Reykjavik
From my own experience as well as chatting with other travelers, many people want to visit Iceland, but few actually do due to it being relatively remote and not easily incorporated into a typical European jaunt. The statistics bear it out: while 102 million people visit France (the world’s top destination) and 35 million visit Austria (which rounds out the top 10) every year, “only” 2.3 million set foot on the Land of Fire and Ice.
So I was considerably excited to get such an opportunity on this cruise, especially since we were staying in Reykjavik overnight. (As Dave Barry might say, the greatest challenge in visiting Reykjavik is learning to spell it correctly. Took me many, many tries.)
My original plan for getting acquainted with Reykjavik included walking from the cruise ship pier to the city center (a mere one hour away), walking around the fine city where a bit over a third of the island nation’s population of 390,000 lives, examining culturally or architecturally significant buildings, and then heading back to the ship for dinner.
Fate had other plans.
An irresistible force of nature had me taking a cab into town to catch a “Golden Circle & Glacier Snowmobiling” tour. Now, as much as I’d like to think that the first image that pops into your head when you imagine “Snowmobiling on a Glacier” is me slaloming down a snowy mountain on alternating runners, that’s probably a bit off the mark. Nevertheless, there I was, climbing into this “monster truck” (the official name provided by our guide) for a ride up the mountain over terrain I shuddered to imagine:
But I get ahead of myself. First, we got into a regular touristy bus provided, no doubt, as a ruse to reassure us that our adventure would be strictly civilized.
After rolling through the city’s outskirts, which took not much longer than a Reykjavik minute (there’s no such term, I’m just showing off my prowess in spelling Reykjavik), we suddenly found ourselves on another planet. Or so it seemed, so radical was the change in the landscape and so smooth the spatial dislocation. Everything looked alien; little was familiar:
After about an hour of the alien landscape, we reached our first stop: Gullfoss waterfall.
Taking a walk down many flights of stairs built into the side of the cliff, we started hearing the rush of water we could barely see in the distance:
On closer approach, the Gullfoss revealed itself:
Here’s a video where you can clearly hear the roar of the water:
Here’s me trying to put the falls in perspective:
, from right about there:
A proposal was made to walk down to the edge of the cliff next to the falls, as some intrepid souls had done (see the previous picture). I pointed out that the edge seemed to be constantly bathed in the mist from the falls, and it was probably not the best thing to be thoroughly soaked prior to glacier snowmobiling. (Also, I point to the red “danger” sign in the picture above.)
This was the place where we boarded the “monster trucks” and set off for the glacier.
After a slow and rattly ride up the mountainside, surrounded by more ethereal landscapes:
, we arrived at “Base Camp” (yes, that was what they called it).
I implored the instigator of this adventure to make sure my children got my remains, should any be recovered, and we proceeded to get suited up. I shouldn’t have worried about proper snowmobiling attire! We were outfitted literally head to toe. The fur-lined snowmobiling monosuit had extensions below where pants would normally end to fully encase the shoes. Gloves were provided for the hands, and a tube of material was worn under a helmet to protect most of the face. The helmet, like one on a mountain bike (I would imagine, never having ridden one of those either), had a visor that came down to my chin. I felt, if not perfectly safe, at least properly insulated.
After a short lesson on snowmobile operation, we were lined up to start our adventure.
I tried not to think about how I looked, although pictures of Michael Dukakis in a tank kept running through my head:
We were off!
I learned a couple of things very quickly: one, the snowmobile likes to stay in the rut set by people ahead of me; and two, the folks ahead of me were even less proficient with the machine, given how their ruts did not run in a straight line but followed an oscillating pattern of a crazed snake.
With time, though, I learned to slow down on the curves and arrived at a halfway point battered but still in one piece.
The ride back was a lot more fun. The folks ahead of me must have figured something out, and I learned how to get out of the ruts and attain speeds only dreamed of by aging oxen. In truth, I did enjoy the ride enormously; I now wish I could go somewhere I could pin the beast (that’s what Grok tells me is the proper term for snowmobiling at ludicrous speeds).
I admit I needed help getting out of the monosuit; it’s not every day I take a full-body garment off while still wearing shoes! But all was well, and great fun was had by all.
After another bone-rattling ride on the “monster truck,” we got back on our deceiver bus, but not before we replenished ourselves with Lamb Stew, the area specialty (very good, actually).
The next stop on the Ring was the geysers. We could see the location from a distance, as it was shrouded in steam from the thermal springs and geysers.
Apparently, “geysirs” are a big business in Iceland!
The first geyser was quiescent when we got there. I noticed a lot of people standing on one side of it; but the other offered a much better view of the pool out of which the geyser was to erupt, and I headed there for better pictures (see all those naïfs on the far side?)
After a long wait (which seemed longer than the 5-minute mean between eruptions), a wall of steaming, 200+-degree water rose from the pool to the height of at least 20 feet. And started falling right toward me, because I was standing downwind of it.
After beating a hasty retreat and barely avoiding being boiled alive, I was convinced of the wisdom of the crowd and rejoined the multitudes.
After another long wait, I finally had my video; unfortunately, that eruption was not nearly as spectacular, as you can see: (and make sure you wait for it! There is no other one!)
(Yes, I deliberately left the footage up front to immerse you in the experience of the breathless anticipation of a geyser eruption.)
There were other bubbling brooks and pools around:
and
(And no, I don’t have any explanation for what we saw in the last few frames.)
Our thirst for geysers finally quenched, we rolled on to the next stop - Thingvellir National Park. That place was amazing. From the overlook:
, you can see for miles and miles, and again, much of it looked alien.
Doesn’t this wall look like The Wall from Game of Thrones, only made out of rocks?
And we were not done yet! The irresistible force of nature prevailed on the bus driver to take us to the Sky Lagoon (Blue Lagoon being too far to reach before closing).
Another awesome experience I would have never attempted! This was quite the place. Their motto:
Here’s the ad copy:
“The Sky Lagoon, opened in 2021 in Kópavogur near Reykjavik, offers a modern, intimate geothermal spa experience with a focus on Icelandic bathing culture and stunning ocean views. Its unique attraction is the 70-meter infinity-edge pool overlooking the North Atlantic, blending seamlessly with the horizon for a luxurious, immersive experience.”
For once, it is not exaggerated. The geothermal springs fill a giant area very nicely blended into the surrounding rock formations:
Waterfalls and other water features abound:
Here’s a video of the experience:
Then, you can go through the rest of the 7-step Skjól ritual (soaking in the geothermal pool is actually Step 1). It starts with a plunge into an ice-cold basin, quickly followed by a séance in the hottest sauna I’ve ever encountered. It offers an incredible ocean view!
After the sauna, you can walk through a room with (very) cold mist:
In the next room, they give you Sky Lagoon’s “exclusive Sky Body Scrub, a milky, aromatic blend of sea salt, sweet almond oil, sesame oil, grape seed oil, argan oil, rosehip oil, and tocopheryl acetate” that you are supposed to rub into your skin all over your body until it gives the skin a butter-like texture. (It is actually quite amazing.)
Next is a steam bath, which opens the pores and allows the oils to penetrate.
Once you’ve sweated enough, you can shower off with warm water (which feels cool after the steam) and head back into the geothermal pool, which conveniently has a swim-up bar with all sorts of very healthy drinks.
I liked my potion so much, I bought a to-go pack on the way out!
Overall, it was incredibly relaxing – a perfect ending to an activity-filled day!