8/11/15 Golden Circle

We docked at Hafnarfjordur, south of Reykjavik in the Reykjanes Peninsula. Hafnarfjordur is well known for its "hidden population"  - people have believed thata elves, dwarfs and other supernatural creatures live in its lava cliffs in peaceful coexistence with residents. Hafnarfjordur. It has the only Viking restaurant in the country. Trolls are giants and hidden.

Today we toured the "Golden Circle" visiting several sites by bus. First we visited Thingvellir National Park. In 930 AD Iceland became a commonwealth and created their national assembly (parliament) Althingi and chose Thinvellir as the site of government. The 36 chieftains would meet on the plains, build covered booths and meet for two weeks. They would elect a Law-speaker to run the proceedings. We walked down a narrow rift between the North American and Eurasian continental plates.

Rift Walk

Drowning Pool

After walking the rift trail we arrived at Drekkingarhylur - the drowning pool. Women were punished by drowning and men by beheading.












Next we stopped at Fridheimar for a horse show. They demonstrated the five gaits of the Icelandic horse. When they demonstrate the unique tolt the riders went swiftly around the ring carrying full mugs of beer or milk to demonstrate how stable the ride is. Afterward we could pet the animals and talk with the riders.

Our next stop was Geysir & Stokkur - 2 geysers. The Great Geysir hasn't erupted since 2000 but the Stokkur erupts about every 15 minutes and reaches a height of 66ft. There were also many water pools along the path.












We visited a well known waterfall Gullfoss "Golden Falls". River Hvita falls 105ft into a 1.5 mile ravine. A trail takes people right next to the falls. A rainbow often occurs on sunny days.

Our last stop was Helliseidi Geothermal Power Plant where they produce energy in a renewable and sustainable manner. The engineers thought the stop was far too short!