Memorable Trip to Iceland 2015
By Leo Finnegan
As a tourist destination, Iceland isn’t one of the first places one is inclined to think
of, since, for many people, sun holidays come much more readily to mind. However,
those of us who made this very special trip to Iceland recently are so glad that we did
so, as it was a unique and wonderful experience. My wife, Eileen and myself were
among a group from the Galway Branch of the Retired Teachers’ Association, who
along with various other groups and individuals from all over the country, embarked
on this adventure, with all the organising, including the chartering of the plane, being
done very efficiently by the agency involved, the Travel Department.
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| Enjoying the Blue Lagoon! |
We flew out from Dublin Airport on the afternoon of Monday, March 30 and,
following a pleasant two and a half hour flight, we landed in Keflavik International
Airport. We were greeted, as expected, by low temperatures, but what we weren’t
quite prepared for, since it was the very end of March, was the wonderful landscape,
which was completely covered in snow and ice as far as the eye could see. The lack
of vegetation, with the trees growing only to a very limited height, meant that we
could see everything right to the horizon. On our coach journey to the capital city,
Reykjavik, the landscape became even more breathtaking, with many spectacular
mountain peaks, valleys and unusual terrains. All of this prompted several of us to
compare what we saw to the lunar landscape. On reaching the city, our first stop was
the Perlan Sphere and Viewing Platform, all built over a thermal spring. From the
platform, there were spectacular views of the city and beyond. We then continued on
our tour of the city, which is relatively small, and our excellent guide pointed out the
various landmarks, including the Protestant and Catholic Cathedrals, the Harbour area
with Mount Esja, their Table Mountain, on the far side of the harbour, and the very
impressive Harpa Concert Hall. Our next stop was Hofdi House, where Presidents
Reagan and Gorbachev had their famous meeting, which is considered to be a major
factor in the ending of the Cold War. While here, we picked up some snow, and, to
our surprise, we found that, because it was so dry, we couldn’t form a snowball with
it. We then continued to the Grand Hotel, our very comfortable base for our short
visit, with others from our group staying in the Best Western Hotel. All of us checked
in, and were given our various rooms. Though somewhat tired after our travels, some
of us felt that, since our visit was of such short duration, that we would explore part
of the city that evening, which we duly did and also sampled some of the local food.
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| Enjoying the splendour of Iceland |
In addition to the landscape, the other very noticeable feature of the country is how
extremely expensive everything is, so our purchases were few and far between.
On Monday, March 31, our coach and guide picked us up at 8.45 am and
brought us on the trip known as the Golden Circle. We passed by Hellis Heidi, where
we saw one of the many Geo-Thermal Power Plants which they have in Iceland. The
vast amounts of hot water which spring up from the ground are harnessed, not just to
provide cheap central heating, but the steam is also used to generate electricity very
inexpensively. We also saw some of the large pipes carrying the hot water, because
though most of them are underground, some of them are actually on the surface. It
was noticeable that the hot water from the taps in our hotel and elsewhere had, not
surprisingly, the faintest odour of sulphur. Our first stop was the small town of
Hveragerdi, where we sampled an earthquake simulation and saw, first-hand, the rift
between two continental shelves. As we continued our journey, in the distance, we
could see two well-known volcanos, Eyjafjallajokull, which in 2010, caused huge
disruptions to air flights everywhere with the vast amounts of ash it sent into the
atmosphere, and Hekla, the most famous of Iceland’s volcanos. Our next stop was at
Faxa, where there was a small but very impressive waterfall. On the road again, we
saw in the distance Langjokull, Iceland’s second biggest glacier. Our next stop was at
the spectacular Golden Waterfall, located in a canyon two and a half kilometres long,
with a number of viewing platforms. We then continued to a most impressive feature
at the appropriately named Geysir, where the hot spring, known as Strokkur, exploded
very dramatically every seven minutes. Needless to say, we captured this
phenomenon on camera. We had our lunch at this location before moving on. While
passing through the small town of Laugarvatn, our guide pointed out a beautiful
building designed by the architect Samuelsson, who also designed the
Hallgrimskirkja, the huge Lutheran cathedral in Reykjavik. We then entered
Thingvellir National Park, which again had wonderful scenery. We drove over the
rift, seven kilometres long between the two Tectonic Plates (Continental Shelves), the
Eurasian one and the North American one. After leaving the coach, we walked up to
a viewing platform and passed the location of the World’s first Parliament, the
Althing in the year 930 AD. Though in a beautiful setting, it was a most remote
location for such an event, which was held out of doors. We saw great views here of
Iceland’s largest lake, Thingvallavatn. We were then brought back to our hotel for 5
pm, and our time was our own until 10 pm, when we were collected again for our
mission to try to see the Northern Lights. We drove about 20 minutes from the city to
leave all the artificial lights behind and headed towards a range of mountains called
the Blue Mountains. Here we stayed for one and a half hours, with the temperature at
–12C, and despite a clear sky, the Aurora Borealis failed to appear. Though it would
have been lovely to see this spectacular phenomenon, we were in no way
disappointed because of our great experiences. We were back at our hotel at 12.30
am.
Wednesday, April 1, was our last full day in Iceland and we had a choice : either
to go on the South Coast trip, which several of us did, or to remain and explore the
capital city. Our coach, this time with a new guide, picked up those of us who opted
for the trip at the hotel at 9 am, and we had our first teabreak in the small town of
Hvolsvollur. We than moved very close to the volcano (and glacier also) which we
had glimpsed the previous day, Eyjafjallajokull, which emitted the major ash cloud in
2010, and stopped to take photos. We then passed by another large glacier,
Myrdalsjokull, which has the volcano Katla underneath. Our next stop was at
Reynisfjara, one of the unusual black beaches in this area. The sand and pebbles are
actually black, as it is lava rather than sea sand which is deposited there. At this
location also, there was a wonderful formation of basalt columns, strikingly similar to
The Giant’s Causeway, and underneath a section of this was a most impressive arch
called Hafsanelshellir. There were also two upright rock columns, known as the two
Giants, in the sea here. We had lunch in the nearby village of Vik before starting on
our return journey, with four further stops ahead of us. We called to an excellent Folk
Museum in Skogur and here we saw several impressive displays, including houses
through the ages, means of transport as they evolved, and old farm machinery. This
southern area of Iceland is the only part where farming is possible. Very close to the
museum was a spectacular waterfall, called Skogafoss, to which we also paid a visit.
Then we continued to the Interpretative Centre for the previously mentioned
Eyjafjallajokull, which was again right beside us. Here we saw a very impressive
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| Old farm houses. |
film of the major eruption in 2010, the havoc caused by the lava, mud and ash, and
the successful efforts to bring everything back to normal once the eruption ceased.
Our final stop was at another waterfall, Seljalandsfoss, different but again impressive.
Thursday, April 2 was the final day of our visit, and after checking out of our
hotel, our coach, with our third guide of the trip leading us this time, picked us up
for our journey to the airport. However, we had one final stop on the way and a
very special one. We were brought to the famous Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s top
attractions. This feature is again built over a thermal spring, and here, in addition
to the harnessing of the hot water and the generation of electricity, a by-product of
the extra steam is this lagoon, or large pool filled with warm thermal water, which is
supposed to work wonders for the body. Needless to say, practically all of us took to
the water and it was the most soothing, pleasant experience. After quite a long stay
in the water, what with facial mud treatments and saunas of varying strengths, all of
us left the lagoon feeling years younger. On the short trip from there to the airport,
we finished our holiday in typical Irish fashion with another rousing sing-song. The
flight back from Keflavik to Dublin was again pleasant, though somewhat behind
schedule, arriving in at 7.30 pm. Here, all of us went our separate ways, and though
there was a slight element of sadness in parting from our friends, both our old friends
and the new-found ones, the great memories we took with us from a very special trip
more than compensated for this.
In addition to the various highlights mentioned, the most abiding memory from
the trip is the beautiful, endless landscape stretching as far as the eye can see, and, of
course, the most important element of all in ensuring the enjoyment of the trip was the
wonderful company of our travelling colleagues, while I must mention once again our
efficient and indefatigable group leader, Mary Kyne, whose organisational skills and
attention to detail ensured the success of the venture.
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