After an hour or so ride, we stopped at a geothermal power plant. I wasn't feeling the best again...motion sickness added with the irritation from our New Jersey seat neighbors from behind; so I sat and took in the sites. Billy meandered through looking at the different elements of the power plant. Did you know that that the power plant tries to make the water output from the process smell more sulfuric? It definitely smelled like rotten eggs around the plant. As we boarded the bus, we were pelted with rain. Once we began our journey again on the bus, all we could see was snow.
Our next stop was at Gulfoss. By this time the rain was really coming down and the wind was really strong. I really wanted to go in the gift shop and wait, but I didn't come to Iceland to just go to a store so we made our way to the waterfall. I quickly looked at the falls and then quickly made my way back to the gift shop and cafeteria. I left Billy to take the pictures. A word to the wise - bring a rain suit or some other type of protective clothing. Our jeans were wet after our time outside. There was food available at this stop, but Billy and I weren't quite hungry yet. Back on the bus to make our way to Geysir.
Billy and I decided to eat first once we got to the Geysir location while the hoards of people made their way to see Geysir. By the time, we finished our meal the cafeteria began to fill up with the people who opted to see Geysir first. Billy and I headed back out into the drizzly weather to see Geysir. After visiting Yellowstone, I was not that impressed with Geysir. I was amazed out how close they allowed people to stand to the geothermal runoff; it was quite the opposite at Yellowstone. As Geysir began to go off, it began to rain a little harder so we quickly walked back to the gift shop area. Included with our admission was a ticket to a museum located in the gift shop. The museum presented information about geothermal and geological activity. My favorite part was the metal plate that you could stand on, and it would make you feel the effects of a earthquake. Billy seemed more interested in the information than I was. I went to the gift shop only to find our seat neighbors in a frantic search for something to buy as they did at every gift shop. Crazy tourists!
We loaded back onto the bus to begin our journey to Thingvellier National Park (the same place where we snorkeled and caved). Our tour group stopped at an overlook that provided us with views of the lake and the large rift where the North American and Eurasian continents are pulling apart. We also got a chance to walk in between the rift. This was the highlight of the tour for as I was amazed by the geological formations. Make this a must-stop on your trip around Iceland.
We got back on the bus one last time. Our neighbors from behind were extremely disappointed that there was not a gift shop at our last stop. We rode for about an hour before we got back to Reykjavik.
Billy and I went back to the hotel to freshen up before we had dinner. Our search for dinner proved to be even more difficult than on New Year's Eve; fewer restaurants were open on New Year's Day. We ended up at a kabob restaurant. I ordered a chicken kabob only to be surprised when I received a pita filled with chicken and lettuce. I took my meal back up to the counter to ask if I received the correct meal, and I was assured that it was a chicken kabob. Billy ordered a wrap expecting to receive a pita similar to my dish. His order ended up being more of tortilla wrap. I guess Icelanders have different definitions of kabobs and wraps than we do.After dinner, we walked back to our hotel to settle in for an evening of Weeds and Entourage on the laptop.
Reviews for the day
Reykjavik Excursions - The Golden Circle Tour - 2 stars
Pros: Able to see quite a bit of Iceland in one trip
Cons: tours for the masses
Kabob Restaurant - 2 stars
Pros: Actually open on New Year's Day
Cons: Meaning of kabobs lost in translation
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