I hadn’t expected Iceland to be so green, or so warm.
Admittedly we’d visited there in summer, end of July 2014.
Yet somehow I’d expected something more barren; cold, wet and windy.
As it was, it was raining and breezy when our flight got in at 11.30pm, and the next morning when we woke up it was overcast and drizzling. Yet it had been mild at around 15C as we set off in our hire car (booked via TopCashBack again to save some money!) to explore.
The first thing we noticed as we skirted the edges of Reykajavik and headed towards ‘The Golden Circle’ was how green thlandscape was. True, there were rugged moutains in the background, but the fields of green and gently rolling hillocks reminded me of Derbyshire, and some of the foilage of the Scottish landlands.
It was still drizzling as we pulled up at our first stop, the small town of Hveragerði. Here we hoped to find the hot spring of Reykjadalur.
However, as we were soon to discover, tourist sights are not well signposted.
After a quick pit-stop at a Bonus store (look for the rather high looking pink pig) to stock up on Icelandic chocolate for, erm,energy for the hike, we found an information board with the keyword we were looking for: Reykjadalur. The rest was in Icelandic, but there was an arrow, so off we went!
It wasn’t clear at all where to go after that. The path forked off in separate directions. It seemed though that we needed to head off further up the road; we could see a few obvious hikers in that direction and the green hills loomed yonder. The description I’d read was:
Reykjadalur (literal translation: ‘Steam Valley’) is one of the easiest hot spring areas to reach from Reykjavík. A short drive (45 minutes) brings you to the town Hveragerði and from there you can hike up to the warm river that flows down Reykjadalur.
The hike is not very demanding (although it’s not recommended for people that are afraid of heights since at one point you’ll be hiking along the top of a deep gorge) and you reach the warm river after about 45-90 minutes (depending on how fast you walk and how often you stop to take pictures of the waterfall in the gorge and all the pretty bubbling muddy hot springs on the way).
There are no facilities for changing your clothes when you get up there.
So we headed towards the hillside.
But no matter which path we chose, we couldn’t seem to find a way to scale it. Although we were enjoying ourselves exploring and had indeed found hot mud springs this was clearly not what we were looking for and certainly not a place we could take a dip – warning signs showed the temperature to be 80-100C.
There were a few other signs around, but none mentioned Reykjadalur.
Despite the drizzle we enjoyed our stroll and the steamy scenery, only slightly disapointed we couldn’t find our intended destination. We thought about going off path and heading directly for the hill side but both it’s steepness and the cautionary signs about new hot springs forming changed our minds, and determined to make the most of our limited time there, we headed back to the car.
Next stop was the Thingvellir (Þingvellir) National Park.
The oldest existing parliament in the world first assembled there in 930 AD. The area is protected as a national park due to its unique geology and natural features. Almannagjá is a canyon formed between two tectonic plates, a visual representation of continental drift. The waters in and around Þingvellir are a popular destination for fishing as well as scuba diving.
As we drove in a large circle around the park, enjoying the splendid lake and mountain scenery, the sun popped out to say hello, and lit the scene with a warming glow. Again, we had to ask ourselves, were we in Iceland or Wales? There was certainly no ice to be seen.
We stopped at a few places to take some photographs and visit one of the many impressive waterfalls, then attempted to find the second hot spring on our list.
This time we were successful.
The description had read:
Hrunalaug – another hot spring near Reykjavik
Hrunalaug is also easily accessible from Reykjavík. It is about an hour’s drive, close to the village of Flúðir. You need to drive road no 344 (Hrunavegur) from Flúðir and turn off it towards Sólheimar. Drive past the church and stop when you come to a parking space that has a ‘no camping’ sign. Just over the hill (2 minute walk) is Hrunalaug.
The pool itself is actually split into 2 pools. There is a little man made hut built over one pool, that is like a hot tub for 2-4 people. A little trickle of a river runs through the hut from the other pool that is slightly larger. The little hut is convenient to change your clothes in (or well, just take them off – most people just bathe naked since there is no-one around you!), especially at winter time.
I’d improve this somewhat by adding that the 344 is marked ‘Hruni’ and you have to drive for quite a few minutes before seeing the turn off towards Solheimar; you will see the mentioned church. There was a hand written road sign saying ‘Hrunalaug 400m’ although I’d estimate it to be a bit further than that; you then take the next right hand turn and you will come to the car park.
This is a lovely little spot with great views down the valley.
When we arrived there were a couple of middle aged gents and a middle aged couple. They politely moved away from the changing hut whilst we slipped into our bathing suits and sampled the beautifully warm water.
I would rate the temperature as a nice hot water – not steaming hot; just a nice, hot, perfect bath type temperature.
The water felt so silky on our skin, no doubt due to the mineral content. The clouds had cleared away at this point as we lay chin deep in the calming waters with the sun tanning our faces.
We didn’t want to leave!
We stayed about two hours, with numerous groups of people of all ages and nations coming and going. As one local stated when a large group of young adults (presumably Dutch) arrived: “In Iceland, there is no maximum capacity to a hot spring. There’s always room for one more!”.
Yet it never felt crowded, and we only dragged ourselves away with enough time to get to our hotel in time for the evening meal.
We checked into the Hotel Geysir (the actual sleeping accomodation is a minutes drive down the road in a light airy modern annex with excellent shared kitchen facilities) and went straight to dinner as they mentioned the kitchen closed at 9pm which was fast approaching.
My girlfriend is to, all extents and purposes, a vegetarian, and I try to avoid excessive meat consumption due to both moral and health reasons, but for the simple facts of convenience and enjoyment I do eat pretty much everything.
I will also try anything, especially if it’s new and exotic.
When I’d first heard that they’d served whale in Iceland, I’d had mixed feelings. Being against whaling I’d been initially repulsed, yet also intrigued. My girlfriend suggested that I’d only ever try it once anyway and I’ve always adopted the policy of ‘When In Rome…’… so one Mink Whale was ordered.
It wasn’t as I expected; looking, and tasting, far more like meat than fish. It was like a medium-rare steak in flavour and texture, with a slight metallic or kidney flavoured hint. The flesh inside looked odd – it reminded me of a turkish delight!
Apparently you have to eat it whilst hot, else it becomes almost uneatable. Being quite hungry at this stage, I wolfed it down, along with the excellent potato gratin stack and cauliflower puree.
I wouldn’t order it again. Not just from the moral perspective; I’d prefer a steak.
Several people on forums had commented on how expensive Iceland was. At the equivalent of £60 for two courses and a glass of wine each I thought the meal reasonably priced, considering the good quality. Over the weekend we were there we found most food and services at a price similar to the UK, but admittedly the accommodation and hire car had been considerable more than we’d pay for on other holidays abroad. My tip is to shop around and use a cashback site such as Topcashback (you can join up here).
Tired from our travels we went to bed, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring us.
Amazon sell an excellent guide: The Rough Guide to Iceland
