Walking behind the Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls

Because of the 200 foot drop over the cliffs, the Seljalandsfoss waterfall can be seen from a very long way away.  Little itty bitty buses at the bottom of it.

It is one of the most beautiful and famous waterfalls in Iceland.  But the incredible thing about this falls is that you can walk BEHIND it!  Sweet.

I am so doing that!

These birds below are found on the many cliffs that we visited while in Iceland.  They are called Fulmarus glacialis, or fulmars.  They look like gulls but are not at all related.  They are actually related more closely to the albatross family.

You can tell they are not gulls by the odd beak.  There is a special tube on top of it to help with salt excretion.  They like to nest in steep slopes with lots of ledges and crevices.

Before you go behind the falls you must know that you will get very wet?  Hmmm....okie dokie.

It is the mist more than the actual water from the falls that soaked me.  Here we are heading behind.  Almost like a cave, with the most incredible colours of moss, rocks and interesting land formations.

An amazing view from behind.  Blue skies, land as far as I can see, water cascading into a pool of cold glacial waters.....loving it.

Bucket list = check.

It is on this ladder, as you get in and out of the falls, where you really get wet.  The view of the birds that have returned to Iceland to nest, are so close here if you just peek up into the cliffs.

Watching the tourist from her little nook is a Fulmar.

Another look back and I catch a rainbow on the falls.  Nice.

Wet girl....but happy girl.

Solheimajokull Glacier Walk

Glaciers and ice caps in Iceland cover over 11,400 kms of the island.  Many tourists want to see glaciers when they visit here.  This glacier is no different.

Where this yellow warning sign is located is actually where this glacier WAS twenty years ago.  It has receded/melted a total of more than 4 kilometres.  Global warming is very apparent in Iceland.

Without proper attire and foot wear, it is difficult to traverse the glacier.  Slippery.  But we didn't need to go too far to be able to actually touch and stand on the glacier.  A huge bucket list moment for me.

I was on the hunt for the proverbial 'glacial blue ice.'  It is covered and hidden by a great deal of volcanic ash.  I had expected, as I have never seen a glacier before, a clean, white, majestic chunk of ice.

I was not disappointed, just aware.

Many of the glaciers here in Iceland lie on top of volcanos.  As a result of this, when there is volcanic activity, there can be a sudden flash flooding of glacial waters flooding farm land below.

Below are visitors climbing up to touch the glacier.

More blue glacial ice.  Knowing that this glacier has been here for more than 10,000 years, I picked up some rocks that had been buried underneath it and brought them home.  I love rocks with a history!

A thought to ponder.

What becomes of Iceland when the glaciers and ice caps melt?  Iceland is known for these wonders.  Global warming will be the death of these beautiful, quiet living phenomenons. 

A sad reality.

The Beauty of Iceland

So many things to see and do in Iceland and so little time.  But we did manage a 12 hour tour on the second last day we were in Iceland and felt we saw a great deal.  But we were totally exhausted. But happy!

Below is another exceptional falls in Iceland called the Skogafoss.  Apparently this used to be the coastline of southern Iceland where the falls tumbles over the cliffs.  The coastline is now 5 km away!

It is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country at 200 feet high.  

This was one of the locations for the movie Thor:  The Dark World filmed in Iceland.

Loved that movie.

Amongst the black, ash-like beach area with huge grey stones, is this red boulder in the ground?

A volcano coming through the ground?  There are 30 active volcano systems in Iceland.  Just sayin'

More gorgeous Icelandic horses.

They appear to be free to roam.....but they do belong to someone.....

Reynisfjara beach has the same kind of basalt columns, caused by volcanic activity, as Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway.  With an entire beach of black stones it is a really neat place to visit.  The waves crashing on this beach have smoothed the stones to an almost polished look.  Having said that the waves are incredibly strong, dangerous and unpredictable here.

Deb sitting on the basalt columns.  They call this the 'organ' by the way it has formed.

The tourist who is on the beach bent over picking up rocks (below) was nearly swept out by the crashing waves twice!  She had no idea of the dangers of the waters on the coastline?  She was lucky to get away with only soaked shoes and pants.

Beautiful surf in Iceland.  Again the ocean is highly respected by the locals who know that the water has strong currents that sweep up and down this beach.  Gorgeous colours of crashing waves against the jet black beach.

These are the sea stacks at Vik, a small village on the southern coast of Iceland.  Called Reynisdrangar, they are also basalt sea stacks.  Shaped by the strength of the ocean waves, but the locals are more apt to share the legend of how they came to be.

"Legend says that two trolls dragged a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully and when daylight broke they became needles of rock." from Wikipedia

Vik, a very picturesque village.

Lava boulders on the black sandy beach.

Anyone for a reindeer rug?  Let me think about that.....NO!

Or a sheep skin rug?  They feel so soft but I do have a feeling about it.

Puffins are not going to be seen in Iceland for about another two weeks.  Poop to that because I had hope we would catch a glance of one or two.  But alas this is the closest I could get to them??

The Magic Blue Lagoon Face Cream

Deb and I tried two different skin treatments while playing in the Blue Lagoon.  One is a natural byproduct of the lagoon which is a silica mud.  Smearing it all over and leaving it on for about 15 minutes before washing it off in the lagoon waters left our skin feeling smooth and invigorated.

The other treatment we bought at the swim up bar.

It consisted of a lava rock that you quickly dip into the lagoon to wet it and then rub it gently on your face and neck.  Leaving it on for 5 minutes and then rinsing it off.  Followed by a small algae stone which was incredibly silky when lathered on our faces and neck.  Now THAT was fantastic stuff.  We left it on for 15 minutes and when we splashed the application off our faces.....we thought we had died and went to heaven.  My face has never felt so beautifully soft and refreshed.

We took these before and after shots to show the magic of these natural mineral creams.

Here is Deb with the algae mask on before.

Wait for it.....wait for it.....

wait for it......

and here she is afterwards.  WOW!!!!  An absolute beauty although she was before too.

I am hoping to have the same beautiful result.  Here I am soaking up the warm waters, drinking my strawberry smoothie and letting my algae mask work its magic.

and....I am waiting...........

.......still waiting.........only 5 minutes left to go..............

.........can't wait to see what happeneds.........

And viola!!!  The incredible power and healing properties of the creams makes me feel like a new woman.  I love the way my skin glows below.......

Everybody has GOT to try this stuff!!!!

The Famous Blue Lagoon

We have been looking forward to this our whole trip.  Today we are travelling by tour bus, (Reykjavik has no public transit that goes to the Blue Lagoon) about one hour away to experience the famous 'Blue Lagoon.'  

It is located right in the middle of a huge lava field, (created over 800  years ago), about 24 miles from the Keflavik International Airport, which is why so many people stop before and after flights to Iceland to enjoy the lagoon.  So big it can be seen by satellites from the sky.

Lava rocks line the walkway entrance to the Geothermal Blue Lagoon Spa.

I'm ready!

Every nook and cranny of this lava field has this incredible milking white, blue-green hot steaming water pooling around it.

Two interesting lava rocks that are on the edge of the lagoon.  The lava rocks turn white when exposed to the waters of the lagoon?  This is a blue-green algae (that I think I put on my face) that thrives in the lukewarm temperatures of the lagoon.  Somehow silicon mud is a byproduct of the natural processes of these waters which isn't quite clear to me.  You can feel it underneath your feet as you wade in the pool.  People grab a handful of it along the way although some is available in buckets in the lagoon and apply it to their face, neck, and rub it on feet, legs and arms.  Almost like an exfoliating cream only absolutely natural.  It has magic powers of healing psoriasis, eczema, and fungus, and hopefully stress fingers which I no longer have.

Ok....we are going in.  It actually has a swim up bar....seriously.  However besides beer and smoothies you can also purchase healthy spinach drink and skin treatments to do yourself in the lagoon.  I ordered Deb a strawberry smoothie and me a healthy spinach drink.  All out you say?  I replied 'good' to the gal and ordered a strawberry smoothie for myself instead.  Yummo.

There is little Debbie soaking up the energy and healing powers of the Blue Lagoon to help her sore muscles after such an incredible adventure these last five and a half months.

The warm waters are rich in minerals, naturally found, such as salt, silica and sulphur.  It is especially helpful for people with skin diseases to soak in these therapeutic waters.

It was formed by accident in 1976.  There is a geothermal power plant nearby, and the Blue Lagoon was fed by the water output generated by that plant.  By 1981 people were starting to use it unofficially.  Then in 1992 it was officially established as a bathing facility.

It is incredibly clean.  You must first take a shower in your 'birthday suit' before you are allowed in the pool.  They have monitors to ensure you do.

The temperatures are between 37-39' Celsius.  The entire contents of the lagoon are replaced every 48 hours.  It is amazing....truly one of a kind.

Very eerie looking when you first see it.  The steaming mist moves about so you see little heads coming out of no where.

The lagoon is about 200 meters wide and a few kilometres in length.  Only about one to three meters deep.  As you wade and float around the lagoon, the depth changes and the temperature can get quite hot in certain places.  But it was entirely comfortable for us.  There are actually little spots to sit amongst the lava rocks.  They are totally smooth under the waters of the lagoon.

For some reason, I don't quite understand, bacteria does not grow in this water?  It was thought that with over 300,000 visitors per year and that the temperature is an ideal habitat for bacteria to develop, that it would thrive.  But to their surprise, there are no traces of bacteria normally associated with humans found in the lagoon!  In fact, it dies right away in these waters.

Only one little hiccup I found out accidentally.  If you put your hair in the water, the strands become coated with the natural silicon crystals in the lagoon.  My hair has been incredibly stiff and very difficult to control or manage since our Blue Lagoon experience.  Apparently I was supposed to apply some sort of hair nutrients before entering the water?  Oops.

LISA.......I NEED YOU!!!!!

(my fantastic hairstylist)

Incredible Forces of Nature

Even though the name 'Iceland' suggests coldness, it is actually one of the hottest places on the earth.  Because of it's volcanic activity, that generates the hot thermal underground springs, that vent steam all over the island.

We are visiting a very active spot where we will see an exploding geysir.  It is called the 'Geysir Hot Springs Geothermal Area,' located in the Haukadalur valley that was on our 'Golden Circle tour.'

Before getting off the bus, our tour guide reminded us that the hospital is 60 km away....why?....because if you touch the water from the geysirs, it can scaled you, she tells us?

Good safety tip....on our way, stay on the path....and be respectful of the power.

Many steaming puddles....bubbling with power generating underneath.  

Below is Little Geysir, which constantly bubbles and emits a very strong sulphurous smell.  It doesn't have the strength to erupt but is quite eager to try.

I wonder what all these people are waiting for?  They are all standing on one side of a geysir called Strokker, the still very active one.  

Approximately every 4-8 minutes it will erupt.  The pool of water is so interesting to watch.  It heaves and sinks over and over and then.....watch for it.....watch for it.....

It forms this enormous water bubble and............ 

.....there it is!  This photo was painstakingly worked on for quite a while?  The dilemma was how to watch for the 'bubble' and when to snap the photo?  When the geysir erupted this time, it started to hiccup and spewed 7 times in a row!  And we were there to see that anomaly.  It was awesome.

In it's full glory.  Shooting hot steaming water twenty five to thirty meters into the sky.

Incredible.

Other hot but non-spewing geysers are all around.  Checking out this enormous hole in this dormant geysir and it is amazing to me how deep this must be for the power to boil this water on the surface?

Below is the quiet now, Great Geysir, that would produce 70-80 meter high eruptions in it's day.  Why is it quiet?  What is going on underneath that it shifts it's force to a different geysir in the nearby area?  Scary and interesting to ponder that.

I hear a collaborative 'WOW' from the group at the Strokker geysir, and I take one last look and last photo of an incredible force of nature.

Wedgies in Iceland?  A fun statue at the Geysir centre?  I got nothing.

Heading out we can see miles and miles of volcanic lava flows.  Covered in moss, it is quite a sight to behold.  Hard to get my head around the fact that all these areas were covered with hot molten lava at one time?

Steam escaping through a fissure in the land.  We see this often on our tour this day.

I took this photo of this boulder that is sitting quietly in a field.  Is it me, or does it look red hot?  I'm not touching it to find out, but I bet it is just the colouring....as there were no active erupting volcanos I could see nearby?

We are driving to the Pingvellir National Park to see the most powerful force of nature.  

This is an area that graphically shows the rift that marks some of the spots were the tectonic plates are ripping the island of Iceland apart.  The European and North American tectonic plates run across Iceland from the southwest to the northeast.  This is part of a split of the North American tectonic plate and a smaller plate called the Hreppar Microplate.

Ok....but I have to show you first the colourful and rare Harlequin Duck.  The male is very distinctive.  The combo of colours are deep slate blue, with white stripes on it's body, head and neck, with chestnut colour on the sides of it's body, with a faint blue-grey bill, and grey legs.  You cannot miss this fellow.

Bird watchers come from all over the world to see this rare bird and Deb and I saw it twice!  Oh yeah!

Witnessing this kind of evolution and formation of the earth is quite amazing for us.  You can see where the earth is heaving, splitting, lifting and sinking.  This entire area is filled with fissures.

This rock shows where lava flowed, then cooled as it moved forward making this incredible ripples in the now lava rock.

Absolute evidence that something quite profound is happening here,  Below you can see gigantic splits of the earth.  They appear like canyons.  Some are filled with waters while others are dry.

You can see in the photo below, that visitors to this area can explore all around this interesting landscape.  It is quite beautiful even though it seems destructive,

The day ended with a view of the herds of Icelandic horses in the pastures of Iceland with the mountain backdrops.  Gorgeous.