Iceland- what can we say other than we are in Love with this place. One of the best thing about Iceland is their almost 22 hours of daylight. As I start today's blog it is 10:00 p.m. Iceland time, and we are still on the road enjoying that daylight. After losing time and exploration yesterday we more than made up for it today. I am currently blogging from the vehicle with our portable WiFi hot-spot that we rented for while we are here. That is how I have been able to send out some photos on Facebook and Instagram as well today, since I knew many people were patiently waiting for when we arrived in Iceland. Now I have titled today's blog post - Iceland knows how to move and shake for a very good reason! This Island is the worlds youngest geological mass, at only 8 million years old, and from the landscape alone you can see how much of it was created and formed. Why? Because it is still happening every single day. Iceland has 15 active volcanoes Iceland has dozens of earthquakes every day. Iceland has two tectonic plates, the North American and European Plates, pulling apart from each other. Iceland has 10,000 waterfalls Iceland is a geothermal mecca and has many Geysers and Hot Springs flowing freely. Iceland is 1/9th covered by Glaciers and the Atlantic Ocean waves that hit the South Shore started in Antarctica and traveled uninterrupted until they reached Iceland Shore. Jason and I are in our version of Geographic Heaven today! Are you ready... This blog is full of unbelievable Geographic Wonders and we are still amazed to have seen any of them, never mind as many as we have. Let's start at Thingvellir National Park. The oldest location of settlement on the Island. It is also where those Tectonic Plates are pulling apart. Along our drive today we also had the great pleasure of getting up close with some of the nations horses. Our next stop was to see the Geysers. Iceland is a hot bed of geothermal activity. There are several Geysers at one location, though the smaller ones went off several times while we were there. The largest Geyser is sometimes dormant, so we didn't get the pleasure of seeing it erupt today. The Geysers and Thingvellir are located on an area called the Golden Circle. Also on the Golden Circle is Gulfoss. Foss- is the Icelandic word for Waterfall. There are waterfalls everywhere on this island. Between rocks, flowing from the mountains, falling right in the backyards of farmers. From the Golden Circle we headed south towards the South Coast. We were enjoying the sunshine, and since we knew that the weather here was very unpredictable, we thought we would make the very most of it while it was being so favourable. Now when I say it was sunny and warm, I mean it was 11 degrees C, and we were prepared for anything by wearing our light pants and waterproof jackets and shoes and possibly adding our zip up fleece when needed for wind through the day. Iceland in July is not hot and humid like at home. But we were comfortable and enjoyed the weather. As we started along the South Coast we found beautiful fields of Lupins. Apparently they are not natural to the area, but were brought in to help with add nitrogen to the soil, and help stabilize it from erosion as well. Trees do not really grow on Iceland, so the wildflowers are beautiful for appearance, cover, and colour. What a contrast they also are to the white snow and ice of the countries glaciers which a visible from the roadside all over the island. The Lupins can be on one hillside, and around the next corner you find fields and fields of lava remnants from the volcanic eruptions. The Glaciers at Jökulsárlón and the Glacier Lagoon. I think this was one of our favourite stops today, and it was also the farthest east we went on the Island. In the Lagoon are pieces of Glacier that have broken off and created Icebergs, which float across to the other side of the Lagoon. The cleanest freshest Ice you could ever have. More from Glacier Lagoon This is probably my favourite shot of the day. The ice is so clear and beautiful. A nice man from Germany offered to take this one for us. :) When you looked out from the glacier across the road, you could see the Atlantic Ocean. A few more shots from our journey back along Hwy 1- along Iceland's South Shore. Look very carefully at the photo below. Jason finally found a Puffin!!!!!! Our next stop was the Black Beach. Located in Reynisfjara, near the town of Vik. As you can see, this location is also Geologically and Geographically spectacular. Reynisfjara is a black pebble beach and features an amazing cliff of regular basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid, which is called Hálsanef. On our way back to Reykjavik we made sure we stopped at two of Icelands most famous waterfalls. The first was Skogafoss. The second one was Selfalandsfoss. At this waterfall you can walk behind it. Lets just say thank goodness for our waterproof shoes and coats. It wasn't the rain we needed them for, it was the moisture from the waterfalls. We came out drenched!!!! This waterfall was loud and a lot more powerful than it looks in the photos. It is high, with a very big 65 m drop. It is now 11 :00 p.m local time, and we are back at the hotel.
A good nights sleep, and we are looking forward to exploring more tomorrow. Because the options and adventures on this island are endless. I hope you've enjoyed today's photos. Best wishes and lots of love from us to you. Dar & Jay p.s. This is what it looks like outside right now at 11:28 p.m.
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