Iceland - Day 2

On the second day we decided to do the Golden Circle, a route which covers some of Iceland's main attractions. We first headed for Þingvellir National Park, where the Alþingi - Iceland's national assembly (also the world's first) - was first instituted in AD 930. It's apparently still a place regarded with reverance by Icelanders. It's set on the lava plains lying between the European and American tectonic plates, two plates which are constantly moving apart! The Alþingi itself was held at the foot of the Almmannagjá - just one of many large fissures. The place, like everywhere else, was beautifully covered in snow except for the rivers and ponds that hadn't frozen over. It's always nice to see fresh snow that hasn't been trampled on. Some bushes looked like marshmallows or frost covered muffins :) I also loved how the snow glittered luxuriously under the bright sunshine.

Our next stop was to Geysir, the original water spout that lent it's name to all other water spouts around the world. The road we wanted to take was snowed over and impassable, so we had to take a longer route to get there. But that was fine as we got to drive along Iceland's largest lake Þingvallavatn. Some parts were frozen over, but at sections the bright blue water appeared and contrasted beautifully with the white snow.

We also had the bonus of seeing the Kerið crater. There was actually a lake in the middle, but it was frozen. We met a Polish guy there who was on his third trip to Iceland. He thought that Iceland though beautiful in winter is at its best in spring and encouraged us to try to visit Iceland again during that season.

We also saw Icelandic horses grazing in the fields :) It was a lovely sight! Horses of various colours contrasting beautifully against the white mountains the fields.

It was a long detour, and eventually we got to Geysir. Geysir itself has stopped having regular activity for years. The nearby geysir called Strokkur has taken over as the key attraction. It consistently blows up a spout of water every five minutes or so to a height of around 20 metres. Before the geysir blows you can see the water level drop significantly, then it starts to swell, then it suddenly bursts!

The entire Geysir area is just gorgeous. Because of the warm ground temperature, some of the snow melts away revealing the colourful moss that lay hidden elsewhere. Again, the snow-covered mountains provided a lovely contrast and brought out the colour even more :)

We saw Strokkur spout three times :) So being satisfied, we moved on to check out Gullfoss, one of Iceland's best known waterfalls. It's a stunning, jaw-dropping sight that will stop you in your tracks. As you walk towards the path that leads to the waterfall you can't see anything because you're on a ridge. Then as you step to the edge of the ridge onto the staircase leading down to the falls you are hit by the wonder of the sight. Photos don't quite capture it. The waterfalls tumble down a series of cascades, onto a lower level, then tumbles again down into a narrow ravine.

The wind was also incredibly strong...and cold! Already it was a -5 day, add the wind and the spray from the waterfall, it was even colder! I was so thankful for the jacket, raincoat and beanie I borrowed from Shan! Even through all the layers it was cold!

We walked down a path that leads right to the next of the waterfalls. I was a little worried when I was walking down the path cos it was slippery due to the ice. The path was narrow, and next to it was a rather steep fall down...so clumsy me made my way slloowwllyy and carefully down the path. But the walk down was well worth it! Surprisingly it was not that windy down by the waterfall, so it was a little relief from the cold :) But eventually we had to walk back up into the wind and cold.

We had to head back to the hotel cos we were going for the Northern Lights hunt! We got back in good time, and found that the tour was not cancelled, meaning that there was still a possibility for us to see the Northern Lights!! I was really excited! But was also psyching myself up for the possibility that we wouldn't see the lights. You need really clear skies and good auroral activity to see the lights, but the though the afternoon had clear blue skies, the clouds had come in! Ahhh!!

We drove out of Reykjavik to escape the bright city lights, and to try and find a patch of clear sky. Along the way, in the dark of night, and away from some of the clouds, we saw a faint but distinctive green light glimmer in the sky!! It had to be the Northern Lights cos there was no large city around the area, meaning it wasn't the reflection of the city lights on the clouds. It stretched lengthwise with a slight curve. I can still remember it clearly in my mind, even though it was faint, and nothing like the beautiful postcards you see. But it's a haunting image, and the green is just so distinctive. I was hoping that we'd step off the bus to see the lights, but the tour leader thought we might get a better view of it further up the bay, so on we drove. The light remained in the sky, but by the time we got to the location he wanted, it had faded away! :(

So we went on north again to find another patch of clear sky. Again I saw the glimmer of the green light in the sky! I was hoping it would get brighter and more spectacular, but the clouds were getting thicker above us. We got off the bus and saw some of the green stretch further across the sky, but eventually the clouds came in and obscured the colours. Without the clouds it'd probably look something like this.

Anyway, I was a little disappointed that we didn't see the full spectacle of the Northern Lights, but some of the others on the tour with us didn't manage to catch the lights at all! And others who've gone to Iceland before have not seen even a glimmer of it either. So I'm really happy that I got to see at least a shimmer of the haunting green :)

[Again..the photo uploader is wonky.... photos akan datang].