September 9, 2013 – Reykjavik, Iceland (Day 2 of 2)

Set out on our second tour of Iceland. We learned early that the city of Reykjavik is not the attraction in Iceland. It is the countryside with all its strange features and sights: geysers, glaciers, volcanoes, geothermal fields, fault lines, tundra and lava throws.

High four wheel drive vehicle indicates that some group is going on one of the 4-wheel drive trails around the glaciers.

We arrive at the point where there is one important feature and one important event. Note the separation of the earth below. You are seeing where the North American tectonic plate meets the European tectonic plate. The island of Iceland is actually being torn apart at this site. A few thousand years from now Iceland will be two islands unless molten volcanic lava fills in the gaps to just make the island wider rather than split it in two,

Across the valley below is the other side of a fault line that runs through Iceland.

Above, Edward is standing with his right foot on the North American tectonic plate and his right foot on the European tectonic plate. This is the point where the two continental plates meet. If you have seen an underwater geographic map, you will have seen the mountain range that runs along the Atlantic Ocean through Iceland that separates North America from Europe.

Below, we are walking down hill along a gap in the fault line.

Elaine appears to be so calm standing in the middle of the tectonic plates that could come together and fill with molten lava at any minute

Love this picture of the very small rock still holding on between two larger boulders at the top of this lava wall.

The summer home of the Prime Minister of Iceland. Why did they build his summer house at the bottom of a valley that is the bed of a fault line?

This site marks the meeting place of the oldest parliament in history. Iceland has the oldest parliamentary government which originally was made up of clan leaders. They met at this site in the fault line, wrote the first formal book of laws and met here annually. The parliament still meets here for one day once a year.

This river coming out of the lava fields is the former execution river. Early in Icelandic history, the preferred form of execution for crimes was drowning. Trials were held at the parliamentary site and those found guilty were placed in a sack weighted down by a rock and dropped from a bridge into this river. After the appropriate length of time had passed, the bag was hauled up and the body buried. They did not want the body polluting the river!

The waterfall at the left drops into the fault line and makes the (execution) river above.

Because of volcanic activity and volcanic ash in the air, there are very few trees in Iceland. The few trees that are present grow very slowly in the volcanic soil. The joke is that if you are lost in the forest in Iceland, just stand up and walk in any direction. You will emerge in less than 500 feet.

The high school girls home economics school above. No longer used for that purpose in modern society, but that was its original use.

Note the fog above arising from one of the many thermal fields.

Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall) is similar to Niagara Falls in the US. It is a very strong two level falls. The first fall drops 32 feet and the second fall drops an additional 43 feet. The river is fed by a glacier up stream that melts in the summer and all but disappears in the winter.

The explanation of the falls and glacier fed river.

Below, we appreciate the sights at this amazing waterfall. Unfortunately, the water falls into a steep narrow gorge whose bottom is impossible to see without climbing out on a very dangerous ledge which we declined to do.

The narrow gorge below the falls.  Wonderful views.

Our next stop is a geyser field. The chart above shows the five highest geysers in the world. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park is the second from the right (second highest geyser). The third and fifth highest geysers are both in this field.

Mist from the many geysers in the field.

Boiling water bubbling in a geyser hole.

The dark spot left is the geyser hole within the larger geyser pond.

Overlooking the geyser field.

Elaine waiting for the biggest geyser to erupt which erupts 8-10 minutes apart. Below, pictures of the geyser erupting.  This really turned out to be a great success as it gives no warning before it erupts and time varies from less than 8 minutes to more than 10 minutes.  It is not on a exact schedule.

The thermal geyser vapor is so thick it obscures the visitor’s center at the geyser site. 

The Icelanders believe strongly in elves and trolls. This troll is said to have buried a treasure in a cave in the mountains above the geyser field which no one has ever found. Maybe he will reveal his secret to Elaine as she pinches his cheek!

Below, Elaine finds a more than life size puffin and a stack of puffins that appear to be nesting in the rocky cliffs they prefer.

Below, Iceland horses are famous for having never been bred with any other horse. They were originally introduced into the island by Norse Vikings. If a horse is removed from Iceland for a show or sale, it is never allowed to return to the island. That is to insure that no horse diseases are introduced into the island’s horse population. The horses have very hairy manes and what appear to be bangs that keep the snow and ice out of their eyes in the winter and bugs and flies out of their eyes in the summer.

These horse ranches are in some of the few fertile fields in Iceland. Perhaps Iceland should tell every visitor to bring a bag of top soil and a tree to plant and take home volcanic rock or boulder!

A volcano with its head in the clouds.

As we got closer to the volcano, notice the many boulders that have tumbled down the mountain side from the many minor eruptions.

Above, a sign marking the fault line of an earthquake that split the shopping center in half in 2008.

Some of the non-restored earthquake damage in the shopping center.

Escaping steam from one of the many geothermal fissures.

The pipeline above brings hot water from one of the geothermal pools to heat the homes in Reykjavik. The pipeline is above ground to allow the water to cool before it gets to the homes. Otherwise, it would be too hot to use and the homes would be overheated.

Below, views of the city from an observation deck outside a restaurant on a hill above Reykjavik.

The largest church in Reykjavik looks like the space shuttle on its launch pad with a smaller bullet shaped rocket on the rear of the church.

This former US Air Force Base was a cold war era site that was closed in 2006. After a great deal of thought, the landing field was converted into an international airport and the buildings of the air force base became a college campus. What a great use of the old base.

Dome of the observation restaurant.

Year round Christmas store inside the dome.

  This is the sign for toilets!

Elaine found the only palm tree in Iceland inside the domed restaurant.

Rush hour in Reykjavik.

Domed restaurant and observation deck.

Above, these homes on a lake in Reykjavik are built in the Norwegian style.

Restaurant on the island across from where the ship is docked.

The Imagine Peace Memorial built by Yoko Ono. It is lit every year on John Lennon’s birthday and stays lit until the day he was assassinated. It is a beam of light shining 1,000 feet into the sky. The light is also lit on Christmas Day for the benefit of the citizens of Reykjavik.

This home was prepared by the government of Iceland in 10 days for the historic meeting between Ronald Reagan and Michael Gorbachov that marked the end of the Cold War. The two leaders met in this house and the result was a toning down of many years of hostilities.

And so our 2013 trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland that began on a ship that departed from Ft Lauderdale, Florida on April 7, 2013 will end when we dock in Boston in 5 days on September 15, 2013. A trip that began with seeing our friend Kim complete the London Marathon and become a master marathoner, ended with a visit to Iceland with some of the most bazaar landscapes we have ever seen. We have seen so many amazing sights and visited so many interesting places. We can hardly wait to get home and review a print out of this blog created over the last 6 months to bring back all those memories.We hope all readers have enjoyed vicariously traveling with us on this adventure. Be well, be safe. Signing off until the next trip.