Iceland: Reykjanes peninsula & the Golden Circle

Iceland: 

Day 1 & 2

If I ever had any doubts about why do people want to visit Iceland, I can tell you that they're all gone now. Now I completely understand. It is our third day now in this magical country and we are definitely running out of places to see. 

On our first night we drove to our camping site in Grindavik, which turned out to be a really well equipped campground. The place had a big common room for people to eat, a kitchen and cooking supplies, lots of bathrooms and showers and even wifi! We also discovered that people leave a lot of stuff (mainly food and cooking gas) behind for all the other campers to use, so this was very useful too. 

Gunnuhver & Reykjanes Peninsula 

The weather was beautiful but windy, as it is pretty much everyday is Iceland. We decided to make a short drive around some hot springs (Gunnuhver) close to the camping site, and got a good first example of Iceland's fierce nature. Warning signs of hot boiling water and soil are everywhere, apparently in some places even the grass can burn your skin. Not fun. The Reykjanes peninsula area, where we were staying, is also like a volcanic graveyard. Or "mordor", as my boyfriend described it. It is full of volcanic rocks and areas where there is absolutely nothing and no one. It literally looks like something exploded there. It is no surprise that volcanism is very active here and that you can find numerous lava fields, hot springs, caves and craters here. The famous "Blue Lagoon" is also in this area. 

The first night in our tent was not so pleasant because apparently it was not enough to wear long pants, two pairs of wool socks, a sweater, a down jacket and a big ass scarf when you go to sleep. In a sleeping bag that is. So, the second night I added another long sleeved shirt, some fleece leggins, a hat and a pair of gloves. Then I was ok. Not even mildly too warm. But not cold either. 

Golden Circle 

The first day we headed out on the Golden Circle, which is a popular route to drive near Reykjavik. The route includes sites such as The Thingvellir National Park (a UNESCO world heritage site), geysirs, Gulfoss waterfall and thermal pools. The Thingvellir area is pure magic. Little bridges and rivers, green everywhere, and Iceland's largest natural lake Thingvallavatn. In this area you can see many cracks in the ground which apparently is caused by the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. This also causes many earthquakes in the area. Yikes. 

Visiting the Geysir are was also definitely worth it. The geysir in Iceland is the one geysir all the other geysirs in the world are named after. So this was the real deal. Unfortunately we discovered that the "Geysir" itself doesn't spit out steaming water regularly. It usually only happens after earthquakes, and the last time was in 2000. Ohh well. But there is another geysir called Strokkur, which "explodes" approx. every 5-10 min. The second time we saw it (of course we had to see it more than once!), the wind actually blew all the hot water on the people watching, and everyone started running away screaming and laughing. Myself included. But no one got hurt! I guess at that point the water already cooled down. 

Gullfoss, "the Golden waterfall" is one of the many waterfalls in Iceland, and the second largest one. You can take a short trail along the waterfall, you will get a little wet but it's well worth it. Looking at these places you can't help but just stop and stare, because they truly take your breath away. 

These places are just unreal and look like the settings of Lord of the Rings or some other fantasy movie. Just based on the first day, I would never hesitate recommending this country to anyone, especially anyone who loves gorgeous sceneries. 

Campsite No. 2

The second night we stayed at Strokkseyri campsite. The weather was so windy that as we were pitching our tent we managed to get two separate couples come and ask us whether we needed some help. That's how pathetic we looked. Well, I think everyone should try to pitch a tent in windy Iceland at least once in their life. It's an experience, we can tell you. This campsite was way smaller and with much less amenities. But at least I got some better sleep with my 50 layers of clothing.