Golden Circle & Northern Lights Excursion (not)

Dec 10: Sunrise 11:07a - Sunset 3:33p

Today we have the Golden Circle & Northern Lights Excursion planned. After our breakfast we left on the bus. The drive took about an hour to get to our first stop. Part of the time Gunnur passed out some Yule Lad cards and explained some of the [creepy] information about them and their family. Seems there is much folklore about things such as: Hidden people, elves, fairies, ghosts, trolls, and other things I can't recall at the moment. Maybe this is a result of the long dark winters? Who can guess about other cultures? There is even a peeping Tom... kinda distasteful IMHO.

Of course the sun slowly came up as we drove and we passed a lot of snow and ice, though there really isn't much in Reykjavik. It did snow last night. But today we will see some magnificent natural wonders. Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park to see the Althing, an open-air governmental assembly that was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. This is a UNESCO site. Here we walked though a fissure, with a pathway, down to view the specific area. It was a bit windy and cold but I had no idea just how windy it would be later. John wore his bib ski pants and was happy to have them on. I wasn't cold yet-but the wind wasn't that bad. We saw a partially frozen, small waterfall and then got back in the bus. 

Our next stop was the Great Geysir geothermal area, located in the Haukadalur Valley. It was interesting but certainly more windy and a bit colder than our last stop. We did see the geyser shoot off and managed to get the photo below. People were actually going off the pathways, which we were explicitly warned not to do. I'm glad it wasn't someone from our group. The temperature of the water is deadly and every year a tourist or two perishes. But that can be said of any National Park for one reason or another, I guess. 

On we go to Gullfoss, or “the Golden Waterfall,” a natural wonder and one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe. Now the wind is phenomenal, to say nothing of the cold. We were told it was at least 45 mph wind. It actually hurt our faces. If we weren't together I would not have walked to the falls by myself. Our guide stayed close - it's not that we're the oldest ones on the trip BUT probably the oldest to do all the walking portions. The wind actually moved us several times but we made it and I have the frozen photo of the falls to prove it. I wish I had more photos but it was challenging to hang on to the railing and take a photo holding the camera still at the same time. It was a real adventure!!! Actually a bit scary at times too, but we did it!!!

Our last stop was a very late lunch of tomato soup and homemade breads at Fridheimar. By now it is almost dark but we walked through some pretty impressive green houses and enjoyed the warmth of the welcoming and the food. You name it, they make it out of tomatoes! I loved the homemade bread adorned with green olives. The color of the photos is "off" because of the green house lighting. We were supposed to "pet the horses" at this location but since we arrived late the horses were put in for the night. 

Now it is back to town and I think almost everyone fell asleep in the bus for the hour drive. We had one more stop for the WC, coffee, or shopping but we stayed on the bus as almost everyone did. There is some pretty significant rain right now. Our Northern Lights tour was postponed to Wednesday. I am beginning to lose faith that we will really see the Northern Lights at all. But, it is what it is. 

About the late timing of our tour today - One family had to be searched out and finally made it to the bus 30 minutes late to begin with this morning. At the National Park someone either misunderstood or just decided to go to the wrong place to be picked up. Her friend texted her and we had to back track to go find her and get her back on the bus, though she was ON the bus at the right spot at one point! Then at the geyser stop another couple was 10 minutes late making it back to the bus. This was after the guide strictly told them to BE ON TIME! This can be the problem with group tours. However, I have never had a day when our timing was so dismantled by inconsiderate people. Disappointing at best. I imagine if we left on time this morning and then people would have understood we need to be on time but we showed everyone we would indeed wait for them. Having been a guide I certainly know it would be devastating to leave someone behind during the day but if they don't arrive first thing in the morning it can play havoc with the entire day. Gunnur said she would be calling people at 8:45a if they weren't in the lobby in the morning, but that didn't happen. Not judging as it is difficult to get a group of this many people on the same page. At our age, we really don't consider anything but group travel in new places for the most part.