journalingjunkie

We spent 2 days in port here. It was flipping cold on this day. I had my jacket and poloneck, but had left the jersey off as when I had worn it the previous outing I got too hot. Hubby had booked us the Golden Tour Coach. I think it was supposed to be a six hour bus tour. Misleading though when they drop you at a place for an hour and a half.

 First stop was at a geothermal sight. We saw the rain and the pipes. Sulpher smell at times too. I loved the black lava every where with the mossy green vegetation. The water comes from the geysers at 83C and is piped into the city center 30kms away and only loses 1C in the process. They use this for heating and hot water and the geo thermal provides electricity.

 The famous Gulfoss Waterfall. It was magnificent.

 We walked around the tourist shop but everything was incredibly expensive. A pair of woollen mittens R220, R90 for a fridge magnet etc. Not much was bought except I need to thaw out so opted for the world reknown lamb soup. R150, it came with a free refill and 2 small bread rolls. Andrew chose a cheaper option muffin, but then did have some of the refill.

 from there we went to the geysir, much stronger sulphur smell. The geysir erupts every 4 to 8 minutes - but when you;re holding the camera to your eye and freezing your fingers it feels much much longer. We had to be careful to stick to the path, but new hot spots develop overnight so that wasnlt too reassuring.

 I saw this trickle of water and knowing that is was warm contemplated touching it, however the warning signs say it is between 80 and 100C. I didn't test it.

We saw Icelandic horses, sod buildings and a geo thermal power plant. Was incredibly interesting that Iceland sits over 2 plates that are separating - hence the abundance of volcanoes and geo thermal energy. I fancied some coffee at the electric plant too, but even I baulked at paying R50 for a cuppa.