Returning to

Iceland

Francis and I had spent a few days in Reykjavik, Iceland returning back to the states from our Trans-Atlantic Boat trip. We had rented a car, stayed at a Air-BnB and conducted our own “city tour”.While we visited museums in town and drove to the junction of the tectonic plates, there were a variety of other geological features we missed. As soon as we got home, I told Bekah and G, we are going to Iceland and we are going to walk inside a glacier! Juggling open-jaw flights, our interests and accommodations for three, I threw myself at the mercy of the pros. With the assistance of an excellent and very patient travel agents a custom tour was planned. The resulting eight days were precisely our sites of interest with no fillers, accommodations in a perfectly located hotel with full breakfast and airfares and airport transfers. [FYI: We spent less than the “land only” price quoted by several well-known tour companies for the custom package including our complicated open-jaw airfares. Trudy Luizzo of Travel Junction - - highly recommended] Icing on the cake, free airport lounge entries to use during a long layover!

Iceland is renowned for the separation of the tectonic plates, with the resulting volcanic activity, hot springs, geysers and dead volcanoes. One of the heavily promoted activities Icelandic activities is a visit to the Blue Lagoon. As plane arrivals are often many hours prior to hotel check-in, transport into town offers a stop at the Blue Lagoon. Given the lengthy flights a dunk in any hot tub would be a nice break, so we took that offer. Anytime something is heavily promoted, I am dubious. About the Blue Lagoon I could not be more wrong!

Even for Iceland it is a unique combination and all the more so as it is not actually a naturally formed hot spring. Most of Iceland is powered by hydro-thermal power, often turning turbines for electricity. In this case the still steaming water running off the turbines created the Blue Lagoon. The subterranean hot spot powering the turbines is adjacent to saline sea water, creating a exotic languorous blended mineral bath. Lockers, a towel, a refreshing cocktail and a supply of mud facial is provided with your entry. For a premium, you would be supplied with a bathrobe and an additional beverage. A shower is required prior to entry to clean one's skin of possible contaminants. While the dressing rooms were gender specific, Icelandic natural sensibilities were demonstrated by a notable lack of self-conscious nudity in the changing areas. Young and old, fit or fat, apparently all were quite comfortable in their skins.

Once one completes one's ablutions, existing down a ramp is the Lagoon featuring several large interconnected pools. The water is indeed blue, an unusual milky opalescent sky blue. Not only is the water pleasantly hot and highly saline, but also concentrated with minerals. The minerals have over the eons precipitated out, coating the otherwise roughly pitted black lava rocks with a smooth pale almost ceramic glaze. Silky to the touch, the coated boulders created an attractively irregular and undulating border to the submersive pools. With 40 degree at best air temperature and 100 degree at least water temperature, it was with great reluctance that we left the shelter of the lagoon to continue onto Reykjavik.

We three were sharing a room in the 
CenterHotel Harpa. Harpa is the Reykjavik Opera house situated on the seawall. Our corner room faced towards the sea and Harpa. From one window we had a unobstructed vista along the seawall promenade. The other window faced the Opera house, which features fascinating honeycomb glass walls. At night, we discovered, Harpa is lit with colored lights which create waving patterns up and down the entire building facades. A shallow reflecting pool in front of Harpa, echoes the bright shades in reverse. Reykjavik is very walkable. We were just a few blocks from the center of town and all the downtown attractions. A perfect hotel room from our perspective.

Built on the highest point in town and towering over all of Reykejavik is the Hallgrimska Church. At 244 feet, it is the tallest building in Rykjavik and, for that matter, the second tallest in the country. Tall and grey is looks like a grim hall, as the name might imply. It was actually named after a 17^th century pastor and poet,Hallgrimur Peturson. The architect was clearly inspired by the volcanic basalt rock which forms iceland. At first glance, the church appears to be a stylized cliff and rock fall. Inside the curved buttresses evoke medieval Gothic cathedrals. Inside an immense 25 ton pipe organ with 5275 individual pipes can fill the vault with sound. The rough hewn modern exterior is in striking contrast with the traditional interior. Does this, in fact, reflect the contrast between the casual even rustic appearance of Icelandic Viking descendants with their sophisticated and enlightened attitudes?

The attraction of the Hallgrimska Church has not been missed by entrepreneurs. A number of brightly colored souvenir kiosks and snack sales carts are strategically placed at the intersections of the several streets leading up hill to the traffic circle around the church. One of these provided not only a visible inducement but also a aromatic attraction. Just around the corner from the church is a brick and mortar shop selling Icelandic hotdogs. Icelandic hotdogs had been touted as having a unique, being made with lamb and traditionally served with a variety of condiments: raw white and crispy fried onions, ketchup, pylsusinnep (a sweet brown mustard), and a tartar sauce like combination of mayo, capers, mustard and herbs. A bottle of local beer is also a traditional accompaniment. In spite of this myriad of flavors on your tongue the hot dog's taste shines though. It is not gamy as some lamb can be, but well seasoned and quite delicious. We did forgo the the bottle of beer.

Departing the airport we had met an American woman and her Daughter, in the process of returning to the states. She had lauded their time in Iceland but complained that the food prices were exorbitant. She said that an evening meal for the two of them had been $200! While Reykjavik has this reputation for being very expensive, particularly for dining out, a few inexpensive meals of the regional hot dogs could balance out the expense. Our three hot dogs were only about five dollars. Admittedly, these were carry out hotdogs eaten on the street. Perhaps forewarned, we found our dinner expenses were more expensive than at home but commensurate with many urban areas. We tend to find modest locations, frequented by residents rather than downtown hot-spots. We averaged well under $100 for two entrees plus a side or appetizer and beverages, which were sufficient for the three of us to dine.

We did not come to Reykjavik to dine. Each day we would arise and hustle to the hotel restaurant. We took full advantage of the included breakfast! As the city's streets are narrow and inner city traffic is almost always congested, excursion buses and vans collected their patrons along the promenade. After excellent coffee and varied comestibles, we hustled across the street to the seawall promenade to wait to be collected for that day's excursion.

The Blue Lagoon was fascinating and delightful enough to justify a trip to Iceland. We had a week of further equally interesting places to see and experience. Our first adventure was more hot water.

Our bus drove out into the countryside. While Iceland had once been covered by forests, now most of the landscape was bare. There did not seem to be a major impetus towards reforestation but instead flowering ground cover was encouraged. In response to my inquiry about a pervasive flower, I was told it was not native, and although technically an invasive weed, it was widely planted as it thrived where little else took hold preventing erosion. Since the terrain featured little topsoil and much basalt, the purple flowers were a good contrast and great visual relief. There were small farms, with green fields of grazing shaggy cows and small Icelandic horses. Turf did grow in spite of the rocky soil and the beasts appeared quite content.

The barns for the beasts were heated, as were the farmers homes and the city apartments, by the prevalent geo-thermal springs. The boiling hot water was piped throughout the country for heat and power. We were on our way to one of the main sources, to Gyser, the origin of the term “geyser”. Imagine a winding stream of boiling water! One which occasionally spouts 20 to 50 feet up into the air. As the air was cold and dry, the rising steam was a bizarre contrast. The roiling creek ran along both natural stream beds as well as man made canals. Disappearing off in to the distance to join cold mountain runoff or underground pipes towards the city or power plants. A walkway permitted you to explore the steaming landscape.

Hothouses nearby promoted locally grown produce. Given the weak soil and short Summer, only grassy plants, like rye and oats, can be farmed outdoors. Once Iceland had a limited supply of fresh vegetables, the geo-thermal hot-houses now enabled organic produce year round. In the medieval era the geo-thermals and fumerols were used to steam the hearty rye and oat bread, now they produce the compliment of courses for the table.

Along the way we stopped at an astounding series of waterfalls. Most waterfalls descend along a relatively narrow riverbed from one height to a lower level. The intermittent volcanic eruptions which formed and still form Iceland, have resulted in a layer cake of strong basalt with in fill deposits of softer stone and soils. Mountain melt and rainfalls infiltrate between the basalt, eroding underground rivers through the softer stone. These cascade out as a mile of horizontal waterfalls pouring into the dominant above ground river which cuts across the broken lava field. The height of Niagara or Yosemite may make them more majestic but for me there was an unexpected delight and beauty to these cascades gushing from the middle of a rugged cliff side.

The next days excursion took us from hot water to frigid ice. Enterprising Scientists and Entrepreneurs had teamed together to tunnel an ice cave into the glacier. Being inside the glacier itself permitted science experiments and climate analysis never before attempted. At the same time, the huge and wide cavern was an attraction to nature and science minded tourists as well as a venue for unique special events. The concept was intriguing. Ten years of development to create a tunnel, which due to the glaciers movement would last just 10 years. As snow fell on the glacier compressing prior years snowfalls the tunnel roof lowered, eventually the entrance would shift and the entire tunnel collapse. It would be an unusual and ephemeral experience to hike into a glacier. To reach the tunnel, we had to scale the mountain and the body of the glacier. Having reached the foot of the mountain by bus, our options were snowmobiles or a specialized ice bus, half transport / half tank. We first enrobed in snowsuits, gloves and boots, then boarded the ice-bus. It slowly trundled up the surface of the glittering glacier, passing by deep crevasses and being passed by the buzzing snowmobiles. The visual display of the expansive ice river surrounded by miles of rugged barren grey basalt, all under a unbroken blue sky was extraordinary. It made one appreciate the opportunity for the slow ride, very bumpy, ride to the tunnel mouth.

At the tunnel entrance we received the obligatory warnings and cautions, as our eyes adjusted to the dim light. Floor up lights as well as ceiling fixtures ran along the corridors. The light passed into and through the compressed ice of the glacier, exposing the layer upon layer of compressed snow from which it had been formed. Some layers, from years of heavy snow, were thick while others were thin. Snow fully compressed into ice was more transparent. The effect was walls in gentle bands of white and pale blue stretching as far as one could discern. Our guide explained the design, construction and applications of the facility as we wandered through a maze of connected tunnels. At the end of the corridor was a larger vaulted space, outfitted with ice benches. It was often used for parties, product launches and weddings. Definitely this would be a unique chapel; snow suits, boots and gloves would make for interesting wedding photos too.

Each afternoon outing began and ended with a scenic ride into the countryside surrounding Reykjavik. The landscape had a rough beauty, which due to a cave closing we were able to appreciate more closely the next day. While we had booked tour hiking through a lava tube, a rock fall at that cavern had closed the attraction. We were already on the bus and into the countryside before this was discovered, so our thoughtful bus driver and guide offered to drop us off at a public hot spring fed swimming complex while they took others up to the Glacier Tunnel.

The hot springs were adjacent to public park with a golf course and playground. How perfect, a hike through the fields along a winding stream, a soak in the heated pools and time to Gabriel to jump around in the playground? The golf course was very natural. In fact it was hard to tell where course ended and coarse land began. It seemed that for Icelandic golfers playing in the rough began at the edge of the green! July temperatures were cool and Spring-like, the grass and wild flowers were fresh from the daily gentle rain. Our short hike until the next rainstorm began led us along a rushing stream and gave us an opportunity to check out some suburban house near the gold course.

The soft drizzle did not close the swimming facilities. The thermal pools were like ancient Roman baths, with varying temperatures depending on how far the pool was from the heat source. There was a baby pool, deep soaking HOT tub and two standard size swimming pools with relatively more and less warm waters. I opted for the hottest pool, resting in the corner listening familiar families conversing in an unfamiliar language, while occasional rain drops cooled my face.

Once the rain had ceased, the playground beckoned. The most popular item for all kids from toddlers to teens was an immense bouncy ground pillow, the size of the nearby swimming pols and apparently filled with water to a central height of several feet. Children used it as slide and a trampoline, completing gymnastic flips at the apex or just jumping and rolling down the sides onto the surrounding grass. It was a grand design!

Our opportunity to explore a Lava tube occurred the following day. This was a different cavern, actually nearer to the city but no less dramatic once entered. As we had riven along each day, occasionally one would notice a three to five foot hill, alike a sandy soil's termite mound. Were they cairns, symbolic piles of rocks? Not so, these were remnants of volcano explosions, places where mini volcanoes had spouted out of fissures in otherwise solid ground. 
We were able to explore the these fascinating rock formations and get a closer look at the charming purple invasive flowers. What a contrast the nodding blossoms to the stiff stones.

The actual Lava Tube is the remnant of a major volcanic event. When masses of magna spill out of the volcano flowing down the sides, the flow begins to solidify from the cooler surface. As more hot magma subsequently flows, it melts channels through the initial layer of cooler rock, tubes within the Lava field. While ages of rainfall erode the surface lava into a uniform grey / black tone, inside the protected cavern the surfaces are the unchanged from the period during which the lava initially cooled and solidified. The varying chemicals suffused into the magma came to the surface as the tube itself cooled, creating an efflorescence of color over the base basaltic stone. These tints had been washed away on the surface but inside the tubes, the surfaces were filmed in reds, purples and blues. Not only an unexpected treat but also a reminder of the mysteries of geology. As we hiked through the lave tube marveling at the colorful walls, we looked up to discover stalactites and down towards stalagmites. These drips and piles had been building up microscopic layer upon layer over eons, I was reminded of the immense age of the earth and our brief minute on it.