Iceland is set across the border between two tectonic plates - the North American plate, and the Eurasian plate. At the border, there's all sorts of excitement. Volcanoes, geysirs, earthquakes, and other geothermal activities. Three really neat sights related to this activity are right near Reykjavik - Þingvellir, Geysir and Gulfoss. We set out on Friday to see all three - and sneak in as many other stops as I could.
Our first stop was Þingvellir. This is in a rift valley between the two continental plates. One of the biggest cracks in the valley is the centerpiece of the national park - and the site where Icelnd's parliment started meeting in like 930. It's very dramatic. On one side of the trail, we saw the beginnings of this crack. Then on the other - strings of people walking down the crack. There's a very nice waterfall along the way - and another one at the other end of the crack. We didn't make it to either on this trip.
Next up was Geysir - a small area with a bunch of bubbling mud hot pots and geysirs - some that go over regularly. While mom and Wendy were in the gift shop, I took a brisk walk around the site and saw the geysir go off several times!
And finally we made it to Gulfoss. It's a gigantic waterfall - very dramatic. I was pleased with myself, because I remembered that there was a parking lot much closer to the waterfall for buses - and handicap access. We were able to find a parking spot that wasn't restricted to people with handicap tags or buses - so Wendy could get to the falls with only a short walk. She's still recovering from her broken leg this summer and is still unable to stand very long or walk distances. So parking nearby was really helpful. It was also starting to rain - and I didn't have my raincoat with me!
On the way back, we stopped at the Kronan in Selfoss (we liked it a lot better than the Bonus), and the Ingólfsskáli Viking Restaurant. We ate there last winter, on a really dark, snowy, and blowy night. I wanted to know what the restaurant actually looked like! It was so different on this September day.
Back home for taco crumbles and rice for dinner, then we still had enough energy to drive to the fancy ice cream shop, through town, and out to the end of the peninsula to see a gorgeous sunset. What a day!
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