Iceland

February 2016

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I had already visited Iceland in 2006 for a short visit (some of that account is reused here) and when Wendy said she’d like to go there were plenty of cheap short stays. Then her daughter Lauren said she’d like to come with her partner Cemil and so there were four of us. We flew out of Gatwick airport on Saturday February 6th around 1530. It was a three hour Easyjet flight and Iceland was on the same time zone as the UK when we arrived at Keflavik airport.

There was a blizzard blowing as we walked 500 metres outside the airport terminal to pick up the hired car. We were given a spacious Kia and stumped out on extra insurance because the Iceland car companies have a bad reputation for stinging you for every minor sign of damage.

Around 30 minutes of driving along the flat lava Reykjanes peninsula in the dark, we came across the first major settlement of Hafnarfjordhor which is one of the oldest towns in Iceland. The tourist blurb called it “The Elf Town in the Lava” and indicated that it was a “friendly seaside community to 27.000 people.” Hafnarfjordhur apparently means “Harbour Fjord” because the town has a natural harbour surrounded by lava fields.

Picking up some groceries from a supermarket it appeared that food was expensive. We had bought our own booze. Checking into the Hafnarfjordhor Hotel, we got a spacious en suite room with some cooking facilities. Fortunately, Lauren’s room was huge and had everything else we needed.

The youngest country in Europe (physically it is only 20 million years old) is just bigger than Ireland, (350 km from N-S, 540km E-W) and lies across the vast undersea split known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where two of the great plates of the earth’s surface are pulling apart. “Nowhere on earth are the forces of nature are more evident than here, where glaciers, hot springs, geysers, active volcanoes, icecaps, tundra, snow-capped peaks, vast lava deserts, and waterfalls vie for the visitor’s attention” (Lonely Person’s guide)

Wendy wanted to visit the Blue Lagoon and after an all you can eat continental breakfast, we pottered back down the Reykjanes peninsula in the daylight this time. Due to the winter, daylight hours were limited from 10am to 6pm. Most of the lava outcrops were covered in snow. The last time I had been to the Blue Lagoon, I had turned up on a Sunday afternoon and just walked in. This time, we found lines of tourists and were asked for our on-line booking. Er, what on line booking? It turned out that you now have to book in advance. The next available time slot was 1pm on Wednesday which was our day of departure. We could do it on the way to the airport so booked it. It had also jumped in price to 50 Euros (about £39).

Fully expecting to be relaxing today in thermal baths, I had not bought a roadmap or a guidebook. I had to think fast. What could we fit in today? I chose Pingvellir (pronounced Thingvellir) and the ‘Golden Circle’ tour. Driving back to Hafnarfjordhor and onto Reykjavik, I followed my nose, bypassed the centre and stopped at a garage for directions. We were going the right way. The whole landscape was covered in snow including much of the road into the National Park. Snow flurries scurried across the road in increasing quantities. It was very windy as it always seems to be in Iceland.

The one thing that breaks up the barrenness of the Icelandic scenery are the herds Icelandic horses which dot the landscape in their thousands. They are a unique breed descended from medieval Norwegian stock, since none have been imported since the tenth century. If a horse leaves Iceland (to attend a show or whatever), it is never allowed back so that the breed remains pure and does not suffer from any horsy disease stuff. The horses (ponies really, since they are smaller than normal horses) are used to surviving in all weather conditions. Consequently, they have thick manes that cover their faces and long tails that nearly reach the ground and thick coats. They are beautiful animals, usually brown, sometimes white and brown or black and we never tired of seeing them everywhere.

A light blizzard was blowing when we reached the Visitors Centre at Pingvellir that put my companions off exploring the area. The great fault line at Pingvellir, where the geological plates of America and Europe which are slowly tearing apart, provided a remarkable natural arena for the gatherings of freeman, chieftains and bishops to discuss matters of law and justice, crime and punishment. The first Althing, or parliament, was held here in AD930 and they continued annually until 1789, when the plain fell 1m in an earthquake and the power base shifted to Reykjavik. Since I had seen it before in its autumn colours, I was happy to push on to what they wanted to see – the geysers and waterfall. The snowy conditions made the driving quite slow and we were aware of our limited daylight hours.

We entered the ‘Golden Circle’ tourist area of attractions. Visible from miles away as a pall of steam rising above the plains, Geysir’s “hot springs bubble out over a grassy slope at the foot of Bjarnfell, studded with circular pools atop grey, mineral-streaked mounds” (Rough Guide). The springs’ positions periodically change as geological seams crack open or close and the current vents are believed to have started in the 13th Century. And of course there are the Geysirs themselves.

The 70m tall ‘Geysir’ gave its name to geysers to all others around the world. Unfortunately and ironically, Geysir (the Gusher) stopped erupting a few years back. However, its smaller neighbour ‘Stokkur’ goes off every ten minutes or so, shooting boiling steam some 30m into the air. It is fascinating to watch as the water in the circular pool at its base, is sucked in and out by the pressure of the hot geothermal water and cold water river water down below. When the pool is almost full, the water at the centre suddenly bubbles up in a luminous blue swell and the plume of steam erupts with a great hiss. The air is heavy with sulphur, the ground smokes and water streaks high into the air. We never got bored of watching the geysir gradually build into a bubble and finally erupt.

The biggest challenge were the iced paths. The huge numbers of coach parties had crushed the snow to slippery ice and it was treacherous especially right by ‘Stokkur’. As I approached the wooden fence, I slipped and both feet went flying into the air like a Laurel and Hardy movie. Landing hard on my backside, I was one of half a dozen tourists to do the same thing. Then you have to try and get back on your feet and pretend it didn’t happen.

Further up the road, Gullfoss – ‘golden waterfall’ lies on the Hvita river and is one of the most famous sights in Iceland. There is a two kilometre canyon sided in organ-pipe basalt columns which is up to 70m deep. Gullfoss is actually two thundering falls, one immediately above the other and at right angles to it. Today, in the freezing cold, the path was iced over so we used ropes to get down and the entire area was covered in snow. The result was the marvellous sight of what looked like a massive frozen waterfall covered in ice with the spray rising in the air. The biggest issue here was the wind. It was like a gale blowing into your face. Faced with icy footpaths and a strong head wind, it made for a difficult passage to see the falls which were just as spectacular as I remembered them.

With darkness looming, we headed back across the plains to Reykjavik and had a lovely sunset to accompany our western direction. The roads were icy and covered in snow. A convoy of cars followed us to Selfoss where the road improved. Upon return, we feasted on take way pizzas while we waited to be picked up for our Northern Lights tour. This was a freebie in the holiday package. I had failed miserably to see them last time.

“The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are just one of Iceland’s many outstanding natural phenomena. The lights glow green, white, blue, red, violet and pink. The luminosity of the aurora is a form of fluorescence; solar winds cause electronic particles to enter the magnetic fields of the earth. They travel so quickly that they collide with molecules of atmospheric gases, which expends the kinetic energy in an emission of light. All of this happens at least 100km above the surface of the earth and is visible to the human eye in the form of a dazzling swathe of coloured light across the sky” (Brandt Guide to Iceland)

We were collected at the hotel and driven into the capital to the Graylines terminal. There were 8 coaches going to Pingvellir for a viewing. Our guide said that there was a good chance of seeing them if the clouds moved, but we could move on to another place if a viewing was more favourable. I expected to be driven into complete darkness, but there was a café with bright lighting. Arriving after 9pm, we milled around trying to find a dark spot. There were very faint indications of activity as we arrived but it soon disappeared. It was cold and windy. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Some people got bored and cold and got back on the coaches. I stood outside for 2 hours and saw nothing. It was all reliant on a lack of cloud cover and competing light.

Around 11 o’clock, a yell went up that things were happening above. I was expecting green lights but it just seemed to be swirling white cloud type shapes. A few people had decent cameras on tripods. I walked up to one. Thor was one of the drivers and he was taking photos. He had been taking photos for years. The camera was on a slow8-9 second delay. He would point it at somewhere in the sky, take a photo and then show me. The green colours were captured by the camera. I found Wendy in the darkness and brought her over. We spent 45 minutes doing a bizarre ritual. Thor would point his camera and indicate something, then take a photo and we would then look at the coloured version of what we had seen in black and white. But Thor had enough experience to know where to look at what would show up well. I felt very lucky to have found him and he brought it all to life. He even sent me a link to all his photos when I got back to the UK. We were dropped at the hotel around 1.30am

On the Monday, I had originally intended to do a road trip around the northern side of Iceland, but with the state of the roads and the fact that everywhere was covered in snow, I didn’t think that I’d make much distance and see much apart from snow. I agreed to accompany Wendy on a whale watching trip in the afternoon. In the morning, we drove to the capital Reykjavik for a quick tour.

The city was settled in 877AD when a Norwegian Viking Injolfur Amarson heaved his chair overboard and said he would settle wherever they washed up. They turned up in an inlet seemingly full of smoke and it was called ‘smoky inlet’ or Reykavik. When they landed, they discovered the smoke was caused by the hot springs. Geothermal energy still keeps the city in everything from hot water to electricity.

Reykavijk is still the world’s northernmost capital city and home to 62% of Iceland’s 280,000 people (1806 – 300 inhabitants of which 27 were in prison for being pissed). It has a picturesque setting by the coast and even in downtown Reykjavik, crisp snow -capped mountains could be seen close by across the harbour.

We started with the wonderful Hallgrimskirkja.. Completed in 1986, the church took 49 years to build. A white rocket come to mind when you see the church from a distance. Close up, its concrete pillars resemble giant hexagonal volcanic columns, or even organ pipes. Step through the door and it’s like entering a towering ice-cathedral. The organ has 5,275 pipes. The 73m high tower dominates the skyline. The church can hold 1200 people.

Parking near Tjornin, the pond in the centre, we discovered it was frozen solid and you could cross it on the ice. We walked on past old state buildings, and the wooden cathedral built in 1847. I had explored the city before and in all honesty, there isn’t that much to see.

The Elding Adventure at Sea ticket office was located on a wharf in the heart of Reykjavik’s Old Harbour. Their ‘Whale Watching Centre’ was housed in a converted fishing vessel. On board this ‘floating museum’ was a whale skeleton and a dolphin skeleton and some footage of whales. It was worth about 5 minutes of your attention.

We boarded an adjoining boat with a few dozen others and picked up full length warm overalls. Standing outside on a deck for three hours in one of Iceland’s fjords can get cold in February. The boat took off around Skerjafjorour, the natural harbour, boarded on one side by picturesque snow lined lava mountains. It was chilly but sunny. We were looking for humpback and minke whales and orcas (killer whales) along with white beaked and harbour dolphins. Three boats were out cruising and a guide said a whale had been spotted a couple of days ago. But we saw nothing apart from a couple of cormorants and some seagulls. I suppose you could say it was a glorified boat trip. The only good news is that we can return to do the trip for free within the next two years. Which is nice. What was not nice was the fact that whales were still being hunted in Iceland.

That evening, we drove to some communal thermal baths at a large swimming pool complex. There was a larger pool with 38’c water and a smaller but warmer shallow pool of 41’c. Both were filled with teenagers and students. There was also a freezing plunge pool. It said 4-8’c but there was ice on the steps getting in. Let’s just say my wedding tackle became non-existent.

On the way home, I drove to Perlan (The Pearl). Surrounded by pine trees, it is what “James Bond’s secret islandic headquarters should look like” (Footprint). A massive space-age edifice squatted on Oskjuhlid, to the south of town. Its great towers hold 24 million litres of geothermally heated water – enough to service half the city. Between them is an exhibition space on different levels, with a café, and a mini-geyser which shoots up from the basement. There is a revolving restaurant at the top. The view over the city at night was brilliant. Recommended at night.

Tuesday was our big trip day to the Glacier. We had to allow a couple of hours to get to the start at Husafell Hotel. En route at Mosfellsbaer, I was amazed to still find that someone would still fill your petrol tank while you went to the cashier. He did say other garage franchises have become automated. We followed Route 1 to Hvalfjordur (Whale Fjord) which was a long and beautiful fjord. We paid 1000 Kr to take the 6km tunnel to save 60 km driving around the Fjord. We passed volcanic mountain ranges covered in snow, as if God had taken a giant sifter and sifted icing sugar over the peaks. Small waterfalls and rapids also broke up the gloomy scenery today. Before Borganes and the Borgarfjord, we took the smaller 53 highway which became icier to the hamlet of Reykholt and onto the even narrower 519 which took us to the end of the road – the Husafell Hotel where we had exotic hot chocolate made with real Belgium chocolate.

The attraction was called “Into the Glacier.” I had seen it on TV recently and it was less than a year old. The blurb said “This isn’t your average Iceland tour. It is an exclusive, once in a lifetime adventure to Iceland’s most significant new attraction; the man-made ice cap glacier tunnel and cave, located high on one of Iceland’s largest glaciers. The three in one tour will enable you to explore 1. Around, 2. On and 3. Within the 953km sq glacier.” Langjokull glacier is the closest to Reykjavik and the second largest on the island, 31miles long by 12 miles wide.

We climbed aboard a specially modified glacier vehicle (ICE 1) which was an 8 wheel former ex missile carrier from Eastern Europe with 48 gears. The 8 huge tyres could be independently deflated or inflated depending on the conditions. Two vehicles set off with a dozen people in each of them. Leaving the hotel area, the vehicle started to ascend the glacier along a marked snow path but then the markers stopped and GPS was used to direct us up to the base camp. Looking out of the window, all we could see was white snow. 40 minutes later at ‘base camp’, we got out to play in the snow and take photos before ascending again for another 30 minutes to the tunnel entrance. A blizzard raged outside as we climbed further up the glacier. The truck got stuck in the deep snow a couple of times but by rocking back and forth and deflating tyres, it kept progressing. It seemed to take an age to climb just a few kilometres but nothing else would get up there in these conditions.

We parked next to a small steel tunnel sticking out of the surface. This has to be dug out every day because the snow piled up in front. As the wind howled around us, we entered the lit tunnel to an area where we put on rubber crampons. The planning of this ice cave took 4 years. It then took 14 months to construct and it was opened in May 2015. Once we stepped into the ice tunnel, we entered a different world. We were in solid ice that was at least 30 years old. Apparently it takes 8 feet of snow to be compacted to one inch of ice. We had 25m of ice above us and 200m of ice below us. It seemed strange that the temperature was a moderate 0’c inside the 500 metre heart shaped tunnel.

The tour lasted around 45 minutes with our group being led around the ice tunnel which had 5 ice chambers cut out including a chapel with wooden benches (one wedding so far). The tunnel was tastefully lit with small white bulbs built into the ice walls. The colours varied from pearly white to deep clear blue. The ice walls contained subtly striped different coloured layers of ice from previous snowfalls. There was a lot of information from the female guide. At one point we viewed a crevasse which was 40m deep and 100m long. This was bringing air down to the tunnel and creating the comfortable air temperature.

The layers can be analysed to tell experts about the weather conditions at the time the snow fell. Whiter layers formed when the weather was particularly cold, because air was trapped within the ice crystals, which is reflective. Layers that are darker or bluer in colour were created by snowfall in warmer or wet conditions when little air was trapped in the snow. The weight of the snow build-up compressed the layers and the air trapped within them, causing ice at the heart of a glacier to appear a brilliant blue.

Coming back down the glacier, a heavy blizzard covered the windows in snow and we could see nothing but white for much of the return journey. This was faster because we were going downhill! The trip cost £100 which was an expensive excursion but there is only one of these in the world and it was nice to see it before it gets on the main tourist itinerary in Iceland. Recommended. The return journey to Reykjavik took in another sunset over the iced mountains. Back at the hotel we dined on take away Taco Bell which was uninspiring and nothing like real Mexican food.

On our last morning, Wendy and I drove down to the Seltun geothermal area. A road led off the main highway just outside Hafnarfjordhor heading south towards the coast. The sealed road turned to gravel which was covered in snow and ice. This beautiful undulating track took us past a landscape covered in snow including a large frozen lake. It all looked very pristine in the bright sunshine. The setting was rather spectacular.

At Seltun, the red, green and yellow coloured hills were also covered in snow. They framed an expanse of steaming volcanic vents and boiling hot springs. A well maintained boardwalk wound through the bubbling and hissing field. It was quite a small site but just the drive there was worth it today. I was surprised to find other independent tourists here. We had time to drive back to the hotel, pick up Lauren and Cemil, pack the car and check out of the hotel around 12.15pm. Then we headed for the Blue Lagoon for a second time.

The ‘Blue Lagoon’ contains a vast amount of geothermally heated sea-water (36’c – 39’c), rich in natural minerals. It is the natural by-product of the nearby Svartsengi power station which uses water straight from 2000m below the ground which is at a much higher temperature. The locals nickname the Blue Lagoon as the “Chemical waste dump”. Its opacity comes from the natural white silica mud mixed with minerals and algae, which gives it a milky blue colour.

The site was much bigger than when I had visited in 2006. They were building a hotel complex. On the edge of the lagoon were steam rooms and dry saunas. I didn’t remember them but they were nice to use. There was also a powerful waterfall. This pummelled your head and shoulders. I had used these in Japan. Mostly full of tourists, yet, with the size of the lagoon, there was plenty of room and you didn’t feel crowded. After changing in wooden dressing rooms, we descended and entered the water which was a pleasant ‘warm bath’ temperature. You could walk around at waist height. There was a kiosk which offered silica mud which you could smear over your face for exfoliation. The water is naturally replaced every 48 hours. Needless to say, we had a lazy two hours soaking and pottering around the lagoon and felt very relaxed. I guess you can’t go to Iceland and miss the Blue Lagoon. Wendy was delighted to have had the experience.

Back at the airport for the 7.15pm flight, I returned the rented car with no problems. Flying back to Gatwick, I decided that I would like to revisit Iceland in the summer of 2017. This time, rent a car and drive around the island. It would make a change to see scenery not covered in snow and we could re-visit the whale watching trip.