Iceland: Glaciers,Geysers,& Waterfalls

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May 26, 2001
Our early afternoon flight to Boston on Continental in first class was pleasant. We departed Boston on Icelandair promptly at 9:30 p.m. for our five-hour flight to Reykjavik. We had ample leg room in the exit row, but the seats seemed more narrow than usual, and there were no blankets!

May 27, 2001
Arriving at Keflavik Airport at 6:30 a.m. after only a couple of hours’ sleep, our feet were disinfected on mats to prevent introducing foot and mouth disease as we entered the terminal. Our 40-minute bus ride to Reykjavik gave us our first glimpse of the volcanism that created this diverse island. Lava covered the barren land all around, making the landscape seem like something on Mars. The broad expanses of volcanic rock seemed inhospitable at first but soon proved to be just one of an infinite number of enchanting scenes we would experience. Just as striking was the crisp, clean, unpolluted air—supernaturally clear—as we approached Reykjavik early on this Sunday morning.

The city’s setting is beautiful, and it is one of the few cities in the world so unpolluted it can claim to be smoke-free. This is ironic because its name, which means “bay of smoke”, was given by the first settlers as they were struck by the columns of geothermal steam rising from the environs. This clean geothermal energy is used for heating 75% of the island.

We napped until noon, had lunch (I had an open-faced salmon sandwich, and Bill had pasta), and then took a two-hour bus tour of this modern, colorful, sprawling city of 110,000 (the entire country’s population is 280,000). Our first stop was the glass-domed “Pearl”, an impressive hillside complex that stores the city’s geothermal water and offers breathtaking views of the city. Also on the grounds is a geyser that erupts every couple of minutes. Next, we visited a geothermal swimming pool (one of many in Iceland—swimming is the national sport), the Sveinsson Sculpture Gallery and Garden, churches, the port, and through spotlessly clean neighborhoods of immaculate, colorfully painted houses. Because of the constant threat of earthquakes, the homes are all sturdily built of steel and concrete that is then painted a variety of bright colors.

We learned that 1) the average house costs $200,000; 2) the average annual salary is $20,000; 3) Iceland has one of the highest standards of living in the world and the longest life expectancies; 4) no illiteracy; 5) most people speak at least three languages by age 12; 6) no income tax up to $600/month, then 40%; 7) no unemployment; 8) Value Added Tax on everything—this 25% pays for education (primary through university), nationalized medicine, and social security; 9) Iceland is 10% ice, 20% cultivated land, and the rest is mountains, volcanoes, and glaciers—all privately owned; 10) Icelandic horse and sheep are pure breeds dating back over one thousand years; 11) virtually no trees on the island—they were all cut down hundreds of years ago for building—transplanting being attempted now from Alaska and Siberia; 11) no serious crime—police are not armed—infants often left alone in strollers outside of stores while parents shop—only one bank robbery in history (in 1995).

May 28, 2001
Our “Glaciers, Geysers, and Waterfalls” tour was underway as we and 27 others from the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand embarked eastward on the Ring Road, which circles the island along its coast. The temp was a crisp 9 degrees C. (about 50 F), as we ascended quickly to a volcanically scarred mountain pass, which is actually a lush moss-covered lava field that spewed up around 1,000 AD. Steaming crevasses dotted the countryside all around as we approached the horticultural center of Hveragerdi, a town of 1500 people that has made a living harnessing geothermal activity. Its many greenhouses provide the bulk of Iceland’s produce, and we visited one of them, the Eden Greenhouse.

Continuing on the Ring Road, with steam rising from the ground everywhere we looked, fertile green pastureland replaced the moss-covered lava as we crossed glacial rivers en route to Skogar. The scenery changes so quickly here—one can’t possibly get bored because the landscape changes, sometimes drastically, every 5 or 10 miles or so, as we encountered various-colored mossy lava fields, lava deserts, fertile green farmland, glaciers, mountains, sea, hot springs, fishing villages—and this was all during the first two hours of the trip!

Cascading over former sea cliffs is the 200-foot Skogafoss waterfall, which falls like a white curtain against the black rock behind it. Dramatic green, bucolic beauty surrounds it on all sides. Near the waterfall is the meticulously managed Folk Museum at Skogar, which preserves the cultural heritage of Iceland with over 6,000 tools, pieces of equipment, books, and reconstructed turf farmhouses, all collected by a quite colorful curator who gave us a personalized tour.

We spent the afternoon on and around the black sand beaches at Vik (“bay”). The eerie black beach has a view of “the three sea stacks,” said to be night trolls who went out fishing and got caught by the sun and turned to stone. This southern coastline of the island is very dramatic as the North Atlantic viciously batters the long beach of black sand, adding to the Gothic scene and helping make it the only non-tropical beach to be rated one of the world’s top ten beaches. Our “Puffin hunt” was a big success as we spotted several of the shy birds (puffins are the national bird) nesting on the cliffs above the sea. Arctic terns were plentiful as well.

A delicious cod dinner and overnight accommodations were in the town of (“church, farm, cluster”) Kirkjubaejarklaustur, site of a former Benedictine convent and monastery between 1186 and the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Various “colorful” folktales and jokes are associated with the convent and monastery.

May 29, 2001
Although the sun ostensibly set at midnight and rose at 3 a.m., it never really got dark. I couldn’t sleep between midnight and 3, so I can verify that it never got darker than an early dusk. Lots of white ice and black sand awaited us this day as we continued eastward on the Ring Road past glaciers, ice caps, vast and empty black sand deserts, lava fields, and lagoons. Again, the amazing feature of the Icelandic landscape is how quickly it changes! Our first stop was the farm of Nupsstadur at the base of a steep cliff. A charming 17th century church is on the property that belongs to two brother farmers, each almost 100 years old.

One of Iceland’s foremost areas of natural beauty is Skaftafell National Park, whose great attraction is ice, and plenty of it. Glaciers spill down to the sandy plains from lceland’s largest icecap. Another attraction is the variety of flora plus some of the only birch forests on the island. A short walk took us to a beautiful waterfall surrounded by basalt columns.

Our easternmost stop was the iceberg-filled lake Jakulsarlon. We took a 45-minute boat ride among the icebergs that have calved from the glacier, some of them the size of football fields, on the glacial river lagoon on a boat with wheels that was “driven” into the lake. A large friendly seal entertained us with his antics.

A lovely dinner of seafood cream soup, lamb au crout, and chocolate mousse cake was served at 7 in our hotel. After dinner we took a walk with Bill’s little buddies, Gifted and Talented (otherwise known as Alyssa and Billy), to the Two Sisters Waterfall, named after the two nuns who were burned at the stake for their transgressions.

May 30, 2001
After two days of mist and overcast skies, we awoke to beautiful sunshine and clear skies. Re-tracing our path on the Ring Road westward now, the landscape in the sunshine looked entirely different from two days ago—even more striking--the sunlight gave it different colors and shades and shadows. We had an invigorating stop at the fabulous waterfall Seljalandsfoss, which tumbles over a former sea cliff. The falling water has eroded a hollow at the back of the falls, making it possible to walk behind the falls and look through the curtain of water.

Next came a “taste of adventure,” as we took an interior track on a dirt road for jeeps and four-wheel drives only to one of Iceland’s most spectacular wilderness areas, the valley of Porsmork. Our Mercedes bus was 4-wheel drive, so our driver Hermann, well-trained and experienced in the art, successfully maneuvered many tricky, unbridged, glacial river crossings despite our apprehension! Our route hugged the base of an icecap sitting snugly over an active volcano, whose crater lies under the spectacular Crater Glacier with its impressive jumble of crevasses falling into a small lagoon. Beyond the lagoon huge boulders from landslides dotted the flood plain. The base rock is unstable and easily eroded in this area, so the mountains surrounding us on all sides featured fantastic gorges, caves, and troll-like rock formations.

A quiet campsite at Basar was where we stopped for a picnic lunch of fabulous smoked lamb sandwiches and hot cinnamon apple spice tea. Continuing on for awhile, we then parked the bus and crossed the River Krosse on a narrow footbridge to Porsmork, where dramatic hiking trails meandered among the fields of wildflowers, birch and willow forests, spectacular glacier views, and pure glacial streams. We all spread out on different trails and hiked for about an hour. The thermometer read 9 degrees C again.

En route to our hotel in Fludir, we stopped for incredibly delicious ice cream cones—very rich, creamy, pure white! After a lovely salmon dinner, some of the group either golfed, swam, or rode horses under the midnight sun. Bill and I had a lovely patio outside our room, so with wine and hot tea we read our novels.

May 31, 2001
Our final day took us to the Golden Circle of Iceland. We were lucky again to have clear weather because the views were staggeringly beautiful, reaching far into the highlands as far as Mt. Hekla’s snowcapped cone. We stopped briefly to feed and pet some Icelandic horses, delightful creatures: small, sturdy, friendly, colorful, surefooted, and good-natured. People come to Iceland from all over the world to ride the Icelandic horse with its smooth gait. It is said that you can drink a cup of tea without spilling while riding.

The Great Geyser, which gave its name to all geothermal spouts, and nearby Strokkur, which spouts up to 100 feet every few minutes, entertained us as we walked among the steaming vents and glistening multi-colored mud pools of Geysir. Nearby is Iceland’s best-known natural wonder, the magnificent double waterfall Gullfoss (golden falls), which is 105 feet high. We walked very close to it and got soaked from the spray. A gorgeous rainbow graced the falls in the bright sunshine.

Next, we visited Thingvellir National Park, site of the country’s first parliament in 930 AD on the shores of Thingvallavatn, one of Iceland’s largest lakes. It is an area of exceptional geologic interest, as it lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the plates of the earth’s crust are moving apart at the rate of 2 centimeters each year. The rifts and ridges were amazing as we saw where North America is separating from Eurasia and Africa!

We returned to Reykjavik and spent the evening relaxing in our upgraded “superior” room that we were given because they had mixed up our reservations.

June 1-2, 2001
After a leisurely morning and some shopping, we were off to the airport for our 4:45 p.m. five-hour Icelandair flight to Boston, arriving at 6 p.m. We shook off some of our jet lag overnight at the comfortable Logan Airport Hilton, then home in the morning in first class on Continental.

What an incredible experience! We didn’t just visit Iceland; we experienced it—for no place on earth that we’ve ever seen is quite like Iceland. From the moment we stepped off the plane, we knew we were in for an unforgettable adventure on top of the world. The air is clean and fresh, unpolluted and pure. The light is clear and radiant, with a disarming midnight sun. Of all the countries in the world, Iceland has the greatest variety of scenery within a small area the size of Kentucky. It is a land of extremes, a high-tech welfare state with one of the highest standards of living in the world, yet a scarcity of population, leaving it with great wilderness area. In fact, Iceland is probably the ultimate nature trip. It has virtually no pollution from industry, people live from fishing and farming, and energy is either geothermal or hydroelectric. Drinking water comes from pure glaciers. Fish is caught in unpolluted seas and carefully quota-ed. Even the sheep and cattle graze in lush but pure, unfertilized fields. Mountains rise and fall, gently and sharply, with cascading waterfalls rushing to rivers or lakes or the sea. Dotted by steaming lava fields, icecaps, glaciers, geothermal springs, and geysers, the breathtaking, extraordinary Icelandic landscape is unique in the world and one I will not easily forget!

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