AFTER A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP AND BREAKFAST we loaded up with brochures from tourist information and sat down to make a plan. (We have no guidebook for Iceland but I am #1 on the library’s e-book waitlist.) We would love to go up to the Westfjiords in the NW of Iceland, but tourist season begins late that far north and not even the hotels are open yet. Most of the brochures are for guided trips but they are great for DIY destinations. There are several good daytrips from Reykjavik so we decided to stay an extra night.
Church at Tingvellir NP
Tingvellir National Park seemed like an obvious place to start and with nearly 20 hours of daylight getting an early start wasn’t necessary. Little remains on this World Heritage Site of the Icelandic Assembly that was held here from 980 until the end of the 18th Century. Today it is a great place to explore the tectonic powers of nature. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American plate is separating from the Eurasian plate, runs through Iceland and splits Tingvellir. The boardwalk trail actually runs through the split.
Walking the rift, Tingvellir NP
It didn’t rain - May is Iceland’s driest month - but the incessant wind made it feel much colder than the mid-40s. Travel writer Paul Theroux wrote, “Only a fool blames his bad vacation on the weather.” Our friend Cathy added, “There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing.” We were prepared with hats, gloves, polar fleece and Gore-Tex. But it was still cold.
And today’s sunny skies didn’t help much. Cold wind numbed my face even as boiling water trickled around my boots. The hot springs and geysers at Geysir don’t come close to those at Yellowstone - nothing does! - and the erupting Strokkur geyser was hardly Old Faithful.
Strokker Geyser, hardly Old Faithful
Ten kilometers farther down the road, the waterfall at Golfoss made the trip worthwhile. I would rank it #4 behind Iguassau Falls, Niagra Falls and Takkakaw Falls in Canada - definitely better than Victoria Falls. It is the largest in Europe but you had better see it soon. Plans are afoot to dam(n) the gorge for hydro-electric power, totally un-necessary with all the available geo-thermal energy and the potential for wind turbines.
