Day 5 started with a spectacular cloud-encrusted sunrise that provided a dramatic backdrop to the Hotel Ranga where we were staying. Our destinations today were a geyser, a waterfall, and a bike ride along a lake. Iceland has a multitude of water-related activities, whether it is frozen or just flowing.
Sunrise over the Hotel Ranga.
Our Backroads leader Eva briefs by the bear at the Ranga about what we'll be doing during the day
Every morning before embarking on our daily adventure the group is provided great snacks for the trek. I'm particularly partial to the dried figs.
Mount Katla, an active volcano that is one of the largest in Iceland, is covered with volcanic-looking clouds early in the morning as we set off in the vans.
The first stop of the day was in the geothermal Haukadalur Valley to see the Great Geysir. I really looked forward to seeing it go off. Old Faithful in Yellowstone is one of my favorite spots, and this one is right up there on the KPS, (Kennerly Photo Scale!).
The Grand Geysir going full blast combines with the cloud in the background to achieve an H-Bomb effect.
Another eruption of the Grand Geysir with the sun behind it, a trick I learned from Ansel Adams' fabulous Old Faithful photography
The Gullfoss waterfall was the next target for our Backroads group, and it's a big one. The fall is on the Hvita River, and plunges 105 feet into a narrow canyon. When you approach it from above, it is a formidable sight, and my way of recording its immensity was to show the people on the rocks above it.
The Gullfoss waterfall dwarfs the people standing on the cliff above it
A panoramic view of the Gullfoss waterfall
Rebecca gets on the same plane as James by standing on a rock. Our 16-year-old high school junior is now the tallest in the family.
Backroads provides some unique location for lunches, and they are always looking for a place that not only serves great food, but in the mind of this photographer, visual feasts as well. On the way to lunch at a local dairy, we drove by a farm that stood out against the green fields. I shot this photo from the moving van.
A church near a farm with baled hay in the foreground makes for a wonderful Icelandic scene.
I love Icelandic clouds! This one hangs over the farm where we had lunch. The present dairy farmers here are the seventh generation to own and run the place, and boy do they make great ice cream!
The Backroads vans from the window of the dairy
An old farm machine in the field outside the dairy
These kids fell in love with the farmer's dog
Two of our merry band take a break after a great lunch
The last activity of the day was to bike around Thingvallavatan Lake, located in a Natioanl Park of the same long and unpronounceable name. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the symbolic heart of the Icelandic nation. The country's first general assembly was established here in 930 AD through 1798. Forty per cent of all Icelandic flora is found here, but nothing taller than a dwarf birch. You won't catch a glimpse of an elf reclining underneath that tiny tree, and even though they aren't ever seen, more than half of the population of Iceland believes in their existence. I like that about them.
It's not unusual to have animals cross the road in front of you, usually sheep, but in this case geese.
Backroads leader Eva briefs the bikers before they set out on their trek.
Getting ready for the ride
Jackson takes the hill
Biking in Thingvallavatn National Park
This leg up the hill was challenging. One of the great things about these Backroads trips I've discovered after being on three of them is that you don't always have to be tied to the group, but can ride solo for long stretches if you like.
Allison zooms by, looking very much like a participant in the Tour de France, if perhaps a bit chillier.
The ride ended at the Hotel ION for the last night of our trip. Travel blog iEscape called the hotel, "Scandi-chic adventure hotel in a spectacularly surreal landscape of moss-covered lava fields, geysers and steaming rivers, by Thingvellir National Park." It's otherworldly all right, but so is Iceland!
The Hotel ION in Nesjavellir, our last stop in Iceland
All of the Backroads group our last night, including me--naturally I directed the bartender on how to take the pic!
Iceland -- Day 6 (and the last one of the trip).
Day 6, and it was time to head home, but not before one more small adventure. As the rest of the crew went off on a hike, James and I wanted to explore a nearby thermal power plant that was steaming away about a half a mile from the hotel. It was Sunday, and nobody was around. There was a sign in Icelandic, (or in other words, in no known language), on the closed gate in front of the plant. We figured it said either, "Stay Out," or, "You Are Welcome, Come In." We went with the latter. The Icelandic people, after all, are known for their hospitality, and the gate wasn't locked, so in we went. The security was not only negligible, but there were even sheep wandering around in there, and one of them in particular, to its credit, was keeping an eye on us. James left his backpack by the side of the road, and two sheep came over to check it out, no doubt looking for some tasty treat. In Iceland I bet kids use the excuse, "A sheep ate my homework." The geothermal facility was a photo dream, and on top of that, produces clean energy. Perfect combination. James was using the Hasselblad that his grandfather gave him, and I was shooting in black and white using both my Canon 5D Mark III and the ever-present iPhone. We both made a few goo frames.
A curious animal, (a security guard in sheep's clothing?), checks us out.
A sheep ate my homework! (And I have the photographic evidence).
The Hengill Geothermal plant from the inside
James Kennerly, Hasselblad in hand, looks for a photo at the geothermal plant
One of James' photos of the facility
Into the sunset . . . A Backroads van carrying some of our fellow adventurers, drives past geothermal pipes as we head to Keflavik Airport to start the journey home.
I highly recommend Iceland to anyone who hasn't been. I also am a big fan of Backroads, and suggest that you check them out for any trip you are thinking about with the family or friends, almost anywhere on earth. We're already planning our next one with them!