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Published: August 11th 2008
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City of Reykjavik
From the view of a handy high church So it was onto my next adventure, Iceland. As the name suggests, I was expecting it to be pretty cold there, but I was pleasantly surprised when I turned up and it was actually warmer than London! My first day, it was about 23-25 degrees. Very nice! It didn't last though, and although it got cooler, there was no need for the thermals I took along.
Anyway, I landed in Iceland, in a place called Keflavik and made the trek to the capital, Reykjavik. I must say I was a bit surprised by the city, and the country in general. I didn't realise it was as small as it was. Reykjavik has a population of 200,000 and the country in total is only 100,000 more. Also it is very volcanic, so much so that all the hot water is geothermal (smells like eggs), and the direct translation of Reykjavik is Smoky Bay. But Reykjavik is a beautiful and colourful city, and I especially enjoyed the waterfront walk as i've said more than once that I miss the sea. My first afternoon, I spent just walking around the town and admiring the sights. Over here, time also gets away from you
Arty photo
With the sun looking over Reykjavik this time of year, because sunset doesn't occur until about 10.30 at night and the sky doesn't really get dark until about 11pm! So after one last sunset waterfront stroll it was back to my expensive Spartan accomodation for the night.
The following morning was my first 'trip' so to speak. I was out on the water for a spot of whale watching, and luckily we had perfect conditions. The whales obliged as well, and we saw quite a few big dolphins, several minke whales and one humpback whale feeding which was pretty cool. I have one photo that you will see of the humpback that came right from under the boat. Very exciting! I got back into port to find out even more exciting news - the All Blacks had hammered Australia 39-10! Good work boys! In the afternoon, I headed off to the Blue Lagoon for a bit of relaxation. Basically it is a natural thermal resort. As you can see from the photos, the water's colour is pretty stunning and the water was pretty good as well.
The next day was probably the worst weather of my trip, not that it was raining, just heavy
fog which completely detroyed any visibility. Which was a shame because today was my snowmobiling day on top of a glacier. It was a pretty cool experience in itself, and completely different to jetskiing. It was alot harder, and several times I thought I was going to tip it over with me underneath it. Oh well, I guess that's all part of the fun if you're going that fast! But I survived and had my adrenalin fix for the weekend and even got to walk behind a waterfall and make a wish on the way back to Reykjavik.
Next up was a trip on the 'Golden Circle' tour, which is what Iceland is most famous for. First stop was a random, but very cool waterfall, then it was the Gullfoss, which translates as the Golden Falls. Personally, I think they are being a bit optimistic seeing a golden colour in the water. But an impressive set of falls nonetheless. Then it was to the geysir region, including a geysir actually called Geysir (the one that gave the others their name). The one I have photos of, Strokkur, goes off every 5 or 10 minutes and was pretty impressive. Then
Sunset at 10.30pm
At the Reykjavik waterfront last up was my highlight, Thingvellir National Park. It is the site of the first ever parliament, back around 900 and I can see why they based it here. Thankfully the weather had cleared up and we were treated to some amazing scenery with gorgeous views over the lake. It is also the site of where the two continental plates meet (Europe and America), and it's possible to walk between the two (The only place you can get from Europe to America without a passport so they advertise). And if i'd known about it beforehand, I would have done it, but you can also scuba dive here. How cool would that be?! Bloody freezing I imagine. Then from there it was back into Reykjavik for my last night where I finished the way I started with another waterfront stroll and an early night before a flight far too early the next morning.
So no more holidays for me for a month, but i've a busy August nonetheless. I've just moved into a new flat this weekend which I really like, and it's closer to work, cheaper and a bigger room. There are also a couple of trips up to
Picture perfect calm
The morning we went out whale watching Leeds planned, one for football, and one for the Leeds Music festival to see Metallica, The Killers and Rage Against the Machine. Also I passed my Hapkido grading so i'm now in the more experienced belt levels, so I will be busy learning the more advanced techniques. Then before I know it, it will be September, and time for two weeks off for some sun and swimming in Italy!
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TravelWankers
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hi
love the pics. Just got back from Iceland today, am missing it already!