Iceland
Oct. 9-11
The rugged beauty of Iceland is never-ending and our last two days of exploring continued to reinforce this. After a morning visit to the Thorvaldseyri Visitor’s Center to experience “living in the shadow of an active volcano”, we drove to see the Seljalandsfoss, another one of the top 10 waterfalls in a country that has thousands of them. Seljalandfoss is tall and narrow, dropping down 200+ feet over rocky cliffs. An unusual feature of this waterfall is that visitors can actually walk behind it into a small cave for a closer look!
Next stop was Vik, the southernmost village in Iceland, where it was time for off-road driving. I admit that I was a passenger and did not drive, but I still had to gear-up in suit and helmet and it was great fun none the less. Volcanic ruins were to the
left and right of us.
Black Sand Beach Amongst The Volcanic Ruins
Our day's journey continued with an unexpected adventure...
How to describe what it's like to climb within a subglacial volcano...a bit surreal and like, perhaps, being on another planet. Our local guide had discovered the spot just that day and shared that with the rate of melting, the ice would be gone before his next visit there.
And then there was the Blue Lagoon…talk about an ethereal experience. Located in a lava field in southwestern Iceland, the lagoon is man-made, fed by water coming from a geothermal power plant. Its warm water, averaging 99-102 degrees, is rich in minerals, and an hour soaking was the perfect end to days of exploring this remarkable country. We covered our faces with clay, let the warm water soothe away tired muscles as the steam enveloped us, laughed a lot and had a grand time!
A Rainy Departure - A View From The Bus Window
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