Geysers, volcanoes, and waterfalls, oh my! - 10/3/13

We landed at Keflavik around 6 am. By 9 am we had checked into our hotel, eaten breakfast and boarded a tour van, ready to experience the Golden Circle Tour with Iceland Horizon.

Our first stop was a pair of waterfalls: Faxifoss and Gullfoss ("Golden Falls").  Faxifoss was impressive. Gullfoss was even more impressive. 

Faxifoss - It's hard to see, but there's a fish ladder on the left

Gullfoss

During this drive we got to see a lot of the Icelandic terrain and we heard a lot about Iceland's history, economics and geology. Norse settlers (Vikings) arrived in Iceland in 874 and the original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Gaelic origin. After 400 years of self rule, Iceland became subject to rule by Norway, and then Denmark. It became an independent republic in 1944.

The population of Iceland is small - about 325,000 - just a little larger than Anchorage. The country is much larger than we realized. A lot of tourists come to Iceland and think you can drive around the island in a day, but you can't.

Icelanders call the president by his first name . . . because nobody in Iceland has a last name. If your father's name is Jón Magnusson, your name might be Einar Jónsson or Elisabet Jónsdóttir.

Iceland was a very poor country prior to the 20th century. After WWII, Iceland's economy began to expand and it grew rapidly during the 1990's as software, biotechnology and finance became major industries. The country became prosperous, there was practically no unemployment, and everybody had a high standard of living. Then, in 2008, Iceland's banking system failed and its economy collapsed. A lot of Icelanders moved away, but the economy has started to recover.

Iceland has an abundance of fresh water and thermal resources, so hydro-power and geothermal energy are renewable, cheap and plentiful. 

Farming and greenhouse farming can be seen here and there. We also got to see some Icelandic horses and sheep. The horses are quite small and hardy. They are a pure breed descended from the horses brought to Iceland by the Vikings 1,000 years ago. It has been against the law to import horses to Iceland since 982 CE.

 Our next stop was to see some geysers. Just like "Old Faithful" in the US, the geysers in Iceland have names. "Geysir" is the first geyser known to modern Europeans and is the source of our word "geyser." The most active geyser is "Strokkur," erupting every five minutes or so. It is quite a sight. And the whole are has a sulphuric smell, too.

Strokkur

The Icelandic alphabet has 32 letters. Many of them are familiar, but there are two consonants for the "th" sound and a lot of tricky vowels. Our tour guide, who was British, was very proud that he could pronounce the name of the volcano that erupted in 2010 and disrupted air travel:  Eyjafjallajökull.

Our final stop was Þingvellir National Park. This was the site of the Viking Parliament from 930 to 1798. I was expecting a building, or at least some ruins, but it wasn't at all what I expected.It was more like a campground where the tribal chiefs assembled annually. It was part legislature, part court system, and part state fair.

What is most unusual about the site is its dramatic geology. It is the rift valley where the North American tectonic plate meets the Eurasian tectonic plate. The faults can be clearly seen.

Here are some unscientific observations based on spending 24 hours in Iceland:

• The population is young
• Not a lot of diversity
• Nobody walks anywhere, but . . .
• Nobody is overweight 
• No homeless people or beggars
• They don't seem to have a lot of dogs
• There aren't very many churches 
• Few tall buildings (earthquakes?) 
• No graffiti

Here is the main light switch in our hotel room. The faucet, shower and toilet were confusing, but this was the worst. I couldn't even figure out where to touch it. Center? Lit side? Unlit side? I never found out what the "scenes" were.

One final tip for those who might want to visit: DO NOT take a taxi from the airport. Buy a bus ticket at the airport. It's easy to do. You're welcome.