GOLDEN CIRCLE
Golden Circle is the most talked-about tour out of Reykjavik. As soon as we rented our car, we too followed the many tour buses and cars and set out towards the Golden Circle.
We drove along a varied landscape. Some areas had green pastures with the familiar Icelandic sheep grazing and hanging about.
Many herds of Icelandic horses nibbled on bright green meadows. The Icelandic horse is distinct in its smaller size, and thicker manes. They are pure bred in Iceland and the animals are not allowed to return if they are sent out of the country. They have an extra gait over and above the traditional 4 gaits that most breeds have.
We pulled over alongside a fence to pet some of these adorable and approachable animals. I yanked out tufts of sweet grass and offered it to a horse through the barbed wires. Unabashedly it happily munched on the unexpected treat and let me caress its soft nose. The mane was lush and thick but each time I reached out to touch the mane, it would move its head away. I suppose if I had a lustrous and coiffed crowning glory, I wouldn’t want anybody mussing that up either!
Iceland is famous for its varied topography and here we just saw a limitless expanse of flat land- raw and beautifully dramatic. Other parts of the landscape were more barren. We drove alongside stark lava fields with the mountains in the background.
On the way we saw abrupt fields of bright purple and white flowers randomly growing in the fields. Not many plants are able to blossom in the loose and eroded soil caused by the lack of trees. These flowers known as Nootka or Alaskan Lupin were brought in to overcome the erosion. In some cases however they have flourished with a vengeance and have prevented other native flora to bloom. That’s why they are enigmatically known as both the purple menace and purple miracle!
Our first stop was the famous Thingvellir national park. The site has been made famous for two reasons – historical and geological. This area formed the backdrop of the open-air parliament or assembly that started way back in 930 AD, that governed the entire land of Iceland. Even cooler is what’s brimming and bubbling underneath this innocent looking ravine. One can walk about in Almannagja, a canyon running right through the valley that was created by the Continental drift . The shifting of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates created this gorge. The dramatic valley walls are moving apart at a rate of 2mm-7mm a year!
From there we headed to Iceland’s version of the Old Faithful, the Great Geysir. The English word geyser is derived from this iconic Icelandic landmark. The famous Geysir itself has been inactive and subdued for many years now until the next big underground upheaval or earthquake. But Strokkur does not disappoint the camera-ready fans and faithfully lets out steam and hot water about 100 feet in the air a few times an hour.
Some people did more than admire and appreciate the many hot water blow-holes in the area. We saw a few of them place eggs in nylon nets and simmer them in the hot bubbling pools to produce perfectly boiled eggs in minutes.
The Glima café/store here is a small institution in itself. Large cafeteria style café and a huge souvenir shop selling anything and everything Icelandic. The décor was pretty funky for a tourist stop café.
There is an interactive display with videos and photographs explaining geysers, volcanoes and the general geography of the land.
From there we headed to the magnificent Gulfoss (Golden waterfall). The falls are a must-see in Iceland and are truly spectacular. There is an overlook (with flimsy roped guard rails) right by the mouth of the falls where one can easily see the forceful surge of the waters of the Hvita river just about to tumble over the falls in a deafening rush. We also took the trail and the steps to go down all the way down to behold the magnificence of the tumbling falls in front of us. It was an amazing, sobering sight.
A bust of Sigridur, the daughter of Tomas stands as a testimony to the lady who ‘saved’ the falls. Legend has it that foreign investors wanted to dam the Hvita river and its powerful falls for hydro-electric power. Tomas owned the land but Sigridur was so adamant to prevent the dam from being built that she walked barefoot to Reykjavik to protest and prevent the land being sold. She even threatened to hurl herself down the falls if the deal would go through. Her determination won and the land was sold to the state of Iceland to be safeguarded. This romantic saga made us appreciate the dramatic falls even more.
Refreshed and invigorated we headed back to the ‘bustling city’ of Reykjavik that boasted of housing half of their country’s population of 320,000. It was a good day to see Iceland’s wild and natural beauty that had made the country so popular