And don’t forget to pepper in mentions of Cinnamon Rolls and Sourdough Bread, here capitalized due to their singular deliciousness.
First on this list of recountances is Geysir, which is exactly what its name suggests. The odd and sad thing about Geysir is that, as were told after our visit, it is “broken.” This is because people were placing detergents and similar chemicals in it in order to make it erupt more often, and now it doesn’t erupt. It turns out, people are kind of idiotic all over the world. Fortunately for those of us who think a natural geyser is cool enough, Geysir itself is surrounded by a few other geysers, one of which still erupts every few minutes, and let me tell you, friends and neighbors, seeing a big spout of hot water erupt from the ground is cooler than some of you jaded souls might think.
We next found an unexpected stop along our journey, a small canyon with steep, close in sides and a good amount of sheep (we assumed) excrement to avoid. About halfway through, we came to a small platform with a sign on it explaining what this place was, and get this: it’s where they used to execute people back in yore! There was a rock nearby where the beheading took place, another, higher up rock from which thieves were hanged, and even a little pond where they would drown criminal women, a practice which I suppose could be seen as sexist or chivalrous, depending on your point of view. Personally, I find sexism and acts of chivalry often overlap in some uncomfortable ways, so I’m going to end this paragraph here.
The pinnacle of day three was undoubtedly Gullfoss, a multi-tiered waterfall that, based on our view from the top, pours over its final cascade into a bottomless opaque mist, and though I’m sure all that water ends up in the ocean somehow, I like to imagine it just magically keeps going down. Which it sort of does, when you think about it, down to a river, then down to the ocean, following the same endless cycle of life and movement that keeps this whole weird world going.
Science is magic, ya’ll!
Day four began with a tour of a Lava Tunnel, here capitalized because it blew my mind and was awesome in the way that it truly inspires awe. We joined a group of fellow adventurers, and were led by our whimsically entertaining guide around 300 meters into a cold, damp tunnel created thousands of years ago by, you guessed it, flowing lava! We found ourselves surrounded on all sides by multihued rocks, each given their color by lava of different degrees, as well as large boulders and disparately sized rocks that had fallen from the walls and ceiling of the tunnel over the years. We reached the final platform of our tour, and here is where our guide -after giving us a warning- turned off all the lights in the tunnel, and treated us to total and complete darkness. We were also asked to be as silent as possible for a small while, and then heard only the drops of water falling in the cave.
It was one of those humbling moments where I remembered how tiny I am in the span of space and time. It was also cool, and a little disorienting.
From the Lava Tunnel, we made our way to a nice big crater, which had a pretty little pond at its base, and smaller craters in its vicinity. We walked along the ridge of the crater, stopping momentarily to see if the two idiot Instagrammers would go tumbling down the steep rocky sides as they edged further down in order to take pictures of each other standing around and smiling as though this galactic reminder that we live on an insignificant speck in a vast and open universe was really just background for their all important selfies.
They did not fall, and my Flying Companion lamented.
We then spent about an hour searching for another waterfall, which was supposed to be right in the center of this idyllic little town. Unfortunately, after consulting the GPS and large map at the main road (twice), were unable to find it and forced to deem it imaginary and a scam. This disappointment left us worn out and in need of relaxation, and so we headed to the Secret Lagoon.
The Secret Lagoon is a hot spring, full of very relaxing water that is also very dark due to the black sediment at its bottom. It adjoins a small geyser of its own, which shoots up small spires of water every few minutes, and is totally worth the awkward public shower required for entry. It also has a fish and chips stand out front with the best battered fish of our entire trip, and crisp, cold beer, which also helped abate our disappointment in the imaginary waterfall.
Day five was our final and most disappointing day with Radio Flyer in our party, as we attempted to visit Snæfellsjökull, the glacier through which Jules Verne’s protagonists journeyed to the center of the Earth. Unfortunately for us, our Radio Flyer proved incapable of travelling the final 4.5 miles of gravel road that led to the glacier, and we were forced to view it from afar. Still beautiful, make no mistake, but not the up close experience for which we’d hoped.
There was one highlight on this day long drive, however: the Hvalfjörður Tunnel, which runs almost 550 feet under water, is over 3.5 miles long, and will freak your peanut right out of its shell.
The following morning we said goodbye to Radio Flyer, made our way back to Reykjavik, and along the way met the friendliest man in Iceland and his dog, Leo. More on that in the next and final installment, coming soon!
-John
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