Iceland Part 2, The Countryside.

I signed up for three tours while I was in Iceland.  One of the tours took us out to look at four main sites but the day was rainy, cold, and quite windy so I spend the minimum amount of time outside taking pictures.  The rain and wind made the day seem so much colder.

The first stop was at the exhibition focused on the 2008 earthquake.  This exhibit is found in a small mall just outside of Reykjavik and just past the geothermal plant that provides all the hot water for the city.

This is one of the posters that explains more about the 6.3 earthquake and the damage it caused when it hit Iceland in 2008.  There are a couple of other posters providing more information and a glassed over area on the floor that covered what looks like a open lava area but it may be lights.

This shoes what one house looked like after the earthquake.  In addition, there is an actual kitchen dining room set up which shows broken dishes all over the place.  It was quite interesting to see the display.  

On the way to the caldera, the bus stopped long enough for us to grab a couple of photos of some Icelandic horses.  They are quite small but sturdy and they have no problem surviving the rough weather.  It was hard to get this photo because too many people wanted selfies with the animals.  

Before long, we headed off to visit a caldera, Kerikd crater.  This crater actually has a lake at the bottom but since it was winter and so cold, it had a layer of ice over it.  The last time I took this particular tour, we didn't stop here so I'm glad I got to see something new. 

From here, we head off to the Gullfoss waterfalls which are absolutely breathtaking, especially in summer.  Unfortunately, it was not quite as impressive because of the rain, sleet, and wind we had to put up with.  In addition, there was a bit of ice on the walkways we had to watch but overall, it is still a great visit.

Gullfoss Falls

Gullfoss Falls.

We had lunch at the Geyser park which had a huge number of active geysers.  There was a place which offered four awesome choices of soup so I chose to warm up first before I headed off to check out the geysers.

The geyser area has the original geyser which still sends off lots of steam but does not actually blow that often but another one, Strokkur, is much more active.  You can see it above as it bubbles and steams.  If you watch carefully, the water level begins to move and suddenly

The hot water begins to shoot up into the air.  There is a small fence around this geyser to keep people a safe distance away.

And it looks like a cloud when it has reached its height.  I feel lucky to have managed these three shots without anyone stepping in the way to take a selfie.  From here I headed back to the bus but on the way I passed a young geyser that boiled and bubbled but didn't shoot up.  In addition, I saw what looks like a small geothermal plant for the hotel and buildings at this park.

I hope you enjoyed these photos I took and shared with you.  I'll be back to my normal columns on Wednesday.  Have a great day and let me know what you think.