Our first real travel day in the car. We have rented a Subaru Imprezza and I was impressed at how the car handled: a true rally car !! Great suspension, nice acceleration, and a fabulous 4-speed automatic tranny with a "sport" option that lets you shift through the 4 gears like a formula 1 driver... no clutch, just a little twitch of the hand on the stick and you're in a new gear. Awesome !!
From there, we drove further inland, past immaculate white and red farms to Geysir and Gulfoss. Geysir is more evidence of the forces of nature that do battle just below the surface of Iceland. It was all new to us to witness scalding jets of water bubble to the surface from a dark well only to burst 20 meters into the sky. Then, a short drive to Gulfoss, a spectacular torrent of river water tumbling over rocks only to disappear into the mists of a deep chasm cut into the earth.
As we breakfasted in Reykjavik, we were pleased to note a diminished wind, milder temperatures and a rainbow over the town and the North Atlantic. A good omen for the day.
We recovered our car, thankfully still intact, and navigated our way out of the city. For a relatively small city, Reykjavik is very spread out and has more than its fair share of urban road confusion. A few much needed course corrections put us on the road out of town where I fully appreciated, once again, the thrill of the open road in a foreign land. Lou's navigational skills were spot on as well !
We began to appreciate the stark beauty of the land early in our drive. Iceland, as said before, possesses a look that is reminiscent of other places, but is uniquely its own. Cliffs and crags towered above the road and played tag with clouds of white and grey. The sky was immense and deeply blue. We broke through ranges of hills and overlooked tundra plains that were eternal. The famed Icelandic horses and sheep were everywhere.
We arrived at Thingvellir around noon. Here we saw in fine detail how the forces of nature shape this land. It is a rift valley and we were able to walk, literally, between two continents, Europe on our right, North America on our left. We descended between these two barriers of volcanic rock as though the Red Sea had parted for us. Besides geology, Thingvellir holds historic significance as the cradle of Icelandic society, for it was here, more than a thousand years ago, that Icelanders would meet in conclave in the world's first parliament. We stood at the "law stone", where any man could speak, and beheld the sites where stern justice would be meted out, where trade and barter occurred, music and games and all other matters of social interaction were held well before such things came into being in larger, more powerful nations. Here, too, Christianity came to Iceland, allegedly chosen by a pagan priest in a spirit of concilliation and compromise.
From there, we drove further inland, past immaculate white and red farms to Geysir and Gulfoss. Geysir is more evidence of the forces of nature that do battle just below the surface of Iceland. It was all new to us to witness scalding jets of water bubble to the surface from a dark well only to burst 20 meters into the sky. Then, a short drive to Gulfoss, a spectacular torrent of river water tumbling over rocks only to disappear into the mists of a deep chasm cut into the earth.
Afterwards, again thanks to Lou's navigation, we managed to find our way back to Reykjavik and to park our car just down the street from our hotel. A pleasant final stroll through Reykjavik's streets under lovely sunshine capped off the day.
Certainly, today proved the intimate relationship between Icelanders and their strange and lovely land. If Icelanders are different and perhaps even strange to us, it is because their island is different and, perhaps, a challenge to them. But, rather than try to conquer their land, Icelanders appear to have learned to live with it, and to accept its unique character, and to accept the gifts along with the challenges. We will learn more tomorrow, as we finally leave Reykjavik and travel the south coast to Vik: provided we learn how to refuel our car !!
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