We had two full days to tour Iceland and were able to see so much! Thingvellir National Park was full of the most specular scenery in Iceland. This place is very historical, where the first Parliament of Iceland was formed. Walking through the park we passed right through the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, some say they are continuing to split this beautiful country apart. The Gullfoss Waterfall was so much larger than we thought, dumping water from the glaciers onto three layers before tumbling into the crevice below. We climbed down to the lowest level for a different vantage point, very wet and windy! On our way to the waterfall, we made a quick stop at the Strokkur Geyser in the geothermal fields. This is Iceland’s version of Old Faithful. The geyser erupted every 5-7 minutes, but we had to be quick to get some pictures as it only shot up once, sometimes twice.
One of our favorite places on the south coast was Reynisfjara Beach. We were warned about the “sneaker-waves” there, they are very dangerous and will take you very quickly out to the ocean where you have absolutely no chance to break free. As the saying goes, “there is nothing between Iceland and the South Pole”. The black sand is absolutely stunning against the white waves crashing on the shore. Add the basalt columns and cliff pillars of rock, making this beach quite unique. The little town of Vic sits beside Reynisfjara Beach. What was striking here was the church that sat on top of a big hill. The church will be the meeting point for all the towns people when (not "if"), the volcano erupts again. The residents will only have about 15 minutes notice and the fear of flooding due to the melting glacier is a real threat. We were able to walk along a path to the Vatnajokull glacier alongside the Jokusarlon Glacier Lagoon. The glacier is not totally solid, more of a hollow center due to the heat of the volcano, and chunks of ice that break off the glacier float in the lagoon. We could totally see why Iceland was called “The Land of Fire and Ice”. The beauty of this country could never be described without seeing it first-hand. The great weather truly enhanced the scenery with sunny skies and rainbows!
Onto Ireland! Dublin was our home base. Everything was so green here, the countryside was so lush with green grass and beautiful stone fences. We totally understand why the cows are so plump in Ireland, they have tons to eat! Our first day in Dublin was raining, so we took the Hop On/Off bus around the city to see the sites, eat desserts at award winning bakeries, and drink beer at pubs along the way.
With the sun out shining the next day, we took our trip to the west coast to visit Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. What can we say? There is no way you can fathom how tall these cliffs are. They brought back memories of how tall the cliffs were off the Na Pali coast of Hawaii. It was fun walking through the medieval cobblestone streets of Galway, stopping to eat some great seafood chowder and drink some Irish coffee.
Our last day trip was to Northern Ireland and Belfast. Parts of the day were very somber and very eye opening. It started when we entered Northern Ireland. There was red paint splattered all over the Northern Ireland border sign, reminding people of all the blood that was shed there. Riding in a black taxi through Belfast, it is hard to believe that this city is still split by a wall, the Catholics living on one side, the Protestants on the other. Fighting over religion. The Catholic side of the city has their wall decorated with murals. The Protestant side of the city has their wall decorated with pictures of walls in other parts of the world. There was a graffiti wall we all signed. Relations between the two sides is improving with people expecting the wall to come down within 3-5 years. Leaving Belfast, we headed to the Giant’s Causeway along the Atlantic Ocean. The rocks and steps were definitely unique and people were allowed to climb all over them. We could see where people left coin money between the cracks of the rocks and they eroded over time. Last stop was walking across the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It was quite a hike to get to it, but fun to walk across to the other side where we had great views of the Ireland coast and Scotland as well!
Every evening after returning, we stopped in a local pub down the street from our hotel for a nightcap (or a few). It was a fun pub and very interesting to talk to the people there they sure have some crazy views about American politics! Our days were long and full of activities, but we enjoyed every single moment. We were so fortunate with the weather while in Dublin, hurricane Lorenzo was due in the day we were leaving. We made it outta there just before its arrival! Needless to say, we were two tired people when we returned home, but it was all great, fun times, just the way we like it!
