Iceland: waterfalls, geysers, rift valley

For our second day in Iceland we did the Golden Circle Tour, minus the tour bus. We went bravely out into the pale morning light of the wildest blizzard I have ever seen. Not that it was snowing particularly hard, but I don't think any of the snow in Iceland actually touches the ground. It simply blows interminably around and around the country. You'll just have to see the video.

Necessary

We came across our first Icelandic ponies, a truly different breed. We felt bad for them out in the cold, all around the country with their rear ends turned against the wind.

Whats that you say? My hair has a strange resemblence to the pony's? It's the wind...

Our first major stop was at Geysir (where the word geyser comes from).

You couldn't tell when it was about to blow so most of the pictures are last second snaps...

If you look closely you can see all the water sucking back in

The second major stop on the Golden Circle is Gullfoss (Golden Falls). It was more frozen than golden while we were there, but stunning all the same. We spent our time there trying to avoid being blown into the falls itself, and the winds rivaled Patagonia.

Lance, me, & Val being blown all around the parking lot

After a picnic lunch in the car we were off to Þingvellir (the funny P is actually pronounced 'th'). Iceland's first national park, it is the site of the first Parliament in 930 BC and also the place where the North American & European tectonic plates meet to form a rift.

rift

After a day out in the elements we headed for a pool/hot tub complex in Reykjavik which turned out to be both a cultural experience and relaxing. It was all Icelandic people, so we left the camera at home.

Our plane ticket/hotel/breakfast/lagoon combo was absolutely dirt cheap, but nothing else in Iceland is. We really wanted to try some Icelandic specialties though, so with a glass of wine we spent some time at the hotel doing our research. We settled on Íslenski Barinn, which had fantastic reviews and everything we were looking for. We had researched well and it turned out deliciously. We got a bunch of small plates and shared everything. Add puffin, shark, and reindeer to the list of new foods. It's a special variety of shark called Hákarl, which is actually cured/fermented. It certainly wasn't something I ever need to eat again, but hey: when in Iceland....

Val, happy about her bravery before she trys the shark

getting the first taste of shark

yeah, thats about how it was

trying not to gag, sipping the Icelandic schnapps that come with shark to wash away the taste

The good stuff: puffin, reindeer, & goose

After the late dinner Matt & I ventured out to check out the renowned Reykjavik nightlife. It was just getting lively when we turned in around 2:30.





P.S.  Is anyone out there? Matt is sad that no one leaves comments. I'd have to say I agree. :)

Ice.Land.

This is the story of a three day weekend where I stayed up for 36 hours straight and got a total of 8 hours sleep over three nights. This is the story of a magical land full of lunarscapes, unearthly light, and a wind the never stops blowing. This is the story of when, two months ago, I saw a steal of a deal and e-mailed my husband and Lance & Val and said 'hey guys, Iceland for the weekend?' and they agreed. This is Iceland, and I loved it.

I didn't know there was anything worse than an international red-eye, but there is. It's a flight that leaves Seattle at 3:30 in the afternoon and arrives in Keflavik at 6 in the morning. Which is still only 10 in the evening in Seattle. Despite prescription sleeping pills, sleep would not come. You know what did come though? The Aurora Borealis (aka Northern Lights). From the plane. My hopes had been unnaturally high of seeing them in Iceland considering the forecast was not exactly for clear skies and yet we saw them before we even arrived.

It was still dark as the plane made it's approach and we picked up our rental car but as we made the 45 minute drive to Reykjavik, the pink glow of the sunrise began to reveal stunning mountains, a mossy volcanic lunarscape and some of the cutest coastal fishing towns I've ever seen.

(V&L)

After settling in at our hotel we headed into central Reykjavik for a few hours of exploration. We visited it's famous church Hallgrímskirkja, and went up into the tower for our first glimpse of what we would be exploring for the next three days. Reykjavik is adorable. I didn't take enough pictures to properly capture it but the colors pop, the cafes are cute, the homes cozy, the harbour beautiful, and the mountainous volcanic background tops it off. I loved the architecture. I think it is what feels to me like a fusion of modern and classic, which I adore. All the corrugated steel has a modern feel (I'm sure its not actually modern in Iceland) and yet the shapes are classic almost craftsman feel, which is my favorite.

(V&L)

(V&L)

In the afternoon we were off to the Bláa lónið (Blue Lagoon), one of Iceland's more famous attractions. It is a geothermal hot springs in the Grindavik lava field. And it's amazing. It was huge, steamy, uncrowded, and an unearthly blue. We explored and then sat ourselves near a steam vent heated by a lava flow and let the air rush past us. (Video to come...it was pretty cool). After three hours of heat, relaxation, sunshine, steam baths and silicia face masks we were thoroughly pruney and headed home.

(V&L)

Dinner was at Nauthóll, right on the harbour and next to our hotel, which happened to be situated on the tarmac of the quiet little domestic airport. The food was fantastic; Lance & Val had lamb and Matt & I shared the 'Selection of small courses for two' which had deep fried camembert, carpaccio, duck confit, marinated salmon with red curry and more.

We had been told that to see the Aurora Borealis you should get well out of Reykjavik because of the light pollution, and go between 10pm - 2am. As we stepped out of the car at Nautholl (right in Reykjavik) at 8pm we all did a double take because there was a giant, bright, squiggly green line from one side of the sky to the other. We spent five minutes outside watching it pulsing and shifting before stepping inside to get some food. After dinner we put on our warmest clothes and headed out into the night to go Aurora hunting. We were all sleep deprived but it was the only night that was supposed to have clear skies so we forced ourselves to do it. By midnight we had still seen nothing so we decided it was time to go back. Silly us, I guess we ought to know that Iceland does not mark gravel roads as such on their maps. Our little Mazda 3 ended up in the mountains we had been looking at all day on a gravel road and we discovered some volcanic lakes and lots of stars. I told myself not to think about how many hours we would have to walk before we found another human if something happened to our car. Our only Aurora sightings were from the plane and outside the restaurant but we enjoyed our late night adventure and finally tucked in just before 2am for our first sleep since Seattle.

Coming up: Day 2 filled with geysers, waterfalls, and the Continental Divide.

Friends. Food. Fun. A Weekend in Olalla.

Dreary winter weather called for a cozy get-away and we headed out to Olalla with a group of friends this past weekend. It was a weekend full of copious amount of delicious food, a warm crackling fire, walks on the beach, some good NW brews, kayaking for the brave souls, and just relaxing with friends.

Warm fire + bananagrams

Smart boys stay inside

Crazy boys go kayaking when there is snow on the ground

Val, Cindy, Catherine, me & Danielle

Delicious, amazing paella feast

Everyone was too busy eating to smile for me

Dessert

Time for a beach walk. Love these ladies.

We have the passports out for a trip to the airport tomorrow...fun trip report to come. No one guessed based on the first photo clue, so I'll give you another one: