DAY 4 (Aug 3, 2019) - The Golden circle
landbrotalaug hot pot (not part of golden circle)
Þingvellir (thingvellir)
strokkur / geysir
gullfoss waterfall
We took a quick detour back to Snaefullsnes peninsula for the Landbrotalaug Hot Pot (or Hot Spring) before heading down to visit the very popular Golden Circle. This was another full day, each of the four main spots were quite spectacular in their own unique ways!
Landbrotalaug hot pot
While we had a jam packed day in Snaefullsnes peninsula yesterday, there was still one spot there we didn’t hit, and it was a hidden gem A discovered that we really wanted to go check out. So we decided it was worth backtracking for. This tiny little hot spring was just too cool! It’s pretty much the shape of a small pot, hence the nickname “hot pot”, I suppose. There’s a nearby shallow pool also. Since the hot spring is tiny, we were hoping there wouldn’t be other people there. Imagine our disappointment when we saw 15+ cars in the parking lot when we parked. We thought there’s no way we could get in. Luckily, we decided to go check it out anyway. There were lots of people walking around, but when we walked to the shallow pool, there was nobody in there! We happily ran back to get our sandals and towels from our car (we already had swimsuits on under our clothes) and jumped in! Well, not quite… Ivan went in slowly, then eventually the rest of us followed. The shallow pool is divided into three separate pools, one of them has a “faucet” where you can adjust the amount of hot spring water coming in. This part was way too hot. The other two were a bit cooler, so we picked one and went in. It was quite shallow, and the bottom was part rock, part mud. Maybe the hot spring mud’s minerals are good for our skins? Who knows. The small hot spring was full so we waited in the shallow pool. Eventually the hot pot freed up and we went over to try it out. It really was just enough room for two comfortably, four in a squeeze. This was much better than the shallow pool — Much deeper so hot water goes up to your chest, rock bottom so no mud, and the temperature was perfect. We relaxed and had fun taking some pictures, before getting back on the road. This was definitely an unique spot unlike any other. Just don’t be fooled by some youtube videos… it might be empty during off seasons, but it’s no longer a “hidden gem” as many tourists walk around here.
Voyager tips: Visit here with other places on Snaefullsnes. Wear your swimsuits underneath if you want. You may need to wait your turn for the hot spring. Try the shallow pool if you don’t mind a bit of mud. Bring big towels to dry and to help you change. Just know that you won’t get to shower until when you get home at the end of the day.
Þingvellir
Þingvellir, (aka Thingvellir) is an UNESCO world heritage site where you can walk between two continents, at least as far as tectonic plates are concerned. You can walk down the crack, where it is the North American plate on the left and the Eurasian plate to your right. How cool is that??
strokkur / geysir
The word “geyser” came from this very original “geysir” in Iceland. The original geysir is no longer active, but this new kid on the block called Strokkur has replaced it to be THE main geyser in the area. It’s quite active, puts on a show every 6 minutes or so, and it’s glorious! Water around there is quite hot. There’s a nice restaurant across the street where we got some yummy food.
Voyager tips: Strokkur goes off every 6 minutes or so, more frequently than Old Faithful at Yellowstone. The “all you can drink” soup and unlimited bread at ~$20 USD is actually a good deal for Iceland standard, and the quality of food is much better than the typical tourist-attraction restaurants. The special soup of the day, the fish soup, was awesome, and they didn’t mind that we shared it as a family. The server even gave our daughters free chocolate bars!
gullfoss waterfall
Gullfoss is the most powerful waterfall in Iceland, and you can feel its sheer power when standing so close to it. The water loudly roaring, the mist coming up and covering its surroundings, water gushing through continuously. The government is now building a water power plant to draw out the power of this waterfall, great idea!
Voyager tips: Definitely bring rain jackets. You WILL get wet!