ICELAND"S NATIONAL INDEPENDANCE DAY 2018!

Iceland was suddenly bedecked with even more flags..... and it wasn't just because they'd played their first game in the world cup! (Soccer)

It was Iceland's National Independence Day & that hard won independence from Norway & Denmark was expressed by a hotel bursting with lupin & the Icelandic flag EVERYWHERE!  It is always a buzz to be in the presence of happy people!

 

Our plan was to visit a very significant site in Icelandic history & it was an appropriate destination for this particular day, we were going to Pingvellir National Park to visit the law rock.  Since AD930, this was where the entire population would gather each year to hear laws spoken, new laws made & settle disputes. 

 

We wanted to get there early, because Jeff had to be somewhere at a certain time for a very special expedition.

When planning this trip, I had a map alongside my computer where I could see the accommodation  locations in relationship to the places we wanted to visit.  Common sense.  So, I booked a Hotel in Husafell for 2 nights, after seeing that it had a very direct route to the National Park region, which we had decided we wanted to explore over two days.  According to the map's key symbols, this road was not the MAIN road, but it was the next level down, so.... better than the worst roads!

 

It didn't tell me that this road was unsealed, gravel & went through a desert of rocks!

The road itself didn't tell us that half way along, there would be a big bar across it alerting us to the fact that the road was impassable.

 

We had to back track & go around the LONG way.  This meant that we didn't get to the National Park early, we literally got to the meeting place for Jeff's excursion on the very stroke of 'the knick of time'!

 

Let's just say we were very stressed...... and I do mean VERY ....stressssssssssed! Neither of us like to be late.

Once there though, relief was the overwhelming emotion, and a certain someone was a very happy little vegemite!

Jeff was there to snorkel in 2 degree glacial water through the Silfra! This is the water that flows between the North American & the European continental plates.  It takes over 50 years for the water to filter through the volcanic rock from the glacier to the Silfra, which makes it very pure & consequently, very clear.

 

Snorkelling this stretch of water requires quite a medical check list & sadly I wasn't able to join Jeff because of my lungs.  However, it was so freezing cold standing OUTSIDE the water taking photos, I wasn't too upset at that moment! 

 

For this snorkel, he wore 2 pairs of socks, a full set of thermal under garments, a padded body suit & then a very tight fitting dry suit, that required more than one person to help put the whole outfit on. After that there was a hood & gloves before even thinking about flippers, mask & snorkel!!

Once kitted out & the safety briefing was complete, he & his fellow snorkelers were ready to get in that icy water!

This was what I saw & was where they were heading.

This is what Jeff saw!



After about 40 minutes in that icy water a very happy monster arose from the deep. His hands were so cold he could hardly move them, his face was numb & the rest of him was miraculously DRY!

After exchanging his swimwear for his usual attire & a well earned hot chocolate, it was time to see the other things we'd come to see.
Because getting here had taken at least double the time we'd expected, we knew that we were better off trying to pack the two days into this one & just make it a late day!

First stop, the Loberg, Law rock, proudly flying the National flag today. This is where the Law speaker would stand & recite the country's laws.  He was required to learn a third of them by heart & recite them. 

And this is what the Lawpeaker looked out upon.  Well, not exactly, because this whole area would be crowded with stalls (tent like structures) where families would stay whilst here.  This was where romances began & divorces were settled & where all sorts of commerce, allegiances & enemies were formed.  The law speaker looked out on a chaos of people & in conjunction with the Chieftains from throughout the country, THIS was Parliament.

As we were not going to get back to the Hotel until late, we'd be missing out on dinner, so this meant we needed a late lunch.  Half an hour before closing, we rocked up at Fridheimar's Tomato Farm & restaurant.  We have never dined in a greenhouse before, surrounded by happy tomato plants & lots of equally contented bumble bees!  This was extraordinary!  Fridheimars use geothermally heated water to provide the perfect temperature to grow tomatoes all year around.  They provide 80 percent of Iceland's tomatoes & they provided us with their very delicious tomatoe soup.  We were warm, we were amused & before long we were very full!

So full, that we could only manage one of their 'tomato' desserts between the two of us!  We chose this little pot of absolute bliss; tomatoe ice cream over a crumb base of oat biscuit, & topped with two sauces, one was tomato & vanilla (our favourite) & the other tomato & strawberry.  They used different types of tomatoes in the various components & currently grew 4 varieties in the greenhouse.  It was delicious & not especially tomatoey.  The flavour that stayed with me was more akin to tamarillo.

Back on the road, it was time to tick another waterfall off the Top 10 list!  This time it was Gullfoss, which means 'golden falls', after the golden light that appears when there's a rainbow.  We rushed down to see the falls, because the grey sky was ominous & rain was threatening to fall.  Just as we got there a magnificent rainbow appeared right across the front of the falls.  It was spectacular & gone within minutes.  It was a happy stroke of luck that we actually got the camera out in time to take this shot.

This waterfall was actually supposed to be submerged in 1907 for the construction of a hydro electric damn. However, a local woman took them to court over the decision, as she felt the falls should be left for everyone to enjoy.  She lost her case, but her passion about the Falls had inspired a large proportion of the community to stand up to the decision & fight it.  Thus... we have the falls to gasp over today!

It was time to visit Geysir .  This is the geyser that gave other geysers it's name.  Reading this the first time, I acknowledged to myself that I had never known what the Māori word for geyser is.  Growing up in New Zealand these spots of boiling hot water that shot into the air were just...geysirs!  the Māori word is Ngawha, which makes sense if one looks at some of the place names around geothermal areas in NZ!
Anyway.... this area had a number of blowholes & it is always fascinating to see water bubble & spit up from the ground.  The area has been active for about a thousand years & clearly Geyser has done it's dash in that time.  It no longer shoots for the sky.  Instead it is Strokkur that keeps visitors running for shelter when it suddenly erupts in steam & water.  It erupted several times while we were there & for me, the truly interesting part was watching the behaviour of the surface water before & after it was about to blow.  It was as if a giant monster dwelt & roared beneath the earth!  Jeff managed to capture this shot as it was about to shot up.

 

As it turned out, we had had a pretty spectacular day, inspite of the stress of the morning.  On top of seeing the sites we had wanted to, we also managed to get a good look at a Golden Plover.  This quirky little bird is the bringer of hope for the Icelandic people, after a long dark & cold winter, the appearance of this bird means Spring & summer are on their way.

As if that wasn't enough.... as we were driving past a farming area on the way back, I saw an arctic fox.  It was too brief to get the camera in position, but it was a very big buzz to finally see one!!
This was the last night of our road trip around Iceland.  The next day would bring us to the Capital; Reykjavik, where we'd stop for 5 nights & make ourselves at home!
What an adventure we had had.