Easter in Iceland

A walk to the station, a tube ride to Heathrow, and a 3 hour flight in a north westerly direction, and Jackie and I were in Iceland. More specifically in Keflavik, which is a 30 minute bus ride from the capital, Reyjkavik. Amazingly the bus driver asked us which hotel we were staying at, and a short while later he dropped us off at the door of Hotel Bjork.

I had planned 4 day trips over the internet, all with local companies. Our first was the golden circle tour, which is fairly well known, and takes in all the most famous sights of south west Iceland. After visiting a volcanic crater, and a couple of waterfalls, we found ourselves at Gulfoss, the second biggest, and most famous of Icelands many glacial falls. The wind was biting but Jacks and I observed the falls from above and below. Apparantly the falls are twice the size in summer (because the heat melts more of the glacier), but to us they were really impressive. Next stop was the geysers. Basically a geyser is a deep vertical tunnel in the earth, full of boiling water. Water boils at 100C close to the surface, but further down, it boils at closer to 130C because of the increased pressure. Some of the deeper water enters the tunnel higher up, and this becomes super-heated, which creates a pocket of steam. This forces the column of water above, up and out of the tunnel, in a short sharp burst. The most frequent geyser, called Stokkur, erupts every 5 - 10 minutes, shooting a jet of water about 25 meters into the sky. The main geyser, called 'geyser' (the origin of the word), erupts every few hours, and the jet can reach over 30 meters.

Our last stop for the day was Thingvellir national park, which is a world heritage site, and the location of the Parliament of Iceland for the last 1000 years. It is also the meeting point of the American and Euro-asian tectonic plates, which are seperating at 2cm a year. The area in between (no man's land) is sinking, and it something worth seeing. The weather had closed in by the time we got to the Park, but that didn't stop us. We stomped our way through snow and ice to have a look at the beginning of the american plate, and had lots of fun with the snow along the way.

The second day was a mixed bag of more adventurous activities. The first being a 2 hour horse ride, which turned out to be the highlight of the whole weekend. We checked in at the riding centre, and were shown where to kit up. The suits could be worn to the moon, full weather overalls that transformed me into the michelin man. Add to that the compulsory helmet, and you had a pair of very chic icelandic horse riders. Our horses were handpicked according to our level of competence. Mine was for beginners, and Jacks had a more intermediate variety. The horses are really small but unbelievably strong. My feet were inches from the floor, but that failed to deter my horse from the task at hand. The ride was truly spectacular, through moss and snow covered lava fields, surrounded by blue sky and white mountains. The Icelandic horse is the only in the world capable of 5 gaits, which basically means it has a 5 speed gear box. It's unique gait pattern is called the Tolt (with an umlaut on the o), and is fantastic when done properly. The rider remains completely motionless in the saddle, while the horse glides along. Jackies horse named Fraya, was white, and she was a real lady. She only wanted to ride at the front, and I think that Fraya and my horse had a few issues. After the ride we got back to the centre, and grabbed a quick bite to eat.

The afternoon was to be spent whale watching on a large ship. The weather was pretty chilly, so once again we adourned the complementary space suits, and made our way up onto the deck. After only half an hour we had already spotted 2 humpbacks, a mother and her calf. We followed them around for about an hour, and really got a good look at them. The sea was pretty rough, and up on the deck there was the occasional woft of diesel, which is not Jackies favoruite odour. I noticed that she was quiet for a bit, and then that her complexion turned a bit snowy, and the next thing I knew she was feeding the fish off the back of the boat. This lasted only 3 minutes, and afterwards Jacks felt 100%.

The next morning I woke up, and realised that I had a sensitive rear end. The horse riding had not only given me the usual muscle soreness, but also a small area of chaffing. This proved hugely entertaining to Jackie, and became something of immense irritational value, with sitting being pretty much impossible.

Sunday promised to be another exciting day (sore bum and all), with us exploring some of the iceland countryside in a super jeep. The jeep was massive, 7.3 litres of muscle, and huge spiked tyres. The trip once again took in a few amazing waterfalls, and we also stopped at a geothermal power station. Essentially what they do is drill into the earths crust (which is much thinner in Iceland), and use the steam to generate both heat and power. Unbelievable power of the steam coming out of the earth, sounding like a jet engine, and pumping steam off on a long trail into the distance. The destination of the trip was Thorsmork, which is known as Iceland's hidden valley. It is surrounded by 3 glaciers, and can only be reached in seriously powerful 4X4's. We had no problem there, and powered our way through glacial rivers and over lava rock. We stopped close to a glacier (called Ejyafellaljokull - try say that fast 10 times in row), and walked up alongside a frozen lake to the tongue of the glacier. Almost too much to take in, and definately something you can't capture in a photo.

Each evening we would head off into town looking for somewhere to eat. I did a bit of research, so knew where the tourist traps where, but because it was the easter weekend, most restaurants were closed. We did however find some absolute gems, and every meal was fantastic. I have NEVER tasted lamb like that in my life, so tender and juicy, melting in your mouth with a flavour so rich, coated in a wholegrain mustard and herb crust. Jackie was also thrilled with plenty of fresh fish on the menu's. Beers were 600 Krona (£5, R55). That is all I will say about that. On the whole I was very impressed with the way the Icelanders use their local produce (just as they do with all the resources in their country), to turn out some fantastically flavoursome and original dishes. The rest of the world could learn a thing or 2, and maybe they would if the country was not so geographically isolated.

Our last day trip took us to the Blue Lagoon, a famous tourist spot, and something that cannot be missed. The nearby power station uses steam to generate both heat and electricity, and after this the steam condenses and forms a hot, salt rich water, that flows into a lagoon. The lagoon glows with a blueish colour, and the water is hot bath temperature. Jacks and I changed into our cozzies, and relaxed in the water for about an hour and a half. The water is apparantly really good for ones skin, and we even packed some white mud onto our faces, which seemed to be the done thing.

Iceland is a country worth visiting, and Jacks and I decided that we would try and head back in summer, for some excellent hiking, and a midnight sun.