Iceland - June 20 - July 2, 2017
Page Nine
Golden Circle Area
End of Trip
After the second night of camping, we drove to
Fridheimar to visit a greenhouse that uses geothermal
heating to grow tomatoes. After short tour of the
greenhouse, we had a lunch of tomato soup. The little
girl on the left is a member of the family that runs the place.
Hot Springs area where Great Geysir and geysir Strokkur are
located. Strokkur geysir erupts every 10 minutes.
Gullfoss (Golden Falls), one of Iceland's most
spectacular waterfalls
Gullfoss
Gullfoss with a slight rainbow as seen from a viewing platform
up near a visitor center
Driving away from Gullfoss, we stopped to pet some Icelandic horses.
Thingvellir National Park, site of the world's oldest democratic
parliament dating back to 930 AD. Also, no where else in
Iceland can the divergent drift of the American and Eurasian
continental plates be seen more clearly. See above rift valley.
We took a short walk through this valley to a waterfall.
Oxararfoss Waterfall
Lake Thingvallavatn, largest natural lake in Iceland,
part of it is in Thingvellir National Park
.
Our final full day of the tour we hiked in the hills
around Mt. Hengill and to the summit.
Hiking toward Mt. Hengell summit. A small crater can be seen
in the center of the photo.
Lake Thingvallavatn in the distance
Jeff with Lake Thingvallavatn behind
After we completed this hike, we drove to a hotel in central
Reykjavik, and the group had a farewell dinner in a downtown
restaurant.
After breakfast at the hotel on our final day,
we had a few hours on our own before the tour van
took the group
to
the Blue Lagoon for a soak
and then took us to Rekjavik International
Airport. The Blue Lagoon is a manmade pool heated by
mineral rich waters of the nearby geothermal plant.
THE END
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