The tour started with a trip to the (currently) largest geothermal power plant on Iceland - Hellisheidi. This plant provides the power and hot water for much of eastern Iceland, particularly Reykjavik. Iceland is powered solely by geothermal or hydroelectric power, which is amazing. There are no other types of power generation for the island. So the carbon footprint of Iceland is nearly zero (with the exception of gasoline powered cars and boats).
Turg and I at the Hellsheidi (the plumes of steam behind us are from the plant)
Our next stop was Þingvellir, which was the location of the Alþing, establishing the first Icelandic parlament (and perhaps the first parlament anywhere) in 930 AD. The valley is of significance because it is literally the place where two worlds collide - the North American and Eurasian plates collide right here. It makes the landscape both beautiful and extreme. The temperature in the valley was quite warm, the cliff faces sheer, and the water cold and crystal clear. It was positively breathtaking.
The ridge on the left is the North American plate and the ridge on the right is the Eurasian plate.
The next stop was to Gullfoss, or the Golden Waterfall, where we had lunch and some time to explore the falls. The water that feeds into the falls is from Langsjökull glacier. The falls are enormous, and more powerful than Niagra. Several decades ago, the Icelandic government proposed building a hydroelectric power plant at these falls. However, a local young woman protested this, and threatened to throw herself into the falls if they went through with the plans. Even though the bill was passed to build the powerplant, it was never put into place because of the conviction of this young woman. The woman´s decendants now run the cafe at the falls where we had lunch... talk about taking up a business opportunity.
(I have to mention one thing about lunch - lunch was a traditional Icelandic meat (read: lamb) soup. We really didn't expect that much since it was, you know, a touristy cafe. But the bus driver really recommended it. I'm so glad we got it - it was positively delicious. American roadside-tourist stands selling food could learn from these people... okay, back to the tour.)
And here's a short video showing the power of the falls:
Back on the bus, and off to the Geyser geothermal area. Now, this is not just a valley of geysers. This is the home of THE Geyser, the one by which all other spouting geothermal fountains are named. Unfortunately, the thermal spring that is Geyser no longer spouts regularly - it only goes off when there's some sort of seismic activity in the area. Fortunately, there is a spouting spring called Strokkur.
Of course, in my brilliance, it didn't occur to me that, although I could watch this video vertically in the camera, there is no way (that I've figured out yet) to rotate it online... so enjoy watching the geyser Strokkur going off sideways...
There was also this very unique dual spring, which is connected together. But one half has clear hot water while the other has an opalescent blue water, similar to what´s at the Blue Lagoon. It's stunning to behold, particularly since these two springs are connected, yet the waters appear to remain separate.
The final stop of the day was Ska´holt church, which was the ancient seat of the Icelandic bishops. The church was quite charming, and there was a cellist there playing music when we arrived, making the experience quite haunting.
Next up - Ahhh... the Blue Lagoon
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