Friday, 6 August 2010

Touring in Iceland

Outside of Reykjavik, without a car it’s a bit of a trek to get to places in Iceland, public buses outside of the city run about once or twice a day. It’s a lot easier to book on to a tour, the whole week we were there we did at least one tour a day.

The Golden Circle Tour – A very popular all day tour to a few of the major sites around Reykjavik, Gullfloss – a massive two tiered waterfall, the geysier site with the original geysier - the one all others are named after and the rift valley between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in Pingvellir national park. They also a trip to a local geothermal power station.

Whale and Puffin Watching – The pictures in the brochure lead you to believe that you’ll see a humpback whale jump out of the ocean. We didn’t see a tail or a whole whale jump out of the water. We saw the back of a couple of minke whales as they came to the surface to breath.

Glacial Walking – One very outdoorsy guide, who for fun, abseils down the holes in a glacier and hikes around underneath. Different experience to trample around on a glacier. With the crampons on it's like stomping around like a stroppy two year old. Met a couple of guys taking a week long viking tour, who work for TerraCycle, a really interesting company who recycle packaging into usable products.

Iceland Pony Trek – Ponies were all cute, tough little things and the ride though the lava fields was fun. They needed some serious operational improvements, tour started about an hour late.

Blue Lagoon - There's no guide, it's bus transfer and entrance, which is  cheaper to take than get the bus and entrance separately. An Icelandic onsen experience, you need to shower naked in the changing room then put on a swimming costume to go out into the large communal pool.

Glacial Lagoon Boat Tour – One of the most stunning places I’ve been to in a really long time, the boat tour out in the lagoon is worth taking to see the lagoon from a different angle. I like that this place is constantly changing, pieces of ice breaking off, moving around. So, everyone's photos of the lagoon wouldn't be the same from day to day.

Thursday, 5 August 2010

Fun Facts About Iceland

·      70% of energy that supplies the capital city is from renewable sources.

·      The pipes that carry geothermally heated water to Reykjavik are insulated so that only looses a few degrees on the journey.

·      The pipe is raised and is on wheels to that it moves when there is an earthquake.

·      The corners of the pipes are able to expand and constrict in the summer and winter.

·      There is no McDonalds on Iceland.

·      There is one main road that circles the island, route 1.

·      Puffins spend the first five years of their lives out at sea; when they are sexually mature they come back to land to mate.

·      Puffins mate for life, and return to the same nesting hole each breeding season to wait for their mate.

·      Home to Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajokull.

·      Icelandic ponies are not vaccinated and are a ‘pure’ breed. To wear your own riding gear that has been in contact with other horses when riding the Icelandic ponies it has to have been washed in water hotter than forty degrees.

·      Icelandic ponies have the ability to perform two extra gaits, the tolt and pace, usually used in showing.

·      Sara is the most popular girls name in Iceland.

·      After lambing in spring, the sheep are released into the wild until they are rounded up in the autumn. There are marks on their ears to tell who the sheep belong to.

·      Iceland has a population of 300,000 people which is about the population of Leicester.


More photos from Reykjavik & Around