Geysers and Gulfoss and Ghosts...Oh My

Our initial plans of kayaking fell through at the last minute but the replacement field trip was no disappointment. I’d never seen a pit of boiling water coming out of the ground before I came to Iceland and I had never seen a geyser erupt either. What a big day! We started out by visiting the world-famous Geysir, the hot spring that all other geysers were named after. It doesn’t erupt much anymore but its neighboring Strokkur sure does. Watching the power build up and explode 30 meters out of Strokkur every 5 minutes or so was quite impressive.

Geysir and Gullfoss are part of the popular Golden Circle tour in Iceland. Gullfoss, meaning Golden Waterfall, is a two-tiered 32m fall with the second drop off cascading into a crevice and from there flowing at a 90 degree angle. It was cold and rainy during our visit but that did not dampen our spirits. Next, we visited an old reforestation site. How refreshing to walk through a forest of trees that are actually taller than us! This site had been planted about 50 years ago with various Nordic and Alaskan pines, birches and cottonwoods. It was comforting to think that the trees we had just planted at Hekla could one day be a beautiful forest just like the one we were walking through.

Lunch was the next stop where we ate hearty lobster soup and salad in Eyrarbakki, a historical fishing town. The Eyrarbakki Maritime Museum was just across the street so we headed there to brush up on our history. The museum contained a preserved 19th century Icelandic home, a 14-man fishing boat from 1919 and an exhibit about the earthquake that shook Iceland in May, 2008.
After visiting the museums, we crossed the street and strolled over a hill where we were greeted by a delightful view of the Atlantic Ocean. It was only about 4:30 pm but the sun was already starting to creep closer to the horizon. We hung out on the rocks for a while then trooped back to our pretty green bus and headed to a lighthouse. Some people apparently get woozy when climbing 5 stories of stairs and viewing the beautiful Icelandic landscape from a tiny observation deck, but the trip was worth it. The sun was still falling towards the ocean so the view was spectacular. A ghost museum was next on the schedule (it was more of a haunted house with an MP3 player that told ghost stories). Iceland's historical lore includes many tales of mysterious creatures and peculiar ghost legends. Although the actual museum was a bit hokey, the stories gave us a glimpse of the rich storytelling traditions surrounding the landscape. We emerged from the tour in time to see the beautiful sunset in full force, a comforting reminder of nature’s beauty.

~Angelique
(Photos by Angelique)