Reykjavik Day 2

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Today we took an all day tour to see major natural attractions known as the "Golden Circle". Unfortunately, the weather was very much as it was yesterday: Rainy and cool. We opted for a "small group" tour and it turned out that our group was really small: only one person besides Lynn and me! Her name is Victoria and she is from Moscow. Our tour guide was Gertha (Last name unpronounceable!) who had founded her tour company and then sold it to a larger group, She was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We learned that all guides in Iceland need to attend a special school and become certified.

As we drove out into the countryside the character of the island became more pronounced. Everything is volcanic in origin. So there are vast plains of volcanic material spread between volcanic mountain ranges. There are at least 30 volcanoes in Iceland and, as they say, there is no such thing as an inactive volcano! Most of you will remember the 2010 eruption which basically shut down Europe for over a week. The terrain has an almost surreal texture to it. However, since Iceland is one of the rainiest places in the world, everything is green. I suppose it could be compared to Hawaii only colder and more primitive.

The first stop on the tour was Thingvellir National Park. Icelanders take great pride in the fact that they have one of the oldest continuously operating parliaments (the Allthingi) and it all started here in about 910 CE. This location was chosen for its mystical character. Iceland sits on the mid-Atlantic ridge which accounts for its volcanic nature. I doubt the early settlers realized it, but Thingvellir is right at the junction of the European and North American tectonic plates. So, at the start of our short hike were at the eastern most part of North America and at the end we were at the western most edge of Europe! The Allthingi met once a year for about two weeks to pass laws and resolve disputes. It is a very dramatic site.

Iceland's thermal nature is well known. The next stop was at Geysir park which is Iceland's version of Yellowstone. It is named after a now inactive geyser which when active was about the size of Old Faithful. However, there are still many active features including Stokkur which erupts about once every six minutes. These thermal features exist all over Iceland and are used for heat and to generate power. Iceland is totally energy independent as far as electrical power is concerned. The urban areas have a system similar to District Energy in St. Paul. Heated water is made available to every home and business for use in space heating and hot water. According to Gertha, it is very inexpensive. Not surprisingly, there is no need for air conditioning in Iceland!

I see that this blog is getting a bit long, so will stop here for now.

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Photos

Gertha
Our wonderful tour guide.

Lynn and Victoria
Standing on edge of North American Plate. The ridge in the background below the mountain is the edge of European plate. Area between is call "no man's land" and is constantly expanding.

Falls
River used as water supply by Althingi participants during their stay.