After three nights in Akureyri, it was time to go back to the south and do a little exploring east of Reykjavík. Our bus driver, Lindi, left the night before with our luggage, and we departed the following morning via airplane to Reykjavík on Air Iceland Express.
It was pretty neat flight over central Iceland. We made our way over the Langjökull glacier, the second largest ice cap in the country. There are actually two volcanic systems beneath the glacier. In terms of mass, the ice is up to 2000 feet deep and the glacier peaks at 4,700 feet above sea level.
Susan enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a chocolate on our 45 minute flight down to Reykjavík.
Once we made it to Reykjavík, we started out east along the Golden Circle, a popular tourist route. Most people that come to Iceland never venture west or north like we did. I guess we are just diehard tourists. The Golden Circle is a 300km loop that starts in Reykjavík and makes it way out towards Þingvellir (Þ is pronounced Th), the National Park and then hits popular tourist spots in a big loop.
Þingvellir is one of the most popular places to visit in Iceland. It's the site of the Mid-Atlantic rift, one of the only places where the North American plate and the Eurasian plate meet above sea level. This was a very big deal for our resident geologist.... Dr. Stu. Of course we all had to stand on the divide so that we could say we were half in North America, half in Europe.
Here is Stu in his moment of glory.
Marty of course had to go for the glamor.
Susan and Steini....
Paul and Rockie, two of our tour mates....
We had a little accident while we were at Þingvellir. Two of our travelers (who shall remain nameless) were posing for their picture on the rift and fell into the hole. Nothing serious, but we sure had fun cracking jokes about it.... I asked them how they enjoyed their "journey to the center of the earth".
Of course leave it to Marty and Susan to find the sun had created a unique vantage point for shadow puppets.
And of course I had to join in.....
Þingvellir is also the site of the first Icelandic Parliament which was founded in 930. The is now a cultural heritage site. One of the houses below is actually the official residence of the prime minister, although I cannot remember which one.
The park is also the site of the largest lake in Iceland, Þingvallavatn. Silfra, an underwater fissue, is a popular place for divers who wish to swim in between the two plates. We saw a couple of folks heading into the water. The expressions on their faces as they went into the cold cold water was pretty funny!
We saw a school of Arctic Char in the lake. No doubt they were on their way to the place where they would be prepared to be our lunch the next day! They were quite tasty!
With not a cloud in the sky, it was a perfect day to visit Þingvellir.
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