[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 8 June 2014]
21 January 2014, Tuesday
Wake up, it’s adventure time! Despite a late night and 5.5 hours of sleep, we woke up at 8am feeling excited about the day ahead, ‘cos it was the start of our road trip across Iceland. We trudged out of the hostel and walked to the convenience store nearby, and bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter and jam.
As it was winter, the sun doesn’t rise till past 10am, so it was still dark as night at that hour. It was quiet and peaceful in the morning, and the air was so cold and fresh. I was loving it already. We then had breakfast in the pantry, accompanied by a cup of hot coffee using instant coffeemix that we brought from home. Shiok!
We checked out of Hlemmur Square at about 9:30am and loaded our luggage into our Suzuki 4WD. IJ was the designated driver for the day. Today, we would be visiting the three stops of the popular Golden Circle route, which can be easily done as a day trip if you only have one day of sightseeing in Reykjavík.
Our first destination was Þingvellir National Park (pronounced as “Thingvellir”), a UNESCO World Heritage Site located about 49km away from Reykjavík. It is one of the most important historic sites in Iceland because it was where the Alþing parliament was established since 930 A.D. and continued to convene until 1798.
Þingvellir National Park is also home to the largest natural lake in Iceland and it sits in a fissure zone, on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is one of the most famous sights in Iceland, one of the primary stops on the Golden Circle route. There are many hiking trails and even a scuba diving site. However, as it was winter when we visited, most of the park was covered in snow and ice, making hiking difficult. I can imagine it must be absolutely beautiful in summer.
We stayed at Þingvellir National Park for about 1.5 hours, and at 12pm, we set off for our next stop – Geysir. The drive there was slightly treacherous as some parts of the road were still covered in ice, and our car skidded a few times. There was one heart-stopping moment when it felt like our car was spinning out of control, but thanks to IJ’s expert handling of the wheel, we emerged from the icy stretch unscathed. Tip for safe driving in Iceland in winter – drive slow! That’s the best advice, really.
Geysir is located about 54km away from Þingvellir National Park, and it is also one of the stops on the Golden Circle. Geysir, also known as The Great Geysir, is the origin of the English word “geyser”, and it means “to gush” in old Icelandic language. The whole area around The Great Geysir contains many smaller geysers and hot pools, including one called Little Geysir.
Today, The Great Geysir has stopped spouting water regularly, but its nearby cousin, Strokkur, continues to perform much more frequently, about once every 5 to 10 minutes. I was looking forward to witness Strokkur in action, because the last time I visited Rotorua in New Zealand, the geyser was inactive so I didn’t get to see it spout water.
After walking for about 5 minutes from the main road, we spotted Strokkur easily, as it was surrounded by a ring of people. We picked our spot and waited patiently for the performance. The geyser seemed innocuous enough – a circular depression in the ground, filled with a pool of steaming water. After one minute, two minutes, I was anxiously waiting for it to spout, wondering if Strokkur would suddenly decide to besmirch its own reputation and stop spouting on that fateful day I was there. But thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. Strokkur was as reliable as ever.
The first time it spouted, I was overwhelmed with ecstasy at seeing such a natural wonder at work. The water easily reached 20m high and it was a powerful gush. I could hardly contain my glee. Of course, seeing it once was not enough, and we stayed there and watched it in action several times. The last time was the most memorable, as Strokkur brought its A-game and treated us to three successive spouts, back to back to back. It was simply amazing. This was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip.
We visited the gift shop for a respite from the cold, and SY bought some souvenirs for his family, including a puffin mug, thus beginning his “fascination” with puffins. We learnt that the puffin is the unofficial national bird of Iceland, because over half of the world’s population of the Atlantic Puffin breeds in Iceland. The total population of puffins in Iceland is estimated to be between 8 to 10 million. Compare that to Iceland’s human population, which is just 320,000!
Aside from penguins, puffins are just about the cutest birds on earth. They only come to shore during summer, between May to August. During winter, they stay in the sea, never setting foot on ground. Thus, we didn’t get to see any puffins at the time of our visit.
We left Geysir at 3pm and proceeded to Gulfoss next, which is about 10km away. Gullfoss is the third stop of the Golden Circle, and it is Iceland’s most famous waterfall. The word I will use to describe it is simply, “mighty”. As we approached it, we could hear the sound of rushing water getting steadily louder. And when I saw it for the first time, the majestic sight just took my breath away.
My first impression of Gullfoss is a large pie, due to its unique triangular shape. Even in winter, when the water volume is lower than in summer, there is no denying the mightiness of the waterfall. The sheer volume of water is staggering. It was beautiful in an awesome way. I think it will be even more awesome in summer, when it is flanked by greenery, providing contrast from the whiteness of the water.
At 4pm, it was starting to get dark, so we set off from Gullfoss towards Hella, our resting place for the night. Hella is located about 90km away from Gullfoss, and the drive took us around 1 hour 15 minutes. SY had found us a really nice guesthouse at Hella called Hestheimar, and it was really lovely. It’s actually a horse farm with accommodation, and they have horses for sale and also provide riding tours and riding courses.
Hestheimar
Address: Ásahreppur, 851 Hella, Iceland
Tel: +354 487 6666
Website: www.hestheimar.is
Rate: 162,000 ISK for a Cottage for 4 persons, about S$51 per person per night
SY booked us a cottage, and we all loved it because it was all constructed of wood and it was very cosy. There was a kitchenette and attached bathroom, and a patio with a great view of the skies. We were hoping we could spot the aurora that night because the location is quite isolated and there wasn’t much light pollution. However, it was an overcast day, and the aurora forecast wasn’t promising, so we didn’t manage to see it that night. You can check the aurora forecast at this website: http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
For dinner, we drove to the main town at Hella, about 10 minutes away. One thing you should know about Iceland is that there are not many options for food outside of Reykjavík. Each town practically has only one or two restaurants, and eating out is pricey. The best way is to buy food the supermarket and cook your own meals. But we were not quite ready to do so yet, so we had dinner at Árhús Café.
We were the only customers there. We ordered two large pizzas because we were really hungry, and they turned out excellent. Having had our fill, we drove back to Hestheimar in darkness and winded down the night, recollecting our thoughts on our first day of adventure in Iceland. We all agreed – it had been a great day, and we couldn’t wait to see more of Iceland!