Geysers, golden circle, and green lakes

We said our goodbyes, and then I headed out towards the Golden Circle.  The Golden Circle is a tourist route of the major sites of Iceland.  I first stopped at Kerið  which is a volcanic crater now filled by a pretty green lake.  I think September must be a great time to visit as some of the vegetation along the sides was already changing color into bright reds and yellows.

I then stopped at this small town, Skálholt, he recommended, but I couldn't figure out why.  All the buildings were a white stone color which was nice, but nothing unusual.

I then got to Geysir where I rented a room at the Geysir hotel.

  My room turned out to be more of a cabin and a very good deal for Iceland.

Before sunset, I headed for Gullfoss, the main tourist waterfall in Iceland.  It's a double waterfall and while very pretty, I personally preferred some of the other falls I had been to earlier.

I then headed back to Geysir to actually walk through it this time.  From miles away, you can see the steam rising from the geothermic pools.  As you walk in, you are engulfed in the sulfuric steam rising up from the numerous pools along the way.  I even saw old foot steps that had become bubbling pools because they were just deep enough to fill with water from underground.  Geysir is the biggest and oldest of the geysers, but erupts pretty infrequently, though it had a large steam cloud pouring from it.

  Anywhere you walked in this area, you could hear the sound of the sulfur bubbling up from underground.  Strokkur is another major geyser here and I watched three eruptions in about twenty minutes with the water leaping about thirty feet in the air.  At one of the eruptions I was standing so close I got wet from all the steam when it exploded. 

I then walked over to the hotel restaurant which was much nicer than those at most hotels.  I was seated by the window where I could see the steam from the geysers across the street throughout my meal.  I tried the reindeer appetizer which was excellent with the raspberry sauce.  It tasted like a really good meatloaf that wasn't greasy at all.  This was followed by Icelandic lamb which has the reputation as being the best in the world.  After trying it, I can attest that it has certainly earned that reputation.  It was so rich that my eyes kept rolling back, I had no idea lamb could ever be quite that good and I love lamb!  They were even playing Sarah McLachlan in the restaurant, so really it was a perfect meal.