We awoke to yet another very grey day with very heavy cloud cover hanging over the shoreline we could see in the distance. While the ship continued toward our destination with a 7:00 am arrival time, we dressed and had a good breakfast as we were again going to be on another full day tour getting back near dinner time. This is the fourth day in a row of putting on a couple of layers before heavy outerwear! One thing is for sure it is much colder here than we are use to. It was in the high 40s in the morning and by late afternoon had reached 55, our warmest day so far.
Our 9 hour bus tour began with a drive thru the east side of the largest city (220,000) in Iceland, the capital Reykjavik. The city covers a huge mass of semi flat land and has not only a lot of traffic but also freeways and lots of high rises and homes close together which is quite a change from what we've experienced so far. The mountains are far more distant here, but there is certainly evidence of volcanic activity as steam rises through vents on open land outside the city.
Not far out of town we came to the huge geothermal power plant, Iceland's second largest. Here
you could see some of the equipment used to harness the underground warmth from the nearby volcanoes to create heat, electricity and hot water for the area. The homes and businesses are then heated by hot water and many have chosen to extend their pipes under the sidewalks and drives to melt the snow and ice, Between these plants and water powered plants from rapids and waterfalls, ninety percent of the power needed in the country is supplied. Only those in the most remote areas must use other sources. The result is very clean air.
An hour drive took us further out in the countryside past more of the very bumpy moss covered lava fields and then some of the very fertile land where we saw lots of grazing Icelandic horses, riding ranches, sheep and some cattle. There were also lots of hay fields. Most off the mountains around us were distant but had little to no snow on them. The lava fields often look liked the surface of the moon and we were told our astronauts trained here before flying to the moon.
The glaciers are over volcanoes and are rapidly receding At the rate they are receding it is felt they will be all gone by 2150. Right now there are three volcanoes that could erupt at any time (the average is one eruption every 4 to 5 years). The huge one we saw briefly yesterday when clouds shifted has one of the largest glaciers on it and scientists fear it could cause a huge torrent of water to pour down at the rate of 400,000 cubic meters per second!!! {NOTE: On August 25 volcanic activity began under this ice}
Our next stop was at Stroker where there are many mud pools, steaming hot spots and boiling water including one that sends up a geyser of eater about every five minutes.
Amazingly even in an area like this there were a variety of mosses, grasses and flowers.
After exploring that area we had lunch at the local hotel (fish soup, fish, and rice mixed with vegetables) and people were able to shop for a bit.
Following that we visited the spectacular Gull Foss waterfall where we had time to see it from above and at a lower level. The power of it was mindful of the American falls at Niagara Falls. This however is more of a cascade with a final drop into a deep gorge.
During the long drive to the Mid Atlantic Ridge fissure zone where many governmental events took place and special celebrations still are held, our guide provided a bit of history as well as more about the two shifting tectonic plates that are slowly separating East from West Iceland. (an inch a year) There is actually a 44 meter drop in the land along this line. Major moments in their history took place here including the forming of a single government, the declaration that this was a Christian country, major law enforcement including the forceable drowning of 18 women at a waterfall pool for infractions they were accused of. This is all part of the Thingvellir National Park that also includes the largest lake.
From there we returned to Reykjavik to see The Pearl, a group of water storage tanks for the city with a domed revolving restaurant and viewing platform on top where you could look out over the whole city. It is apparently a popular spot for taking photos as we observed a bride and groom going through the process while we were there.
WE ended the trip with a drive through part of the old area of the city as well as some of the new including a gorgeous glass cultural auditorium and the home here Reagan and Gobachev met to begin the diplomatic changes between our governments. Huge numbers of press from around the world came for that but couldn't attend so ended up writing a good deal about the country and attracting a lot of tourism. The result is that last year fishing lost first place in the economy and tourism got that spot.
By the time we got back to our room it was time for dinner followed by the comedy show featuring Scott Harris, a comedian . Then after pushing our clocks ahead one hour we went to bed exhausted but thrilled with all we had seen and done during the day.
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