The Golden Circle




We rented a car and Luis took the wheel.  The plan was the fabled "Golden Circle", which could be the top tourism attraction in Iceland.  It consisted of hot springs with gushing geysers, a lake in a crater, and Gulfoss, a majestic waterfall.  Also there was a national park, Þingvellir, that was quite beautiful during the summer, with lush trees and sparkling lakes.  It was winter, so when we stopped at the park, it looked different but still wowed us.



A stream under a footbridge was littered with wishes.



Snow surrounds the stream of mirrored sky.



The stream splits and swerves on its way to the old church in the distance.



Railed walkways connect a walkway across the peaceful landscape.



We realized we could have driven right instead of left and ended up on a road on top of this pile of rock.  Instead, we followed a path leading gradually up to the top, with a little frozen waterfall to steal icicles from along the way.



On the path a black dog led us to this brightly colored family.  I heard them call for the dog and told the name to Luis.  I heard the father say it was the word for "lucky".  I hope the name the unfrozen waterfall.  While I mentioned a frozen one, this one was not completely frozen, and thus it was unsafe to grab its icicles.



More rocky hillsides as we trudged back down to our car.



Our next stop was Kerið, the volcanic crater lake.  It's easily recognizable as a former volcano opening because of its preserved "caldera", so that's why it's famous.  Wikipedia told me that, not this billboard.  The main purpose of the billboard is to let you see the lake...



...because when we arrived, it was covered with snow.  Still quite visually appealing with one side of the wall contrasting with the brightly-lit lake.



Next stop was Geysir the geyser, which all geysers were named after.  Here was a restaurant near the hot springs.



This was no time for food.  We saw things erupting loudly in the distance and ran over to see.



Steamy hot water trickled through the snow.  I was worried I could get burnt by this water.



First steamy hole sighted.



Awww.



Here's Little Geysir.  It bubbled a lot but didn't erupt much.



In the distance we see a massive explosion again!  Screw these little holes.  Wait, bad phrasing.



Lots of tourists walking away from Geysir (the big one which the word "geyser" comes from).



The most active and thus most prominent large geysir was Strokkur.



Tourists walked over to Strokkur frequently.  It erupted once every five to ten minutes or so.  Those who hadn't seen Strokkur before jumped or even yelped at the power of the eruption.  I didn't feel safe being so close either, but I was a jumper, NOT a yelper.



I started to get pretty good with telling when the eruption was coming.  Here's a video of the eruption I managed to take a video of.



The way the ice formed around the geysir was peculiar.  At first I pictured drops of falling water freezing at the ground, but I think more realistic is the steam rising up underneath the snow to melt some of it, leaving behind little towers of ice.



Luis and I became a bit braver around these geysers.  I mean, you'd get burned if you stuck your head right over the geyser and let it erupt into your face, it didn't seem very dangerous at all to just snap a quicky while it was resting.



This little hole wasn't going to erupt at all, but it glowed a shade of blue that was easy to lose yourself in.



Fortunately I didn't dive in all together, but I couldn't resist putting my hand in.  See?  The bandage is still there, which proves it's my hand.  To be fair, Luis stuck his hand in first, so maybe I'm not as brave.  You can see more wishes at the bottom.



Geysir, the king of all geysers.  We waited some time, but it didn't get close to erupting during our visit.  Supposedly it doesn't erupt for years at times.  This must have been one of those years.



While it was not showing many signs of agitation, it was still too steamy to see through.



Unlike most tourists, trolls in Iceland don't complain about the cold.



They have thick shocks of hair and Icelandic flags to stay warm.  When they get too cold, they cuddle together.  And if you're lucky...



...a troll will cuddle you!



On to the final show.  Gulfoss is major eye-candy.



Rainbows frequently arced through the mist above the falls.



If you drop your camera into the falls, it's a good time to upgrade to one with a handstrap.



A dude wanted his picture taken in front of Gulfoss.  Naturally, he returned the favor, so here's the same spot where I took a picture of him.



The hillside near the falls was covered in cauliflower.



Waterfalls always seem more dramatic than they actually are.  I remember the hurricane deck at Niagara falls.  I saw the loud and scary water and nervously walked towards it.  But it didn't throw me into the air or even sting my skin.  Felt like nothing more than a heavy rainfall.  The real danger of a waterfall is if you end up in the water.  It's very difficult to fight current, and your life would be in grave danger.  This water was very cold too, so I didn't try it.



Rainbows were appearing in different spots as the sun began to set.



It was bedtime for Gulfoss as he pulled his blanket of shadows over him.



A full rainbow halo appeared over the innocent waterfall as it fell into a snoring slumber.



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