Whales,Waterfalls, Geysers and Glaciers

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In Iceland there is a joke: What do you do if you get lost in a forest in Iceland? Answer: Stand-up.

What they lack in trees they make up for in spectacular 360° vistas. This is a country about the size of the US state of Kentucky with about 300,000 people. It could be the prototype for a Utopian society. Everyone works, health care is free, state universities are free, and no one will ever go hungry as they are surrounded by fish. It was probably one of the first democracies as they formed a parliment and established laws in the year 930. They had a strong code of punishments which tended to keep licentious behavior under control. For example, if an unmarried woman was found to be pregnant she was thrown in the 'drowning pool'. I saw it today complete with a list of names of some of those who, well, were drowned. Men didn't get off lightly if they committed incest or fornication- they were beheaded.

But back to the vistas....yesterday was gloriously sunny with calm seas so I went on a whale watch out of the harbor in downtown Reykjavik. Sirgrun, my hostess, had given me a wool scarf, mittens and an Icelandic beret plus the advice to put all all the clothes I had. Always listen to someone who knows the climate. When the boat was about 1/2 hour outside of the city the seas got a bit choppier and the temperature had gone done and the wind picked up. So there I was dressed in a long underwear top, another shirt, a long sleeve hoodie, a windbreaker and on top of it all a red wool jacket. I had two scarves around my neck, my hood up and the beret on top of that and it was still bonechilling cold. Words to the wise: always bring more clothes on a boat than you think you will ever need. And yes, I did see some whales, some harbor porpoises, lots of gannets( the largest diving bird ) and an island loaded with puffins. Puffins have to be the cutest little birds with red feet and white bellies. Watching them try to take flight after they have have stuffed themselves with fish is worth the price of the trip. They literally run across the top of the water as fast as their little red feet will propel them but never quite make take off.

Today Sigrun drove Val and I on an all day trek to see Iceland outside of Reykjavik. A bit of history. Iceland was 'discovered' probably by Viking around 800. The best place to see and learn about this is the stunningly beautiful National Museum of Iceland. Here you can see how the country developed from the year 800 to the present day. Most of the information was all new to me including that it was under Norwegian rule from 1,200 to 1,400 and under Danish rule from 1,400 - 1,600. They declared their independence from Denmark in 1944. Our first stop was Thingvellir the spot where the first parliment took place. Since that time there have been several earthquakes and large cracks and crevices now line the space where the first 'law rock' was stood upon and laws declared.

Did I mention the sky? The only times I have seen such skies has been while driving through New Mexico and Arizona years ago and in Cafayete, Argentina. Layer upon layer of clouds surrounded us some puffy white, others sooty gray. They hovered over enormous mounds of rocks some smoothly rounded, others jagged peaks that were off in the distance. Between the road and the mountains were mounds of lava looking at times like a lunar landscape. Or there were sheep grazing in verdant green fields or handsome horses waiting to be riden, or plumes of steam randomly puffing up out of the ground.

'Viti' is the Icelandic word for hell and we saw an enormous crater named 'Viti'. Remember the moment at the end the movie 'Thelma and Louise' where they they took off over the edge of a crater? Well that is what this looked like. What I like about most other countries is they trust the intelligence of their people. Here there were no signs warning people not to go too close to the edge, no ropes, no guards or rangers. It was just one honking huge hole in the ground to gape at.

Back on the road Sigrun pointed to the horizon and told us it was Lanjokull or the 'long glacier'. It was huge even from a distance. The clouds were so low that it was hard to tell which was which. It looked like someone had poured tons and tons of white frosting and now it was solidified.

Sigrun had more up her sleeve. We rode on and came to Gullfoss or the 'golden waterfall'. It is not as high as Niagra but it is much more approachable and considering that it is melted glacial water probably a lot colder. An incongruous site was seeing a cluster of saffron robed monks overlooking the falls, their orange robes a sharp contrast to the swirling white foam of the falls.

But every good 'tour guide' knows to save the best for last. We were brought to Strokkur, a very co-operative geyser. Pity those who go to Yellowstone and have to wait an hour for Old Faithful to erupt. Here you can wait a few minutes and Strokkur will put on a dazzling show. It was great fun to watch as each group approached the low rope surounding the boiling cauldron. If they weren't back far enough or if Stokkur got a good head of steam, then they got soaked. We could have stayed there all day.

All of Iceland gets its hot water from the underground hot springs that are all over the country. It is not often you stay with someone who tells you to use all the hot water you want as it never runs out- and they don't have to pay to heat it.

Iceland is a great place to visit but brings loads of money. Everything is very expensive. And the next time you are whining about paying $3 bucks for a gallon of gas think of Iceland where they pay about $8.50 and have been for years. However, this time of year you do save on electricity as the day is about 21 hours long. Last night we watched the sunset at midnight. Then it comes up again around 3AM.

More later,
Carolyn ( Gunga)

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