Great Geysir and Strokkur - Haukadalur - Iceland

After leaving Gullfoss (Golden Falls), the last stop was Haukadalur, a geothermal valley that was home to several geysers. While hot springs are reported to exist in this area for 10,000 years, the Great Geysir wasn't first mentioned until the late 18th century. At times erupting more than 200 feet in the air, the unusual phenomenon caught the interest of people during the Age of Enlightenment. Henceforth, all spouting hot springs were named geysers. 



These days though, the Great Geysir rarely erupts, sometimes going for years at a time with no movement. Still, it was worth a visit just to see the original Geysir.

Nearby is Strokkur geyser, which reliably erupts every five minutes or so.

After a few quick snaps of Geysir, I made my way over to Strokkur. I was chasing the clock at this point since it was 10 p.m. and daylight was waning fast.

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) - Iceland

After the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - Thingvellir National Park - Iceland, we visited Gullfoss (Icelandic Golden Falls). According to the sign at Gullfoss, some say the waterfall got its name because of the golden hue of the water at sunset. Another story is that a farmer named Gygur couldn't bear to lose his wealth when he died, so he buried his gold in a chest and threw it into the falls.



Gullfoss is big and mighty, reminding me of the power of Niagara Falls. But, as I come from waterfall country, after a few quick snaps I was ready to move on.

We were dropped off at the bottom of the hill and as I headed up a steep staircase to meet everyone at the souvenir shop at the top, I spotted this group of photographers. Big cameras and tripods. Unless they're carrying a big camera too, I usually ask people to take pictures of me with my point and shoot. These guys looked like they knew what they were doing, don't they?

Mid-Atlantic Ridge - Thingvellir National Park - Iceland

After checking out the Sun Voyager sculpture, I went back to Kex Hostel - Reykjavik - Iceland to wait for my tour bus. The most popular tour in Iceland is the Golden Circle, which includes visits to Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall), and the Great Geysir and nearby geysers.



The afternoon or day tours also included stops at a church and a geothermal plant, but honestly, all I really wanted to do was stand in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and see the original Geysir, from which all geysers got their name. I just happened to get into town on the very last day of the evening tour, which picked up at 6:30 p.m. and didn't end until midnight. Midnight! Because being that far north in the summer meant it didn't get dark until then. Cool, eh?

The evening tour, which cost 8,500 Icelandic krona ($71 USD), also worked out great because it allowed me to squeeze in a visit to the Blue Lagoon - Grindavik - Iceland in the morning and left my second day free. After being picked up from the hostel in a van, we were taken to the ticket office where I had to line up to get a ticket for the tour, then finally we were on our way.

We arrived at Thingvellir National Park a little before 8 p.m. Look how bright it still was. Actually, Thingvellir is written like this Þingvellir in Icelandic. Þing means fields, and the Alþingi (Icelandic all-assembly or parliament) was founded in the year 930 on this site and used until 1789. The park was formed in 1930 to preserve the historical area and also to protect the rift valley.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge cuts right through Thingvellir National Park. The North American and Eurasian plates are separating at a rate of 2.5 centimeters or nearly an inch a year! Plate tectonics yo! I couldn't think of anything cooler than standing in the middle of two plates as they pulled each other apart year after year. The same forces that split South America and Africa apart hundreds of millions of years ago and I got to stand smack dab in the middle of it all!