Our next stop was at an amazingly huge waterfall, Gullfoss. There was a walking path to a large ledge that looked directly over the falls and allowed brave souls to feel spray on their faces. There was no fence or railing along the rock, and our wonderful Icelandic Guide, Eythor, told us that, "In Iceland, we expect you to take care of yourselves." We all laughed.
Larry and I chose to avoid getting that wet, Nancy did not. We walked up the 103 steps to the top of the cliff overlooking the falls and the river that feeds them. There was a nicely formal walkway to a good viewpoint and we got some great pictures up there.
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| Larry walking the cliff. |
Once everyone was rounded up, we headed to Geysir. Once we got off the bus the most active geysir sent a blast into the air and I caught my first picture. We walked around the little park and had fun looking at boiling pools of water and mud and watching people yell as the geyser sent a huge spray towards the sky. It was quite entertaining.
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| Al, Carol and Marco. |
We went to the gift shop and I bought a few things for our grandson, then we adjourned to the cafe for an espresso and a hot chocolate. It was very relaxing.
Our hotel this night was an embarrassment to our guides. Hotel Hella was a throwback to the 1950s, and was very funky. The rooms were small, there were no hairdryers (our second night, Nancy asked for one and got it), and our toilet ran all night. We just laughed about it all. We ate dinner at Hotel Ranga, a much nicer hotel, that was full, so we couldn't stay there. We decided that since our original flight to Iceland was changed, our various reservations also got changed or cancelled.
Once again, we had a private room upstairs and enjoyed a delicious meal. We began with an appetizer of cured beef (read that raw and delicious) with garnishes. It was very tender. Arctic Char was our entree and was also tender and delicious served with a pesto sauce, mashed potatoes and grilled cauliflower. The bread and butter was also excellent. I had a Cosmopolitan cocktail delivered to me at our table after seeing Anne, another of our group, with one. It had a slight grapefruit flavor, but was very good. Once again, gluten free bread was provided. Now the guides knew who needed it, and it just came to the table with our meals for the rest of the trip.
We had another rainy day, but we held out hope to see Northern Lights. The plan was that if they appeared, we would get roused around midnight and shuttled on the bus back to Hotel Ranga, where it was very dark, for the viewing. The Lights never materialized and we were all disappointed. Clouds and rain persisted each day.
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| Shadow Selfies |
As a side note, Marco told us that Scotland banished its criminals to Iceland before the Vikings came. Then the Vikings brought brides from Ireland to settle with them. Interesting, huh? Keep in mind that this was all before 824 AD.
Our next stop was at an amazingly huge waterfall, Gullfoss. There was a walking path to a large ledge that looked directly over the falls and allowed brave souls to feel spray on their faces. There was no fence or railing along the rock, and our wonderful Icelandic Guide, Eythor, told us that, "In Iceland, we expect you to take care of yourselves." We all laughed.
Larry and I chose to avoid getting that wet, Nancy did not. We walked up the 103 steps to the top of the cliff overlooking the falls and the river that feeds them. There was a nicely formal walkway to a good viewpoint and we got some great pictures up there.
We went to the gift shop and I bought a few things for our grandson, then we adjourned to the cafe for an espresso and a hot chocolate. It was very relaxing.
Once again, we had a private room upstairs and enjoyed a delicious meal. We began with an appetizer of cured beef (read that raw and delicious) with garnishes. It was very tender. Arctic Char was our entree and was also tender and delicious served with a pesto sauce, mashed potatoes and grilled cauliflower. The bread and butter was also excellent. I had a Cosmopolitan cocktail delivered to me at our table after seeing Anne, another of our group, with one. It had a slight grapefruit flavor, but was very good. Once again, gluten free bread was provided. Now the guides knew who needed it, and it just came to the table with our meals for the rest of the trip.
We had another rainy day, but we held out hope to see Northern Lights. The plan was that if they appeared, we would get roused around midnight and shuttled on the bus back to Hotel Ranga, where it was very dark, for the viewing. The Lights never materialized and we were all disappointed. Clouds and rain persisted each day.
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