Round The World and other travel

Sep 2017: Iceland

2 - The Golden Circle

Shortly after visiting Landeyjahöfn Beach, we turned inland to pick up the 'Golden Circle' tourist route from Reykjavik and head towards our second night-stop, Hotel Gullfoss. The tour continued the following day by first viewing the famous waterfall that gave its name to our hotel, then taking in some geothermal action at Geysir and strolling between two continents - or at least their respective tectonic plates - at Thingvellir (Icelandic: Þingvellir).

		LEFT: Heading inland for the Hotel Gullfoss
		RIGHT: Viewing the falls after breakfast the following day
BELOW: I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Geysir, the place that gave us the English word 'geyser'. The geothermal activity reminded me of previous visits to Yellowstone National Park in the USA.



BELOW: Thingvellir National Park lies about 40km northeast of Reykjavik and is another essential stop on the popular 'Golden Circle' route. It lies at the meeting point of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The final photo shows the footpath between the two plates, which are moving apart at a rate of around one inch per year. The rocks to the left are (geologically speaking) part of North America, while those on the right are European. Walking here gave a whole new meaning to the term 'intercontinental'!