Iceland, 3: Hot And Cold Running Water; Or, Fontana, Geysir, and Gullfoss

We were still on the Golden Circle our third day, the morning visiting the Fontana thermal beach, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss falls.

Small thermal beach at Fontana; memories of Rotorua

Down the beach a bit is the spa, comparable to the Blue Lagoon,
it is said; we wanted a less touristy thermal experience and so
held off until later; there are spas and pools and such all over the
island

Everything you need to know about Iceland's thermal history, culture, etc.

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Now we are at the Geysir geothermal area, notable inasmuch as
the word "geyser" comes from this place

The original geyser, now more or less dormant

Environs; Rotorua, 40 degrees cooler

Strokkur, the current attraction, which erupts mildly every few minutes

Thus; not a biggie

And now we are a bit further down the road, at Gullfoss falls,
which is very impressive

Actual rainbow as we were leaving the upper viewing area

Interesting diagonals, reminding us somewhat of Victoria Falls

Thus, like Victoria, falling into a deep trench

What it looks like with a rainbow

Impressive falls

Iceland, 2: Þingvellir

Yes, Þingvellir. The letter Þ ("thorn") is one of the singularities of Icelandic, which comes to us, of course, from Old Norse. Really old Norse. It's sort of a "th" sound, but you can pronounce it however you like. We did.

Anyhow, after Costco, we drove out to the Golden Circle, a circuit of touristic delights east of Reykjavik, and began with Þingvellir, which boasts both great historic and geological significance. It is the site of the traditional Alþingi, the annual gathering of chieftains island-wide to make law, beginning in 930, which is widely recognized as the oldest continuing legislative body. The Althing occurred in this place because of its relative centrality and shelter as well as ample water and grazing. Its geological significance consists of its being the most conspicuous place on the planet where tectonic plates are parting, North America on one side and Europe on the other. Seeing Þingvellir completed a pretty excellent day for us, despite the setback with the camper. Fortunately, Icelandic days in the summer are quite long. We camped at a nearby national park site. 

Helpful signage in the gift shoppe

And helpful signage throughout...and throughout Iceland...
and in English, too...every Icelander we encountered was completely
bilingual, often American as opposed to British English; the US
had a significant naval presence here in WWII and later; Iceland
was the MOMP--the mid-ocean meeting point--here convoys
escorted by USN destroyers in 1940-41 were handed over to
the Royal Navy for the rest of their perilous journey

The continental rift...Europe on the right, North America on the
left

Further views

The deepest parts of the rift are in the lake beyond

Me, left foot in Europe, right in North America;
so to speak

The rift continues

Under the flag, the Law Rock, from which the head chieftain,
the Lawgiver, spoke

Depiction of what it all might have looked like, back in the day

Helpful map back at the visitor center

Local terrain

Encampment #2 at a national park campground: pretty bare
bones, a big field with minimal toilet, shower, and cooking 
facilities; but only about $10

Iceland, 2: Another Camper! Another Costco!

Driving back from Geldingadalsgos, it began to rain, and we noticed the camper's windshield wipers weren't working. We headed forthwith back to Lava cars and campers, where the mechanic indicated the repair would take some hours. So we reluctantly moved into camper #2, this time checking everything we could think of to make sure it all worked. As it turned out we missed a few things, but that's in the next chapter. After getting settled, again, we headed out to Reykjavik's Costco, en route to the famed Golden Circle.

New camper! More hours lost!

Documenting its flaws...one of the things you notice about nearly

every rental in Iceland is the door damage; the wind is so strong

it whips the door out of your hand and beyond the limits of the

hinge, damaging both door and fender...repair is a considerable 

expense; not covered by any insurance you can buy

Now at Reykjavik's Costco, out in the burbs (across from the Ikea)

Just in case the camper doesn't work out...sleeps 12

Pretty much all the usual Kirkland merchandise; but not at the
usual US prices; the poulet roti is $12.07; not $4.99

Lots of lamb, however

We settled for a gelato

Iceland, 2: Geldingadalsgos

Our second day was a good one, starting out with an experience as memorable as anything we have done: hiking out to the flowing molten lava from the volcano Geldingadalsgos, perhaps only 20-30 miles from the campground at Sandgeroi. This is not quite as extraordinary as it may sound, since the landowners nearby had set up parking lots near the trails leading up through the volcano's hills and ravines. Mostly public lands with recreational trails. We chose one of the less demanding routes, parked, and hiked perhaps a mile or so to the tongue of lava making its way down the valley. At first it looked like a lake of solid black rock. On somewhat closer examination it became clear that underlying the black stuff was red hot stuff, moving and burning everything in its way. We lingered a bit, taking it all in, warming ourselves near the lava, then finally gave in to the wind and chill. Extraordinary!

Driving out to the volcano

Just your normal Icelandic hiking trail

There were a couple dozen others there, some tourists, some locals

I stepped in as close as I dared, then noticed the grass I was standing
on was blackening, and then poof! just after I backed off, it ignited

Vicki capturing the action

Us, there