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The ‘Golden Circle’ We went and had a very nice breakfast and read the tour guides to decide on our best itinerary for the day. The ‘Golden Circle’ seemed to be our best bet, so we set off north east on Route 1 out of Reykjavik. There was little trouble getting used to driving on the right as there were hardly any other vehicles about. We left the buildings behind and found ourselves on a road that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, heading for the mountains in glorious sunshine. Driving off the roads and tracks is prohibited.
Þingvellir National Park We drove over Mosfellsheidi heath to reach the rift valley that is the boundary between the North American and European Tectonic plates. This is in the Þingvellir National Park and is quite spectacular. I was in my element having studied geology and would have been happy to stay all day! We walked into the rift between sheer black basalt rocks.
About 3000 years ago an 8 kilometre long eruptive fissure opened north-east of Hrafnabjörg and formed Þjófahraun. Þingvellir is covered with 10,000 year-old lava that originated in a crater south of Mount Hrafnabjörg. During the time since the lava flowed, the land subsidence has been about 40 metres and the spreading or rifting about 70 metres. The last eruption in the Þingvellir depression was 2000 years ago. when the ash crater Sandey arose from the bottom of Lake Þingvallavatn. Volcanic activity has been dormant since, but the question is when it will start again.
Iceland owes its existence to a mantle plume that produces twice as much volcanic matter as the Mid-Atlantic ridge. The mantle plume is located east of the ridge channel, but the eruptive belt tends to follow the plume, and it's there that volcanic activity is greatest. In the south, the plates inch past each other, but at Þingvellir, they break apart and the land between subsides. Away from the plate boundaries the activity is a constant two centimetres a year, but in the rift zones stress accumulates during a long period and is then released in a burst of activity.
It all seemed too peaceful to be the site of such enormous underground violence. Our next stop was the site of the oldest democratic parliament in the world, the Alþing, founded in 930 AD at Þingvellir (the parliamentary plains). Alþing met once a year in summer to adopt laws and render verdicts. The main source of information about the settlement period in Iceland is the Landnámabák (Book of Settlements), written in the 12th century. The Viking period is said to have started around the year 800 AD and continued until the middle of the 11th century. During that time, Nordic people settled far and wide and the settlement of Iceland was one part of this extensive migration of people.
It was located next to Þingvallavatn, the largest lake in Iceland, but was subsequently moved to Reykjavík because land subsidence caused encroachment of water up to the assembly site, probably four metres from when the Alþing was established. Þingvellir is the national shrine of Iceland, its most historic site, and one of its most beautiful places. One of the most famous laws made there was in the year 1000, when it was decided to become Christian and abolish the believe in the Nordic Gods. Þingvellir has always been the focal point for the country, and whenever a major event is to be celebrated, thousands of people come here. Most of the historical buildings are concentrated in one small area, having been moved there from around the Park.
Nearby Lögberg, the "Law Rock" is the cliff overlooking the place where the Alþing met, and speakers stood to address the gatherings from this point. All free men were welcome speak, but only the 36 chieftains could vote. The Icelandic flag marks the approximate location it. Drekkingarhylur, the Drowning Pool, where mothers of illegitimate children were drowned. Peningagjá, the Money Chasm is a deep fissure filled with crystal clear spring water, people throw coins into it from the bridge that lies across. The coins give off strange reflections as they drop through the water, it is said that if you can follow the coin until it comes to rest on the bottom, your wish will come true.
As it was out of season, everything was closed but we went into the small wooden church, where the pastor is also warden of the national park, and beside which is the national burial ground. Skálholt Our next stop was going to be Geysir but we the road looked too awful for our car so we continued south to Skalholt, the site of an ancient bishopric. It is steeped in history as the greatest centre for learning of Old Iceland and was the Episcopal seat for Southern Iceland from 1056 to 1796.
The man who chose Skálholt as the site of the first episcopal see in Iceland was Ísleifur, because at that time it was the largest town in Iceland. Ísleifur's father had played a decisive role in the Christianisation of Iceland and he built the first church in Iceland at Skálholt around the year 1000.
In the 12th century a great cathedral was built, made
of timber shipped from Norway. All that remains now is a tunnel from the
old church to a school but there is a new building on the site now. Kerid Onwards to Kerid, a volcanic crater with a deep green lake at the bottom. It was formed about 3000 years ago as part of a crater swarm known as Tjarnarholar that produced much of the surrounding red lava field. We climbed down to the waters edge and it was absolutely silent. The reflections in the still water were quite magical.
Geysir We followed the relatively good road round to Geysir and arrived as the tour bus was leaving. This meant that we were able to eat in the restaurant in peace and enjoyed some excellent broccoli soup. We also decided not to take a dip in the pool even though the water was geothermally heated.
We walked across the road to the geyser, after which all the world’s spouting hot springs have been named, and immediately notice the steam rising from vents and streams around the site, surrounded by colourful algae. The Great Geysir began erupting up to 60 metres in the 14th century but ceased in 1916, when thousands of tourists poured in loads of rock to set it off. The crater of the Great Geysir was still very hot, and we could see the steam rising from the water's surface. Its opening is 18 metres wide and its chamber 20 metres deep.
Since then, the water level in the Geysir has been artificially lowered, and recent volcanic activity has reactivated it. Since then its repose has sporadically been disturbed by the dumping of tonnes of soap powder into its seething orifice in order to make it spout. Fortunately there is a smaller one nearby called Strokkur ('the butter churn') that spouts up to 20 metres every 3 minutes. It is an awesome sight – you can see it beginning to stir but it is quite a shock when it suddenly bursts into life.
Eruptions are caused by boiling water deep inside being trapped by cold water above. It is not exactly known when Geysir was created, probably around the end of the 13th century when a series of strong earthquakes, accompanied by a devastating eruption of Mt. Hekla, hit Haukadalur, the geothermal valley where it is located. The whole area is a geothermal park sitting on top of a vast boiling cauldron. Belching sulphurous mud pots of unusual colours, hissing steam vents, hot and cold springs, warm streams, and primitive plants can all be found here. I am glad we chose to make this trip out of the tourist season as it is so much nicer to enjoy these sights in relative solitude.
Gullfoss We left the steaming earth behind and travelled to the
most amazing waterfall called Gullfoss. The river Hvitá ('white
river') drops 32 metres over the two falls into a narrow, 70 metre deep
canyon, sending up an impressive spray. Whenever the sun comes out, a
rainbow appears in the spray.
Gullfoss was once part of the nearby farm Brattholt owned by the farmer Tomas Tomasson and his daughter Sigridur Tomasdottir. Foreign investors were close to buying Gullfoss to develop a hydroelectric plant on the site. The farmer and his daughter took the case to the parliament, and Sigridur even threatened to drown herself in the waterfall if the deal went ahead. The government ruled against her, but the investors' lease expired in 1928 before they had built anything on the site. Today, her memorial, a stone polygon depicting her profile in high relief, stands above the falls. The Return Journey We took the road to Selfoss amidst an austere landscape with wild Icelandic horses everywhere. It is a market town over the River Olfusa with rapids and deep pools.
Hveragerði is an area heated by thermal springs and has a greenhouse industry, producing flowers, salad and even bananas and tropical fruit. The town gets its name from hot springs - hverir, which were said to form a pattern like a fence - gerði. A geothermal area is an area where warm water ascends through fissures, crevices and volcanic crust. Cold rainwater pours down into the porous bedrock, is heated from the old magma chamber and ascends to the surface as it gets hotter. The return journey was over a highland plateau and back to the hotel by nightfall for another superb dinner. Icelandic food include all types of seafood and lamb. Specialities are graflax (raw salmon with herbs), hangikjot (smoked mutton), skyr (a type of yogurt) and hverabraud (rye bread baked underground), but one to be avoided is hakarl which is rotting shark! The local alcoholic beverage is Brennivin, meaning ‘black death’, a bitter schnapps.
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