It is late Wednesday afternoon and our last full day in Iceland. It has been a wonderful trip and we saw more than we thought we would of this beautiful country. The weather has been very good all around and much warmer than expected. We overpacked thinking that we would need our long johns and thick sweaters. That wasn't the case.
The past two days were busy. On Monday, we toured the Golden Circle. It is in Southern Iceland and offers a number of touristy and not so touristy attractions. We saw the famous Gullfoss waterfall. Wow, it is a beauty. We also saw a number of other waterfalls, each unique in its own way. Some of them were situated in an area that truly tested our fear of heights....the Haifoss waterfall is one of them. Generally, we are not afraid of heights but both of us were not too brave looking down from the precipice.
We also went to the Geysir Geothermal Field and saw the eruption of the famous Strokkur Geysir. It spouts water to a height of 50 to 100 feet, every 8 to 10 minutes. Russell had his camera ready for the eruption. Quite a sight to watch. We then went on to see the crater Kerid. Another natural wonder.
We drove through the Thingvellir National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers incredible geology and landscape features. This park is exceptionally well maintained. We were very impressed by it all. It was a great way to end another great tour, with our guide Jon. By the way, Jon is a great guy and gave us wonderful insight about Iceland. We highly recommend him as a tour guide!
Needless to say we've been doing a lot of walking since we got here so going to the Blue Lagoon on Tuesday was a nice way to pamper ourselves. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. When we arrived, we were given robes and slippers... and strict instructions on the showering process before entering the lagoon. The "shower nazi" for men seemed much more strict than for women. It was funny to compare notes when Russell and I came out of our respective shower area. We then proceeded to the lagoon. What a feeling it was to walk into this huge pool of geothermal water, filled with minerals and silica. The temperature was roughly 104 F. We waded our way to the "silica bar" where we helped ourselves to the silica mud and applied it to our face, neck and shoulders. We could totally feel the rejuvenation working its magic.
After the lagoon, we had lunch at the Lava restaurant. We were impressed. The food was simply amazing. It was a great day and the perfect way to end our vacation.
So, here we are, getting ready to fly back to Toronto tomorrow. We had a wonderful time and we're anxious to get home. Great to get away, always great to get back home. We will pick up Cooper and Spicy on Friday morning. We can't wait to see them, we missed them a whole lot. The weather back home is still very nice so we will get to enjoy Summer like temperatures when we return.
I will resume my weekly blog on Sunday. Until then, I leave you with more photos and wish you all a great rest of the week. See you back in Canada!
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| Strokkur geysir.....vents regularly...the key to capturing it is a photographers challenge - thanks Jon. |
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| The Kerid crater 180 feet deep....created by volcanic explosion over 6500 years ago...quite the marvel to walk around. |
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| Gullfoss waterfall...amazing volume of water...not to mention huge crowds to view them. |
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| Haifoss...towering falls pouring into a lush valley. |
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| Closer to Gullfoss waterfalls.....the mist was tremendous. |
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| Thingvellir National Park waterfalls....amazing. |
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| Horsing around at a horse riding stable on the route of the Golden Circle. |
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| Fall colours begin to reflect in a pool in Thingvellir National Park. |
Enjoyed your blog and photos.
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