For The Love of Travel

Yay!! Today the roads on the circuit are displayed as ‘green’, so I take off early with my trusty GPS installed in my rental car. First stop, the ‘Geysir’, with boiling and steaming mudpits, and exploding geysers which spout water 30 metres into the air every few minutes. You wait for the boiling to get intense at ground level and up she spurts!!  Next, Gullfoss, a waterfall in the Hvita river canyon…..spectacular! Then to a volcanic crater lake, Kerid, filled with a milky blue- green water and stark black and red/orange slopes. Can’t believe how quickly the weather changed from sunny skies, to strong blowing wind and snow blizzard! Some gorgeous Icelandic horses along the way came to greet me on the way to Thingvellir National Park, the last part of the drive in an action packed 8 hour day. And of course, a church on the edge of a lake, amazing blue water catchments…such a great day of exploration. 

Galing winds and icy roads out on the Golden Circle circuit, so car travel outside Reykjavik is seriously not recommended. So wandering around town today, this time rugged up to the hilt with warm clothes. Visited the old harbour area that’s being revitalised with cafes and apartment building construction – some of the old buildings being restored.  I like some murals, some quirky sculptures,    couple of churches and a delightful lunch of monk fish on a bed of parsnip puree. 

Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran parish church designed by Guojon Samuelsson in 1937, who was inspired by the fascinating shapes created when lava cools into basalt rock. Dramatic statue of Ingiborg Bjarnason (1867 – 1941), an Icelandic politician, suffragist, schoolteacher and gymnast – the first woman to become a member of the Althing, the parliament of Iceland. A bust in memory of Bishop Jon Vidalin (1666-1720), at the side of the modest Reykjavik Cathedral, that was wonderfully craggy. 

Iceland, a small Scandinavian country (population: 334,000 and 40 political parties) is in a tourism boom, welcoming nearly 1.8 million visitors last year alone. I will be falling under its spell, and flooding social media and blog with geyser, volcano, and glacier pics galore.

But not right now, ‘cos I’m a bit unhappy, about my suitcase not arriving with me this morning. After 35 hours dedicated effort to get here, you hope everything is aligned. Not so! Flight delayed by an hour at Heathrow; arrived 1 AM in Reykjavik; no suitcase; an hour to process paperwork; last bus 🚎 has left. Had to catch a VERY expensive taxi to Reykjavik – $250 AUS. And it’s 2 degrees, with me having no warm stuff to put on. Icelandair gives you a quaint ‘survival pack’ of toothpaste and brush, deodorant and t shirt. Great if you are stranded in Fiji!!

Spent a lot of time today in snow drift conditions, visiting different shopping centres to line up purchases in the event my bag didn’t turn up in time for photography tour. Good news. It’s arriving tonight at 22:00. Yay!!!

Drove past Sólfar this arvo just before the weather changed again…its a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason, located close to the Harpa Centre in Reykjavík. Sun Voyager is described as an ode to the sun. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undiscovered territory, progress and freedom. It also represents how Norse people arrived in Iceland, with the hope of a better future.

A couple of pics from around the hotel precinct….a building over the road and a cafe patio.

Off to a comedy revue tonight by taxi 🚕…..too freezing cold to walk in current outfit 😤
https://www.harpa.is/dagskra/vidburdur/how-to-become-icelandic-in-60-minutes/