Island Hopping 2024: Iceland; Vik cancelled again, Lÿsi, Lava Center

 Our morning waitress, who has become somewhat of our Iceland consultant, insisted that if I wanted a true Iceland experience, I needed to have a shot glass of Lÿsi with breakfast.  Being the good sport that I am (some saying “the fool that I am”), I partook.  I boldly took the shot glass and knocked it back.  My Lord, that stuff was awful!  It tasted like fish!  For breakfast!  I asked another waitress if Icelanders really had this stuff for breakfast and she assured me that her father had it every day of his life. (I don’t know if her father was alive or not, but having a shot of this every morning would certainly be a good argument for pursuing a short life.)  Upon a little further research I found that Lÿsi is the Icelandic word for Cod Liver Oil, I cannot further recommend following this Icelandic tradition.

Sandy, our Iceland consultant, Martina and me

The yellow liquid is Lysi, the red liquid is a ginger oil of some sort

This morning we set out for Vik once again and once again were turned back by the weather.  We instead headed to the Lava Museum which was back closer to the Hotel Rangá.  This is an outstanding museum, and I now know so much more about the creation of the island of Iceland than I did before.

In the near white out conditions I found it best to just follow the truck in front of me, of course had he driven over a lava bed into the ocean, so would have I

A hot spot, which is a plume of hot mantle beneath the crust of the earth sits beneath Iceland.  The hot spot does not move as the tectonic plates pass over it.  This is not unlike the hot spot in the Pacific Ocean that built the Hawaiian archipelago from the Big Island all the way past Midway.  What makes Iceland different is that the juncture of the North American and European plates as they drifted apart, also drifted right over the hot spot.  This meant that the earth’s crust which was already stretched very thin as the two plates moved apart, now had the pressure of the lava plume hot spot pushing through.  As a result, enormous amounts of lava (even in geological perspectives) pushed up through the thin crust and started depositing basalt first on the ocean floor which eventually broke the surface forming porto-Iceland.  This process continued making Iceland bigger and bigger.  Part of the lava got deposited on the North American plate and part on the European plate, and since then the two plates continue to move apart. The mantle’s hot spot keeps supplying more and more basalt up through the rift.  Essentially Iceland is growing from the center out.  In my lifetime (74 years) it has grown 148 centimeters, in Sandy’s lifetime, …substantially less. This museum was fascinating!  

The current fissure erupting in southeastern Iceland

An interactive globe depicting the formation of Iceland

We have been driving a Tesla while in Iceland.  This is the first time we have rented one and we are quite pleased with it.  The hotel has 10 free charging stations which will fully charge our auto overnight.  Hertz is drastically reducing its electrical vehicle inventory, as fewer people than anticipated are renting them.  This resulted in us getting the auto at a big discount under the cost of renting a gasoline powered car.  And, us not having to pay for gas or electricity while we are here, is just icing on the cake! 

Charging it up

Supper: Wild Mushroom Soup

Pickled Herring

Irish Coffee

Island Hopping 2024: Iceland; Geysir, Gulfoss,

 After another fine European breakfast, Sandy and I headed out to see some of the sights Iceland referred to as the “Golden Circle”.  There was only a little new snow last night, and the plows had done a good job of clearing the roads.  

Sometimes I have the European Breakfast, 

sometimes I have the full English Breakfast, 
sometimes I have both.

Geysir, Iceland is the home of numerous geysers and steam vents.  [geysir - Icelandic spelling; geyser - English spelling]  Great Geysir is the place that originally gave its name to the geological phenomenon effectively making it the great grandfather of all geysers.  Because of changing geology beneath Iceland, Great Geysir, which is believed to have regularly erupted to a height of 570 feet, now seldom erupts.  Fortunately for us Strokkur, a much smaller, but very reliable, geyser gave us a good show.  Erupting several times while we were there, to the height of about 130 feet, it provided us with a hands on feel of the geological activity taking place beneath our feet.  Walking away from Strokkur geyser, the steam had re-condensed into ice particles attached to our eyebrows, the rotten-egg smell of sulfur and other gases was all around and skin-numbing freezing air was being blown by a heavy wind across our faces.  This was Iceland in the winter, and it was perfect. 

 

The drive to Geysir

We saw dozens of autos that slid off the road, thought they were all tourists.  But this is a snow removal vehicle, guess it can happen to anyone

Strokkur from a distance as we were driving towards Geysir

Strokkur erupting

Strokkur

Steaming pools of water

Steam holes and hot ponds

A few miles further up the road was Iceland’s version of the Niagara Falls. 

Gullfoss, Iceland's iconic waterfall, serves as a geological masterpiece shaped by the intricate dance of tectonic plates. It is positioned atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, residing at the juncture of the North American and Eurasian plates.

As the Hvítá River rushes towards the rift valley, it encounters the fractured landscape resulting from the plates’ slow divergence. The cascade's horseshoe shape reflects the rift's influence, as the river plunges over the edge, exploiting weaknesses in the bedrock formed by the stretching Earth.

Standing there looking at the falls and realizing that I was looking at where North America and Europe touch, and the continually move apart (seven inches per year) I was profoundly moved.  I was also profoundly cold.  We went back to the car and drove to the Hotel where we both enjoyed a well deserved cup of hot chocolate created by our bartender.

Standing on North America looking at Europe across rift valley

Gulfoss

Iceland grows massive amounts of vegetables in geothermal greenhouses

Chocolate!

One of the best times of the day

Island Hopping 2024: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Icelandic Hot Dog

 The weather broke a little today and we were able to get out to see some of the outstanding geology all around us.  Still, we did not get a full day’s worth of sightseeing in.  That is not to say that we haven’t been having a wonderful time, we have.  It’s just that we have not been doing much of what I had planned.  Who knows, if we don’t see it all, maybe we will just come back some day.

We drove towards the sunrise, on a partially snow/ice covered road.  Importantly, visibility was great!  We were trying to get to the Icelandic town of Vik.  The road east skirts between the tailings of the shield volcanoes and the flats that tilt into the Atlantic Ocean.  Craggy and covered with snow, this was dramatic scenery.

On the road at sunrise, 11:35

Icelandic Horses

Our first destination was Skógafoss, (“foss” means falls, so Skógafoss means the falls at Skógar).  Along the way we saw a small herd of Iceland’s famous horses.  They are small and if classified by height alone, one  would call them ponies.  However, because of the Icelandic breed's ability to carry heavy weights, their spirited temperament and their general hardiness, they are considered horses by Icelanders and non-Icelanders alike.  Skógafoss is a tremendous waterfall when considering how small Iceland is.  It flows as glacial melt (from the Sólheimajökoll) the year round because, while snow is constantly being deposited on the top of it, the bottom of the glacier receives a steady supply of geothermal heat from below.  So, the water coming over this falls is very ancient glacial water.

Skógafoss

Viking Sandy

After viewing the falls the weather, as predicted, started taking an ominous turn, so Sandy and I headed back to the Rangá.  We did make a stop at a smaller, but still significant, glacial falls, Seljalandsfoss. 

Here comes the weather!

Not as bad as it could have been.

 Seljalandsfoss

Iceland is rightfully proud of their “natural casing” hotdogs.  In various lists of the top ten things to eat while in Iceland, their hotdogs are always there.  So, even though there was the option of a seriously gourmet meal at the Rangá, today at least, I opted for a hotdog at a road side cafe.

It is as good as it looks!

A fun, though shortened, day.  It was nice to get back to the Hotel.  It was a good day.

The Polar Bear in the Lobby (Huge)

Salmon River directly behind the Lodge

Winter Island Hopping 2024 - Iceland: Hotel Rangá and HotTubs

 We did not have a break in the weather today, so we decided just to enjoy another day around Hotel Ranga.  

Views from outside of the Hotel

Inside views

Iceland's only indigenous mammal, the arctic fox.  In the summer brown like this, in the winter snow white

Icelanders and their hot water.  It’s not just about getting clean, it’s a national pastime. They use the warm geothermal waters to heat large lagoons, community swimming pools and in the case of our hotel three hot tubs.  There is something appealing about being surrounded by subfreezing temperatures, several feet of snow, and wind blowing at 20 mph, while sitting in a barrel of water naturally heated from the water from a nearby spring.  So in I hopped.  Icelanders are highly educated and I think even the hot waters have a Ph.D in philosophical thought.  For whatever reason, while sitting in the tub with several people I never knew,  we discussed geothermal power, the Aurora Borealis and the fine dining in the restaurant.  Refreshingly, not a word was said about sports, war or presidential politics.  I think these waters are the glue that binds the nation and could save mankind. 

Me and my glass of wine

Me, and two ladies from Milwaukee, only one got in.

Me, the lady from Milwaukee, a lady from Brazil, and a gentleman (behind the robes) from central England.  I left before the arrival of any other countries.

Sandy and I decided to have dinner in the bar/lounge.

As this was a slow day for us, I had plenty of time to think of Iceland.  Settled first by the Viking, Ingólfur Anmarson, who had been exiled from Norway for being too bloodthirsty.  What must a Viking do to be “too” bloodthirsty?  Apparently he looked at the lava beds, hot springs and perfectly unpronounceable names (Eyjáfjallajökull … are they serious?) and then said here, I will build a farm, then a nation.  The rest is Icelandic history.