An Intriguing Destination
 

Leaving the airport it is not long before it seems like we are on Mars or the Moon. Within minutes we are staring at a landscape that has me thinking, “Houston, we have a problem”. The earth in front of us is barren with what seems like multiple mini craters created no doubt by volcanic activity which is a part of Iceland's history.

I have always believed that it is impossible to be in two places at the same time but here I discover that this is not necessarily true. With our feet spread wide apart we are technically on the North American and European Continent at the same time as we stand “In The Footsteps Of The Gods” at Midlina.

A stop at Blue Lagoon and we get more sensations that we are on another planet as we walk between sparkling blue pools of water with bright white and dark black jagged rock formations protruding out of the water, amazingly very cool.

Back of the road we make a slight detour and come across an awesome waterfall that leaves me almost speechless and in awe of the beauty of mother nature here. A short hike and it is an amazing experience standing behind the towering watery mist as it makes a dancing descent from hundreds of feet above the ground.

A stop at one of Iceland’s “Lava Beaches” then it is on to our next site, the largest waterfall in Europe, Gullfoss Falls. Simply a spectacular sight that is the one spot you should definitely visit if you ever make it to this intriguing destination that is called Iceland.


Video:http://youtu.be/B_f0HiMsYbk

I enjoyed your video. thanks for posting!

Having never been to either Mars or the Moon, I can only imagine what they look like. Describing your first impressions of Iceland, I don't think you're too off base! That's exactly what I thought when we landed and looked out - eerily beautiful!

not to mention the weird lava fields.

most of the time we couldn't tell whether it was a sheep until it moved.

chinacat,

Thanks :) ... A few more videos to come..

Debs, annhig,

Iceland definitely has some "eerily beautiful" and awesome landscape!

Natural Wonders

We are standing only a few feet from about one hundred Celsius degree boiling water that within a few minutes shoots about twenty up in the air then cascades back into earth leaving a refreshing steam mist behind. We are at Strokkur an active geyser that erupts about every five to ten minutes.

Circling the rim of Blue Keio I hope it has no plans of erupting soon. With a hollowing wind blowing I enjoy more of Iceland's natural wonders as I peer hundreds of feet down into the almost perfect circular shape of this inactive volcano.

Feeling more confident it will stay inactive, we descend into the crater and spend a few minutes relaxing by its tranquil waters. For us, it is almost like spending an afternoon at the beach.

More driving along the Golden Circle route and our next stop is at an important place in Iceland's history. In 930 AD this is where the first parliament met and the laws of the country were established. The beauty here is awesome but it hides some of Iceland's sad history that occurred here.

At Thingveillir many men were beheaded for murder and stealing. While eighteen women were drowned here for having children out of wedlock. At the time this was considered as having “loose morals”.


Video:http://youtu.be/KzEJXSrf1JQ

Feeling more confident it will stay inactive, we descend into the crater and spend a few minutes relaxing by its tranquil waters. For us, it is almost like spending an afternoon at the beach. >>

our DS got caught out by the geyser and was throughly drenched when the wind caught the water and sent it in his direction.

fortunately Iceland was enjoying a heat-wave at the time and he dried out pretty quickly. However, wherever we went that day, people who had been there at the same time asked how he was! His 15 mins of fame, perhaps?

we loved the geyser and Gullfoss and went back several times while we were staying in that area.

annhig,

I wish that had happened to me!

Those pools of water nearby looked so "tropical" and tempting for a swim.

A Horse Of A Different Color

Among the unusual things to Iceland is its horses. There is only one breed of them allowed in the country.

A not too far of a journey out of Reykjavik and I am straddling “coast kicker” for another experience unique to Iceland.

On Icelandic horses we cross a cool landscape that remains from a volcanic eruption about 9000 years ago.

Scattered across this geological wonderland are isolated areas of wild berries. After our ride I end up with a handful of them.


Video:http://youtu.be/RfL8d1WN2JI

sounds fun, DMBT. I am not horsey, but if you are, Iceland looked a pretty good place to do some riding.

How did you manage the gait of the icelandic horses? - it is supposed to be different to other horses, or so I understand.

we had some of those berries too - lovely.

Loving the descriptions and videos. Thank you. I'm going to Iceland for the first time this June. I can't wait!!

Will never forget the beauty of Gullfoss Falls - one of my favorite memories of Iceland.

OMG, another place I must visit! Incredibly beautiful, but in an eerie sort of way. Loved your videos!!!

Your videos are out of this world!! Thanks for sharing. I always wonder about the Blue Lagoon so it was great to see it on your video. I've never been to Iceland but your vids make me wanna go now. Really loved them!

A Tale Of A Whale

Besides Iceland's awesome beauty on land we spend an afternoon in hopes of seeing some of its marine attractions.

Although there are many whale watching companies to choose from in Reykjavik Harbor, we choose Elding for our adventure at sea and I am glad we did. Before our tour begins we get an opportunity to visit their whale center where I learned some more cool things about whales.

Sadly, many whales here are being hunted to support a segment of the tourist industry that is interested in eating whale meat. While it maybe a unique thing to do it may come at a very high price to these majesty ocean giants.

As our tour gets on the way we are given some very cool and very bright survival suits. This time of the year falling overboard does not seem to such a life threatening situation but better safe than sorry. Kudos to Elding for being safety conscious.

Leaving Reykjavik Harbor we get a nice view of city skyline and we are made aware of a boat anchored just outside of it. Apparently this particular yacht is owed by one of the founders of Microsoft and is doing some exploration for a sunken ship from World War II that is believed to be off the west coast of Iceland.

Our outing does give us the full experience that we were expecting because we never spotted any whales. However, we did see some dolphins, a cool lighthouse that you can walk to at low tide, a rainbow and a beautiful Icelandic sunset.


Video:http://youtu.be/_w6_8q0Rw_A

wug,

Think you will really enjoy it.. we barely touched the surface and had lots of fun :)

Debs,

Enjoyed Gullfoss too.. but walking around the crater of Blue Keio and then going inside of it was pretty awesome too...

baglady and swoosh35,

Thanks for your kind words.. it is always nice to read that others might be inspired to travel from the postings others and myself make here.

A Rose By Any Other Name

There is a myth about how Iceland and neighboring Greenland got their name from early day explorers.

It was believed by some that Floki Vilgeroarson named the country in order to discourage the Vikings from visiting. As we depart Reykjavik I see more “Green” than “Ice”.

I am glad we did not fall for the old legendary trick to avoid “Ice” land and go to “Green” land instead. However, Greenland is on my “Bucket List” and hopefully I will return to Iceland in order to visit it.


Video:http://youtu.be/A9POGxEzLpE

Thanks For The Memories

There are few places on the planet that you can visit that would give you an out of this world experience, Iceland is definitely one of them.

Thanks, Iceland for the adventure and lifetime memories.

Video:http://youtu.be/j7BYDi22qMg