit slick.  But as in all of Iceland everything is at your own risk so the stairway was available for anyone wanting to take a chance...we did not.

Our tour included lunch at a quaint farm where we were fed a traditional Icelandic lamb stew.  It was delicious.

The beer aficionados in our group {everyone but me} tried this local brew and liked it.  The Olvishold Brugghus is a microbrewery at an old dairy farm in south Iceland founded by two neighboring farmers.  They told us this beer is available in the USA.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of farm implements.  If only we had visited in summertime to see them surrounded by lush green grass.

Icelandic sheep barn

After lunch we begged Vidar the Great to take us by this little village church.  I could see it from our lunch stop while I was galavanting around taking pictures of farm implements and sheep barns and I just wasn't going to leave there without getting closer to it for a picture.  It is typical of the style of rural churches in Iceland.

Our next stop was the Sólheimajökull glacier, which is technically an outlet of the Mýrdalsjökull Icecap.  Here is an aerial picture I found on Google Images that gives a good view of both.

On our approach to the glacier I was surprised it was not solid white ice {I know, silly tourist thought} but Vidar the Great explained a large portion of the area where we would hike contained quite a bit of ash and debris from volcanic activity.  There were also boulders and other earthen junk that the glacier had acquired over the last several hundred years in its descent.

Before hiking the glacier everyone was issued a pair of spikes, called crampons, to attach to their boots.  I can imagine every little kid in Iceland receives a pair of these for a birthday or Christmas gift when they are about five years old just like kids in America get bicycles {or BB guns if you're my kids}.  They weren't hard to walk on as long as we remembered to pick up our feet!

After the crampons we all received a standard issue ice axe.

I was all geared up and ready to hike the glacier:

Here, Vidar the Great wanted to demonstrate how important it was to follow behind him in a single file line and not venture out.  This area which appeared normal to us novice ice hikers was actually a deep hole.  And if we had fallen in that hole there is no doubt Vidar the Great would have rescued us but it would have drastically changed our hiking plans and most likely ended the tour.  We stayed in line.

From that point we set out to hike the glacier, all the while Vidar the Great pointed out various features such as ice ridges, sculptures, cracks and deep crevasses.  Sadly, there were no ice caves on this particular day.

We learned that the surface features of the glacier change frequently.  For example, this deep hole had water flowing through it fairly close to the surface where we stood just two days earlier.  

Vidar the Great went down to investigate just how far it had retreated.

At this point it started to snow so we took several photos to commemorate our trek on the glacier then headed back down.

As we began our initial hike several guides were ending theirs and all of them coming off the glacier treated Vidar like a celebrity.  The same thing happened as we made our descent and met up with more guides that were bringing other groups. We already knew he was the best but this was all the proof we needed that this guy was no ordinary mountaineer.

At the base of the glacier area is this large lagoon which contains some of the glacier runoff as well as sub-glacial water.  It was pretty but did not smell good {think rotten eggs} due to the high levels of sulphuric acid courtesy of the underground volcanic activity.

Following our glacial trek Vidar the Great had a special treat in store {mostly for me}.  We had been joking about why we took a trip to Iceland and I was saying how I always vote to go to the beach but always end up in someplace opposite- like Iceland.  So he took us to the beach.
I dipped my toes in the North Atlantic Ocean.  It was frigid but worth it.

We found a nice stone and wrote in the sand.

Then I collected a bottle of sand to add to my collection at home and we made our way to the last stop on our tour- Skógarfoss waterfall.  It is about 80 feet wide and 200 feet tall.  At one point Vidar the Great scampered up the cliffside with the skill of a mountain goat while we took in the enormity of this one.

This tour was included in our travel package so we really didn't know what to expect.  But we were blown away with how great of a tour it was and all agreed this was THE BEST part of our trip.  We were able to see so many of the natural features of Iceland in a days time without having to do the driving or planning.  Of course we did have the BEST guide in all of Iceland which made it even better.  We looked up this tour on-line and it would have been about $300 per person if we had purchased separately from our travel package.


Once again, I just have to add this was an amazing trip.  

icelandic escapades {golden circle and hot soaking}

Day 1-

Golden Circle Drive- Post-arrival in Iceland we checked in to our hotel; everyone took a quick power nap to re-charge and ward off jetlag.  From there our agenda included the "Golden Circle" drive which took us north from Reykjavík to Thingvillr {THING-VA-LEER} National Park.  It covers a fairly large area and similar to a national park in America.  I hope I remember all of this correctly.  

The area is a popular tourist destination in Iceland and part of a fissure zone situated on the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a tetonic plate boundary separating the Eurasian and North American Plates.  Most of this ridge on our planet is underwater but is elevated enough on Iceland to make for a pretty neat landscape feature and cool place to visit.  

The weather was perfect for our all afternoon driving adventure.  It was partly cloudy and not raining; we contributed this good fortune to our collective effort of just plain ole' Good-Clean-Living.  

The visitor center for Thingvellir leads to a walkway down into the great Almannagjá fault. 

Even the public restrooms at the visitor center highlight the amazing view of the surrounding landscape.

Lake Thingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Icleand is in Thingvillr National Park.  

As we approached the park area we noticed a field full of these tiny stone cairns.  We never did find out why this particular field had so many of them but it was just one more thing that made this enchanting land so unique.

I created my own tiny cairn back in the hotel room with some of the many rocks I collected.

Silfra, a famous scuba dive spot is part of the lake and tetonic plate boundary.  It is also one of the top places on the planet to scuba dive…if you have the appropriate cold water diving gear.  The water is so clear and reflects a beautiful blue color it is easy to see why it is so appealing.  But it is not on my bucket list.

Swimming and diving is at your own risk, but a convenient stairway is provided.

Thingvellir Church is located in the park and another popular stop for tourists (and aspiring photographers).

Parliament was established here, waaaaaay back in 930.  Important government meetings in Viking times and the early Middle Ages took place in Thingvellir.  Likewise, grievances had to be settled and punishment enforced; this area holds a history of executions and torture.  Supposedly this waterfall- Oxarafoss- is one of those places. 

There are so many waterfalls in Iceland no one knows how many there really are.  Gullfoss is one of the largest and most popular to visit and part of Golden Circle drive.

Our third major stop on the Golden Circle tour was Strokkur Geysir.  It is actually several geysers in one geothermal area.  Because of so many volcanoes there is seemingly an unlimited amount of hot lava flowing under all of Iceland.  All of that hot lava creates heated underground water and in this case it combines with other complicated geophysical factors where it is forced out of a hole in the ground creating an awesome geyser.  This area had a several geysers and all of them erupted every 5 or 10 minutes.  There was also a very strong sulphur smell but it was worth it to see the geysers erupt.

This is the only printed warning you get that the water may be hot.  

Something I took away from Iceland is that they consider their citizens- and visitors- to have and use common sense!  There wasn't an overwhelming amount of danger signs, guard railings or safety barriers.  In other words, they consider everyone to take it upon themselves to be safe.  And if you happen to stand in the way of steaming hot water when it erupts you probably wouldn't get an ounce of sympathy and you certainly wouldn't be able to file a lawsuit against anyone for your own choices {and stupidity}.  I liked this attitude A LOT! 

Here is one of the geysers at rest...see, just barely a rope barrier to keep people out of the mud and away from the hot water.

All over Iceland there are areas in the ground where steam escapes.  This one happens to be in a rural area along the highway but in more populated places these are used to generate heat for buildings or homes.  

Across from the geyser field is a gift shop and café.  Couldn't resist a picture of a tractor!

The wool from Icelandic sheep is incredibly warm and one of the iconic pieces of their culture.  I bought a sweater but I'm wishing I'd have picked up a pair or two of warm socks.

There isn't a lot of forest land in Iceland so it was a bit of a surprise to see this art installation using tree trunk pieces.  European repurposing at its finest.  This is a space divider in the café built into a doorframe so it can swing open.  I love that part of European design.

A Hot Soak- After a long day of traveling, driving, and walking to see so many amazing landscape features we ended our day with a visit to Laugardalslaug public pool for some communal soaking.  Sounds crazy but the pools are geothermally heated and the mineral content is therapeutic.  Communal soaking is part of the social fabric of Iceland.  

This is a pic I found on Google Images of Laugardalslaug...just imagine that round soaking tub with about 40 people in it.  The one just beyond it had twice that many so we opted for the one that was a little less confining in case we wanted a quick exit.

We are all about the local experience and it doesn't get more real than visiting a public communal soaking pool.  In fact, if there were an Olympic event for soaking the people of Iceland would win it hands down.  I'd even consider moving there to become a citizen and major contender for the team.   We paid our admission and locker rental- about $8- and got quite the awakening with the locker room experience.  

There is a rigid, multi-step process for the locker room that we failed to read in our travel guidebook.  First, you are not allowed to wear shoes into the locker room.  That was our first mistake.  Second, you are expected to strip down to your birthday suit at your locker and proceed with your swimsuit in hand to the shower area.  That was our second mistake.  Third, you must shower BEFORE putting on your swimsuit and proceeding to the pool area.  That was our third mistake.  {We were unaware how serious the Icelanders are about cleanliness in their pools for we did not realize the pools are not very chlorinated...but are they too hot for bacteria and other germs to multiply???  We chose not to think about it...until we spotted someone who looked like he had chicken pox.}

Frankly, there is no modesty in a European locker room and there isn't much tolerance for modest Americans that enter it.  We received quite the scolding from the shower boss.  There was no free pass for us; we were sent back to the lockers then followed procedures under her watchful eye to make sure we were thoroughly scrubbed and clean before allowed to don our swimsuits and enter the pool area.  It was rather awkward at first but we were the only ones bothered by the idea of any of this.  Understandably, there are no photos of this experience; you'll have to go see it with your own eyes if you don't believe me.

Once we finally made it to the soaking pools we found a spot and did like the locals- we soaked and took it all in.  And since it didn't get dark until nearly 10pm we soaked amidst the evening twilight as we mentally recovered from the locker room debacle and thought about our adventures in the previous 12 hours.  Day one of Iceland was certainly not wasted and our next escapade- a volcanos and glacier hike tour- was scheduled for the following morning.