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Published: September 17th 2014
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On September 2nd I left Paris on Icelandair and flew back to Denver, Colorado. On the way to the U.S. , I took advantage of the airline's free stop-over offer and spent 3 nights and 4 days in Reykjavik. I was a bit apprehensive because the Bardarbunga volanco had been erupting for a few weeks, and, like everyone, I remembered the 2010 eruption of another volcano that spit up ash and caused many flights all over europe to be cancelled. I needn't have worried. The locals later told me that Bardarbunga was far from Reykjavik and wasn't spitting ash. (What they're fearing is an eruption under a glacier and massive flooding.)I arrived in Reykjavik about 9:30 in the morning and immediately went to the guesthouse where I was staying. It is conveniently located near the old town and the "old harbor", so I started out exploring on foot just after my arrival. After visiting the harbor and the quaint streets of the old town, I walked up the hill to the famous Hallgrimskirkja (Lutheran) church. From the bell tower of the church I had a fantastic view of the town below, and just before going back down, I even caught sight
of a magnificent rainbow on the water. Reykjavik was packed with people like me having stopovers. There were also a lot of young, and not so young, "adventure travelers" out to discover the island in jeeps, on motorcycles and bicycles. In the evening, I went to the new concert hall, the Harpa, to see an hour-long, one-man show called "How to Become Icelandic in 60 Minutes." It was very funny and very insightful into Icelandic culture and lore.
Iceland is very expensive, esp.lodging, food and restaurants.That's why I chose to stay in a guesthouse where breakfast was included and where I could cook my meals in the communal kitchen in the evening.It turned out to be the perfect solution for me. At the guesthouse, which I found in "The Lonely Planet", I met other guests from Spain, England and the U.S., and we talked over our evening meals, so I didn't feel too lonely at night traveling alone.
I decided to book two day tours on my 2nd and 3rd days: one to the Golden Circle, the other to the South Coast.There are lots of day tour companies in Iceland, the biggest ones being Reykjavik Expeditions and Graylines;
both have big coaches. However, for my first tour, I decided to go with a small tour company called Gateway to Iceland.
The driver/guide (and owner of the company) picked me up in small van at the guesthouse, and I discovered there were only 4 other passengers. The guide was great. He really knew a lot about Icelandic history and geology, and that day we saw lots of geothermal action and cute Icelandic horses along the way. We also visited Thingvellir National Park and saw the lake and the site where the Vikings had their first parliament,saw the geysers of Geysir and Strokkur spouting off, awed at the huge Gullfoss glacial waterfall and ended our day bathing in "the secret lagoon".
My tour on my 3rd day was with Reykjavik Excursions (big coach, about 35 people) and we went down to the south coast of the island. The weather was much fairer than on Weds. and it was nice to see Iceland under blue skies.After driving down south, we saw the Myrdalsjokull galcier in the distance and then walked to its "tongue", the Soleimajokull glacier, where the ice is mixed with volcanic ash. We went down onto the
black sand of Reynisfjara beach and saw some lovely rock formations and some cliffs. After that it was a great folk museum where we saw turf-roofed houses and old Icelandic artefacts. We ended the day visiting two waterfalls-Skogafoss and Seljlanadsfoss- and were lucky to see rainbows against the spray.
For my last day in Iceland, I treated myself to 4 relaxing hours at the famous Blue Lagoon, the ultimate "swimming hole" and spa, which is only 15 minutes from the airport by coach. After soaking in the hot lagoon for about an hour, I had a wonderful underwater massage as I floated on a mattress! Then after showering and doing my hair, I went for lunch at the elegant Lava Restaurant, where I had a salmon starter and the best Icelandic lamb main course I've had in a long time. It was the perfect way to end a very enjoyable stay in Iceland, which broke up my trip between France and San Francisco. (Please scroll down to see all 44 photos and I'd love to have add a comment or two! Thank you.)
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christatos jerome
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Hello Hilary, Thanks for sharing. We always wanted to visit this country. Very interesting. Jerome.