Day 8
I am loving this midnight sun thing! You’ve read about it, heard about it and seen it on tv but there is nothing like actually experiencing it. At 9pm last night there was still brilliant sunshine as we sat whale watching on our balcony after dinner. (By the way, Iceland is an hour behind the uk so this was 10pm uk time). But it was still light at 10.30 when we went to bed after a bit of whale watching. Whales had been spotted but we didn’t see any.
Dinner was at The Beach House, another extras restaurant. It is American//Mexican based and was very good although even more filling. Steve had chicken piri piri and I had a salad which was delicious. Then Steve had ribs and I had pulled pork. Both were good, Steve said the ribs beat clube nau. Then Steve had pecan pie and I had a key lime sundae.
I woke at 3.45 to the most beautiful red sky which seemed to last for hours as it was still there whenever I woke up.
We docked in Reykjavik around 7am. Then breakfast in the Horizon before going ashore which was an incredibly easy process with no queuing at all. We walked straight off.
We found the pick up point for our tour very easily. There were loads of different tours and we were early so we were only 100% sure we were in the right place when our coach arrived. But really it was all very easy.
We were on the Golden Circle Tour which is an iconic tour. And what a fantastic tour it was! We’d booked it nearly a year ago and so had forgotten most of what it included so there were several wonderful surprises along the way.
The first stop was at the Parliamentary Fields in the Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir (actually looks like Pingvellir in Icelandic) means “assembly plains” where the first parliaments were held from 930. The national park is situated on the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in a rift valley which lies between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is also next to the largest natural lake in Iceland. We had a little retail therapy as well whilst there - a beanie for steve and Icelandic mittens for me.
The we went to Geysir which is where the English word comes from. Geysir itself is dormant but beside it is Strokkur which erupts every few minutes and is spectacular. We saw several eruptions from close and far. Plus several other hot springs nearby.
From there we went to Gullfoss, the most beautiful waterfall that can rival some of the biggest in the world. Its height is 32m and the average flow is 140 cubic meters per second but as it is fed from a glacier, at this time of year it is far greater than that. It was breathtaking.
Then back to Reykjavik and onto the ship which again, was incredibly quick and efficient. No queues at all.
The landscapes in Iceland vary quite quickly but they are always dramatic and often quite bleak. However there are always mountains in sight, either in the distance or close by. Between the mountains are generally green plains and valleys with several lakes and rivers. Occasionally there is a lava field covered in light grey moss.
I am trying to find alternative words to spectacular, stunning and breathtaking but those are the words that describe the landscape best. It truly is all of those.
There are no indigenous trees in Iceland, they are all basically shrubs. The joke is that if you get lost in an Icelandic forest, just stand up. There are some trees but they have all been from imported species. There are Icelandic horses everywhere, and they are horses even though they look like Shetland ponies. But do not say that to any Icelander, they would be totally offended 😂. These horses are all pure breds to the point that they have no immune system so no other breeds can be brought to the country. There are also plenty of sheep and some cattle. There are no crops because the growing season is too short. But there are some heated greenhouses and poly tunnels growing vegetables.
There are only 400,000 inhabitants in Iceland (mostly in Reykjavik) but there are over 2 million tourists each year. So Iceland has to import a vast amount of its supplies.
We were very impressed today. Despite the number of tourists, nowhere was overcrowded and the facilities were excellent, better than in many places.
The Icelanders are also very aware of their surroundings and ecology and work hard to ensure that their environment is preserved. All properties are geothermically heated and the electricity is also provided from renewable sources - 80% is hydroelectricity and 20% is geothermal.
A fabulous country that we are loving more and more every day.
Comments