Day 2:<\/p>\n

Reykjavik<\/p>\n

Our second day’s adventure started with breakfast, of course. \u00a0It was actually quite the nice spread, and I have to admit there were a lot of fish dishes. \u00a0For breakfast. \u00a0And nothing smelled… well, fishy… \u00a0I think all the breakfast seafood that I sampled were still living in the ocean a couple of days prior. \u00a0Fresh fish don’t smell… well, fishy. \u00a0I think that I’m going to get accustomed to that quickly.<\/p>\n

After breakfast we headed Eastbound\u00a0out Hiway 36 with adventure in our hearts, the adrenalin inducing excitement of the unknown just ahead, a GPS that only speaks Icelandic, over Icelandic roads (many even paved), looking at signs we didn’t understand. \u00a0Let’s see, load the GPS with<\/span>\u00a0Pingviller or Mossbaer and that’ll get us out of town.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0After that, we’ll just follow the GPS or map. No worries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>Heading out of Reykjavik, one of the first things I noticed was the beautiful farmland. \u00a0The farms themselves appeared not only quite big, but certainly professionally run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The hills behind the farm are lava cinder, gradually being worn down by rain, wind, snow… and time. One can easily see where the greenery is creeping up the hill, and ever so gradually creating a bit more pasture for the sheep and horses that live here. \u00a0Patience, please… it’ll be ready in just a few hundred more years.<\/p>\n

It seemed to me, that after passing three or four of the mega-farms, there would almost always be a country church<\/p>\n

Ahhhh. \u00a0And if that scene wasn’t pastoral enough… it also highlighted those spectacular little Icelandic ponies peacefully enjoying the morning’s offering of lush damp greenery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>I cannot fathom a trek through Iceland without making a bit more mention of those tough, tough little horses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>The breed was brought to the island in the 9th and 10th centuries by Scandinavian settlers. \u00a0Natural selection contributed a lot to the early horses . \u00a0Tough winters, starvation, and being used for food all contributed a lot to these horses characteristic durability and hardiness. \u00a0Now, natural selection has given way to Selective Breeding programs to keep the line pure and cleanly Icelandic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>Here are a few pics of some of those ponies now, Helen:<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ll post a clip following this blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>These are known as five gaited horses, two of which are typically Icelandic. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The mane and tail are traditionally full, and although spirited and having lots of personality, they are quite docile around people. \u00a0They know no natural enemies. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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OMG Grette, did you trim your own mane again!? \u00a0Ghaaaa.<\/h3>\n

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The Icelandic Government has prohibited the import of horses. \u00a0Period. \u00a0The purpose is to keep the Icelandic breed genetically pure, just as it has been since the 10th century. \u00a0If one of the ponies is sold to someone outside Iceland, that horse may never return to its native land ever again. \u00a0Ever<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Shoot low, they’re Icelandic!<\/h3>\n

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Yield Right-of-Way. \u00a0No exceptions.<\/h3>\n

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A bit later:<\/span><\/p>\n

We’re way past Lugarvatn. \u00a0Aren’t we close?<\/span><\/p>\n

We’re on 36.<\/span><\/p>\n

No, we’re on 37, see there’s a sign right there<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought we were supposed to be on 35 through Muli. \u00a0Are you sure that wasn’t 37 km to… um, somewhere, I couldn’t read it…<\/span><\/p>\n

Ghaaaaaa! \u00a0We’re past Geysir and Strokkur!
\nNO. \u00a0WAIT. \u00a0I see steam coming from around that corner! \u00a0And there’s a tour bus out of Reykjavik! Yay, we’ve found Geysir! \u00a0Strokkur and Gullfoss gotta be somewhere around here…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The steam and hot water in the vicinity of Geysir and Strokkur is discharged through many acres of active fumaroles and geysirs. I thought it quite eerie looking and was surprised that, although sulfur abounded in the rivulets, streams and bogs, I don’t recall it smelling bad…<\/p>\n

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I did see a lot of elemental looking sulfur just laying in the bogs, rivulets, and around the fumaroles. I can certainly see how Jules Verne’s visit to parts of Iceland (just the ones I’ve seen, so far) inspired his book, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.<\/p>\n

And just around the corner, and up the hill, the highly touted Geysir. \u00a0Oh. \u00a0About that… can we talk?<\/p>\n

The mid-Atlantic ridge cuts Iceland into two parts, drifting away from each other at the rate of about 2 cm a year, leading to earthquakes, tremors, and shifting the flow of magma and water (and everything else) beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

Poor ol’ Geysir has been the victim of a few relatively recent earthquakes. \u00a0She’s been opened up several times by the shifting techtonics, each time erupting madly 70-200 meters high many times a day. \u00a0A few years later, only 100 meters every few hours… and then.. a few meters, maybe two or three times a year…<\/p>\n

Thank goodness that Strokkur was just down the hill, and gushing hot water and steam up and out about every 4-5 minutes. \u00a0Turns out that the geothermal areas in Iceland are divided into high temperature areas within the volcanic zone, and low temperature areas outside the zone. \u00a0Geysir and Stokkur are both in the High Temperature zone with a base temperature of around 250 degrees Celsius (100 C is boiling).<\/p>\n

We were warned (once) to stay on the marked trails. \u00a0I thought yeah, yeah, don’t make foot prints and blah blah blah. \u00a0Then my old ears caught the explanation… Some of the mantle on top of this geothermal area is quite thin. \u00a0One misstep might predictably lead a person to breaking through into some of the hot water. \u00a0One could break through for about a foot and get a horrible scalding burn on a foot… or break through for 10 meters? \u00a0A hundred meters? \u00a0Ouch! \u00a0Well, it wouldn’t hurt that long I suppose…<\/p>\n

Geysir Primer<\/h3>\n

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Strokkur, \u00a0holding it’s breath…<\/h3>\n

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The water at the surface is barely 100 degrees C (slightly below boiling) while the deep water is 200-250 degrees C (480f) under intense pressure.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0The hot temperatures below heat the cooler surface water to well above the boiling point and water starts to rise in the throat expanding rapidly and forming Strokkur’s characteristic bubble.<\/h3>\n

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Superheated water rises forming a dome, or bubble. \u00a0You can just make out the steam beginning to form beneath the bubble.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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Here, the bubble’s surface is beginning to be breached by the hot steam.<\/h3>\n

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Water and steam spout up through the middle of the bubble, with the geysir beginning to erupt more violently.<\/h3>\n

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Ahhhh, relief! \u00a0(I think that she needed that.)<\/p>\n

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The shockwave sends the surface water outward through the pond…<\/h3>\n

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Cooled, the water slowly drains back into the throat of the geysir as it catches its breath, awaiting more heat from below,<\/h3>\n

as the cycle repeats itself over and over again. \u00a0At least until the next tectonic shift. \u00a0And in Iceland, that could be tomorrow, or decades from now, who knows?<\/h3>\n

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It was a long day today, the adventure spread over many hours and kilometers. \u00a0Well worth it to me and my fellow travelers, though! \u00a0The good news is the same as the bad news to a weary traveler: there’s plenty of daylight left to head on down the road toward Gullfoss.<\/p>\n