Shamrock Report #8

Yesterday, we did the Golden Circle tour that goes in the wilderness around Reykjavik. We met our private guide, Viddi, at 9:00 AM at the harbor. From there, we headed to the west side of the Pingvellir rift valley, where the tectonic plates of America and Europe meet. We made one camera stop to see the Icelandic horses. The have a shorter stature than our horses and also seem to have bushier manes and tails. Viddi told us that the Vikings brought the horses in 900 AD and they have been isolated and have not changed. They were all over the island. People outside of Iceland purchase them as they are very tame and have five gaits. They seem to come in all colors. (Eugene thought that they looked like unicorns without the horn.) We also stopped to see the lake which Viddi said was very deep as the lake is over the fault line. It was pretty but a little crowded as several buses had just arrived. We decided to make a break and try to get ahead of them.

Crossing the rift, we then headed to Geysir to stroll along the path where a number of geysers are located, but the one that is most regular is Strokkur, which does it thing about every 7 or 8 minutes. I still found it tricky to get a good photo.

From there we went to Gullfoss, which is a spectacular waterfall. There, I kept waiting for the sun to come out from behind some clouds to improve the lighting for photos. I didn't have to wait long as we were having spectacular weather. Viddi told us that of the 200 times he may have done this tour, only about 25 have such great weather. One could see one of the great glaciers that still moves along the landscape and are being affected by global warming--receding just like the ones in Alaska. We stopped for lunch and had a traditional lamb soup. It was tasty and warm.

Then we made a quick stop at Skalholt, Iceland's first bishopric, from 1056 until 1801. Skalholt became an important education center, and at one point, was the country's largest settlement. The memorial outside is dedicated to Iceland's last Catholic bishop. We made a couple of other stops--one at a smaller waterfall, and one at a crater--but I'm not sure what the names were (see photos). Then we headed back to the ship, as one of our party was not feeling well.

We arrived back and had some time before getting ready to meet our friends Mitch and Bert (from Naples, FL) who boarded in RVK. We had an excellent meal in Prime 7, where for the first time, Gail and I split a 32 oz. Porterhouse. Mitch had brought a delicious Cabernet that friends from FL had sent to them in Iceland.

Here are some photos:

Pingvallavatn Lake in the Pingvellir Rift Valley


Icelandic Horses


Strokkur Geyser


Gullfoss Waterfall


Another view of Gullfoss


Small Waterfall with Salmon Ladder