A Quick Trip to Iceland: Thanksgiving 2011
This is a sampling from the pictures we took on our recent trip to Iceland, over Thanksgiving 2011.
We left on Tuesday the 22nd in the evening, arriving five hours later in Reykjavic at about 6am. We were greeted with temperatures a bit below freezing (which is where they'd be the entire trip), and wind and sleet. Not welcoming. We were very psyched nonetheless. We spent day getting to know Reykjavic, and then went on a three hour guided tour (included w/ our plane/hotel package). The tour started by busing us to the shore near the city. It felt a bit lonely even though we were just a few minutes from the city where 60%% of the country's population lives. It was about five pm, so the sun was long gone (sunlight from 10am - 4pm). Looking back at the lights of habitation it already seemed quite remote. We stopped at a 3-km deep bore hole where steam exits at 107 Celsius. Steam heats the whole city. Folk often have "hot pots" (hot tubs) outside, and might even heat their sidewalks and driveways. The rest of the excursion was a fun walking tour during which we noted a noodle shop that we'd visit later. Good noodle shops are important!
On the 23rd we did the obligatory 8-hour Golden Circle tour. The rain had turned to very hard snow overnight, leaving the landscape and roads completely covered. We were happy not to be driving, as we went to some very remote snow-covered places. The main destinations were Geysir (geysers), Gullfoss (very, very impressive two-level waterfall), and Thingvellir (tectonic plates pulling apart, setting for Icelandic parliament a thousand years ago).
On the 24th we rented a car to drive the breadth of the country on the southern part of the ring road. Our destination was Jokulsarlon, a lake where icebergs have been continually cracking off of a glacier for the last 75 years. Prior to that the retreating glacier went all the way to the ocean. The drive is about 250 miles each way, and we wanted to do it in one day. This would be the adventure portion of the trip, with all sorts of interesting places we could stop and gawk if we had extra time (hah!).
Leaving the city at 9am, however, was almost more adventure that we wanted. It was still dark, with practically blizzard conditions. The snow was coming at us at an angle, so it seemed that we were driving sideways through a river of white. Very disorienting, and we couldn't have continued through this very far. Rosana I were each privately trying to figure out where we could stop and stay the night (Blue was asleep in the back). Within an hour, however, the sun came out and the snow slackened a bit. By the time we reached Jokulsarlon, the sky was clear and that part of the country hadn't had any snow at all.
Jokulsarlon was pretty neat, as you'd expect from a place used in multiple Bond movies. We all got into these big waterproof polar suits, and were ferried by rubber boat around the lake and through the icebergs. Being in the little boats made it all seem much more real and immediate. We could touch the bergs, see the seals, and marvel at the enormous mass of ice poised to enter the lake.
The next day, after a quick stop at the Blue Lagoon (a big outdoor heated pool (99+ degrees) and spa), we headed back to the airport to come home. We had to go a bit early as the Icelandair website wouldn't allow Pete to check in, continually saying that he needed to apply to the Department of Homeland Security to go back into the US. Luckily, it turned out to be a glitch in their software :-(.
