After our massive 5 hours of sleep (due to our Northern Light adventure last night), we are on our way to see more sights with a weather forecast of clear skies! This will be a good day.

The time is 9:19 am and the sun is just rising. The moon is out in all its full glory, it’s 34 degrees and we are heading out of Reykjavík. I’m on the wrong side of the bus to get a good photo, but it’s gorgeous!

We drive last geothermal areas and lava fields. The sky is still pink as the sun has not quite come up over the mountains but it’s getting close! We can see the Atlantic Ocean.

Driving to our first destination the guide is explaining the vegetation. The birch tree can be found throughout the country but they aren’t very tall. If you feel you are “lost in the woods”, just stand up and you can find your way! These Icelandic folk have a sense of humor!

First stop: Fridheimar Farm

This has been a family-run farm for several generations. Their main crop is tomatoes, three different varieties. Once the starts are mature enough to be planted, they are moved to a main greenhouse and produce for about 9 months. Then the cycle begins again.

They use bees for pollination and import them from the Netherlands multiple times each year. Their life span is short but they do their work well. No chemicals are used on the tomatoes.

This farm is the second largest supplier of tomatoes in Iceland. They have several large greenhouses that are heated with the steaming hot water from undergeound.

They make tomato everything… tomato soup to tomato cheesecake. We did not try simply because we ran out of time.

Their farm had several horses which we were able to get close to. They are called Icelandic horses, very hardy with long hair. And let me just say they are adorable.

Stop #2

We then stopped at Strokkur Geyser which erupts up to 20 meters up in the air every 5 minutes or so.

We hiked up the trail to the viewing platform, ate lunch and enjoyed the view. The hot spring area was bubbling in geothermal activity. Nothing short of amazing!

Stop #3 was the Gullfoss Falls in the Þingvellir National Park. We could hear the falls before we saw them. A beautiful rainbow graced one side of them and as I looked around, all I could see was wide open land ringed by snow-covered mountains. Breathtaking!

Today’s final stop was further into in Þingvellir National Park. We can finally get a clear view of the mountains we’ve seen most of the day in the distance.

Þingvellir National park is also where the continents of Europe and North America meet. The tectonic plates move apart at approximately 2.5 centimetres a year and have done so for millenniums. The effects of this movement are very clear within the park. It is easy to see the ridges where the plates have moved apart.

In fact the “Wall” in the Game of Thrones was filmed here along a long stretch of a ridge, maybe the tallest… and added ice. We loved the walk on the pathway as seen below. It was amazing!

We are done with the Circle Tour and have thoroughly enjoyed the day, the sunshine and the beauty Iceland has to offer. There is so much more to see, judging from the postcards. Time is needed for additional touring. Perhaps a return visit in the summer months would be good.

#icelandgoldencircle2019