Day 2 - Golden Circle Tour 9th Sept 2023

Instead of navigating the Suby for a 5 hour round trip we booked in on a bus trip to circumnavigate the famous “Golden Circle” of Iceland. This was no trip to a pineapple cannery, this was a full-blown, get out of town in all of your warmest clothes, looking at real scenery, kind-of-deal.

We drove into town for 10 mins, got free parking because it was Saturday and jumped on the coach at Bus Stop 12 with about 30 other touro’s mainly Septic-generaians. We then went round to other stops, picked up other crew and headed out ot town onto a mountain range.

Again, undaulating, treeless, moss-covered lava fields abounded and they just looked so alien to us. Our driver Marius - a Polish dude - was a fantastic driver and our guide - Beggy - was an outdoorsy, tattooed, ripped dude about my age - so clearly I identified with him immediately. ;o

First stop over the mountains was for coffee and almond croissants in a town that has seen it’s fair share of earthquakes and eruptions. BTW, everywhere EXCEPT Reykjavik is like this - anyway I digress.

Our first stop was a massive crater that was a result of earth implosion 8.5 thousand years ago. Because that was less than 10 thousand years ago, it is still considered an “active” site. Classic! It was so deep, ringed with red volcanic rock and filled with turquoise blue water. It wasn’t that cold so I just wore my Sea Shepherd hoodie and my beanie. Beggy told us that the colour on the Icelandic flag consists of blue for the sea, white for the ice and red for the lava…pretty sick. We walked around the crater, got some mad shots and jumped back on the bus.

Next stop was a world famous geysir. Who knew that I already knew an Icelandic word - Giysir - name after some geezer called Giysir, who discovered a Geysir - got it? Good sir!

We stood around and watched this boiling thing shoot out of the ground every 5 minutes of so. Pretty awesome. Also, all of Iceland’s power is generated from geo-thermal ground water or hydro-electric palnts, and their drinking water from all taps is pristine. They also pipe this water to every building in Reyjkavik and so they have unlimited hot water, electricity and drinking water. The one and only thing that is inexpensive on this volcanic island! We got a few pics, checked out some wee geysirs and went across the road for lunch.

We walked inside the tourist trap, geysir, roadside cafe and we decided to not get the full buffet lunch but just a sandwich instead. These tiny triangle sangas came with a piss amount of lettuce on the plate and cost $60 AUD. Now I knew that Iceland was the most expensive joint on the planet, but fair suck of the Vikling sav… I must try not to whinge about the prices from now on… but ffs

After the fiscal fisting, I walked back early to the bus and Beggy had a strange smile on his face. He told me that I was a brave man to wear that hoodie in Iceland. I had no idea that Iceland had just bought back whaling and it was a huge point of contention between the natives. He said it would be OK in the city but some country folk might not like it. He looked at me very strangely and I felt like a naive phony, plus in my head I’d insulted the Iskandas. I knew that I probably shouldn’t wear my hoodie in Norway but I had no idea about Iceland. I took it off and put on my Redhead Surf Club parka for the rest of the trip!

Next stop was the massive, insanely awesome Gulfoss (Gold Waterfall) Check the pics and vid for this truly mind boggling, arrangement of right angled waterfalls. They get their name form the colour of the water when the light hits it. It looks like cascading gold over the falls. They tried to dam it for a hydro-electric plant about 50 years ago but one chick (Syyggid) told her dad not to and she petitioned for years to leave the power of this place untouched. She won in the end and is considered one of Iceland’s first eco-warriors.

There is a plaque dedicated to her at the falls. Nice one Syggid Thornton!

Last stop for the day was Thingvellir National Park.This was a great spot. Not only was it the sight of the first parliament in the Viking times but it is also the summer residence of the PM and the spot where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. A place of great energy, water, gravitas and history.

Way cool. We hiked from the bus to the top of a trail and noticed how many RV’s were just free-camping and enjoying the last of the summer, because you know, Winter is Coming.

We then jumped back in the bus, completed the circle back in town, cooked some burgers for dinner that we bought in my new favourite - slightly cheaper supermarket called Bonus - who’s logo is a pink piggy on a yellow background.

We were then slated to go on a Northern Lights tour and we went to three different places to get picked up as the wording was so ambiguous. By 10.15pm we knew no one was coming, so we packed it, went home and crashed out after a huge day.

We saw so much of this hauntingly beautiful country today, and it was a day that we will never forget.