Iceland - 3

ÍSLAND - 3

Suðurland (South Iceland) - Sunday 6th - Thursday 10th August 2017 

 As well as exploring Reykjavík I travelled about 800 miles by bus around Suðurland (South Iceland). This is the most fertile part of the country and is the main farming area, but like the rest of Iceland there is only a narrow strip of inhabitable land between the sea and the mountains. It is also the area that has been most hit by volcanic eruptions. There are organised tours and also hop-on, hop-off buses so that you can plan your own itinerary. 

Lucy loves it when she can get a seat to berself on the bus. We passed miles and miles of moss covered lava fields and areas of black ash deposited after volcanic eruptions. One of the biggest was Lakagígar  in 1783 which lasted for 10 months. The clouds of poisonous gasses contaminated the soil in Iceland and across Europe. This lead to the death of over half of the livestock and destruction of crops. Famine followed and about 25% of the Icelandic population lost their lives. 

When I was in Reykjavík over 500 earthquakes were recorded in four days in this area indicating a massive increase in volcanic activity and they are predicting that another huge eruption is imminent.  As well as the lava flow, there will be flash floods from the melting glaciers and the ash will bury everything around and could cause chaos to air traffic in Europe. They have identified 3 possible paths that it will take, but have no way of knowing exactly where it will hit. Lucy was very puzzled by the black sand, volcanic ash, on the beaches. 

Jōkulsárlōn (Glacier Lagoon)

The scenery on the way to the lagoon was spectacular and we went past several waterfalls, volcanoes and glaciers.

Then the sun came out when we transferred to an amphibious vehicle and went across lava fields and onto the lagoon. We travelled along the edge of a glacier and then between icebergs that had broken away. It was spectacular.

 But Lucy said that my tour was for whimps so she stole my driving licence and rushed off to hire a snowmobile and drove across the glacier.

On the way back we stopped at several waterfalls and I got soaked walking behind one that had a rainbow reflecting across it. It was a bit scary as it was very steep and slippery. I kept thinking, "This is stupid! You have got to cycle home." But by then I had got to the point of no return. 

 This time Lucy was the whimp and she chickened out and sat on a fence laughing at me. 

Þingvellir

As I wrote earlier, the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and are drifting apart across Iceland. In the Þingvellir National Park you can walk between the two. It is a weird feeling to think that you are standing between two continents.  Below is the edge of the North American plate.

The gullfoss waterfall cuts through the park and Þingvellir was the meeting place of the first Alþingi, Icelandic Parliament, in 903 AD,  the first democratic Parliament in the world. The chieftains gathered for two weeks every year at the 'Law Rock' (marked by the Icelandic flag below) to settle disputes and agree new laws.

But Lucy was more interested in the 'drowning' pool where women were drowned for infidelity.

Geysers and Hot Springs

I went to the site of the original Geysir, which gave its name to all Geysers around the world. This is dormant at the moment but a smaller geyser was active while I was there. 

Swimming plays a big part in Icelandic social life and there are swimming pools and hot tubs dotted all around the country. I have met people who swim twice a day, before and after work and then laze in the hot tub. I was told to go to some of the smaller hot tubs and not to the Blue Lagoon which mainly caters for tourists. And even Lucy, who still hates getting wet, soaked in one of the natural hot pools, but she refused to take off her red top. 

Tomorrow (Thursday 17th August) I will be getting the ferry back to Denmark so I will be off-line for two days and won't be able to text or email until Saturday at the earliest. While  I am on the ferry I hope to write the last Iceland blog and will post it when I arrive in Denmark. 

I have just worked out the distances that I have travelled in Iceland and I have done approximately 1,800 miles by plane, bus, bicycle and on foot.