Fire and Ice

Iceland is called a land of fire and ice because of its active volcanoes and its glaciers.  The country makes great use of the molten lava beneath its surface.  Icelanders use it to bake bread, called Geysir Rye.  The bread is denser than what you think of and sweet.  In the parts of the country where the tectonics made it possible the dough is put into sealed containers, buried in the hot ground and left there for 24 hours to bake.  I bought some.  I will report back to you on taste.

The thermal action creates energy for the country.  Power plants use the heat to generate steam and spin turbines.  There are also hot springs where people come to appreciate the therapeutic benefits of the waters.

There are three vacationers who seem to be enjoying the water.  Temperature is quite warm depending on where you are in the pool.  There are thermal hot spots.  I saw a posted sign warning of a water temperature near 100 degree centigrade.  That's boiling!  It is the section of the pool to the right of the lower picture.  No one was in that area today.

We visited an area of active thermodynamics.  No geysers but plenty of mud pots and fumaroles.  Yes.  It smells like rotten eggs.

 Elsewhere today we traveled to Dettifoss.  One of Europe's largest waterfalls.  You can get very nice views from both sides without crossing an International boundary.

 I've got lots of video and different angles on this falls, including a pretty shot with a rainbow but the internet connection in this area is very slow.  That doesn't bother the sheep.

There are over 800 hundred thousand of them in the country.  They are allowed to roam freely, anywhere, including into a hotel parking lot.

They don't mind people as long as they can eat their grass.  All of the sheep we saw are tagged.  In September sheep ranchers go out and herd all the sheep in their "region" into pens.  The sheep are sorted and returned to the ranchers.  The country stages a festival around the activity which goes on for several days or even weeks.  Iceland sheep are hearty.  They can withstand the winter.  They are disease resistant and they end up being a staple of Icelandic diets.

There is a desert in Iceland.  It's not an Arizona roasting type desert.  To find that kind of heat you dig downward.  It is arid there.  Not many sheep, although we saw some.  Apparently the only place the sheep do not venture is the glaciers.

Iceland surprises:  There are lots of bugs this time of year in certain parts of the country.  Our travels this morning to Dettifoss gathered many onto the car.  Fortunately at the N1 petrol station you can wash your car for free.  The water is cold.  Frankly it is glacier cold, but they provide a brush and it gets the job done.  At N1 you cannot buy fuel with your credit cards.  You must buy pre pay cards from them and they are sold in 10,000 and 5,000 Krona denominations.  Gas is about 2250 Krona per liter.  If it makes it easier for you it works out to around 8 bucks a gallon currently.

When we rented the car, which Jan and Mary arranged through a travel agent in Reykjavik,  we were encouraged to take something like a Toyota Highlander.  It's large enough to carry 4 adults and their luggage.  Cars that large are powered by diesel engines.  It gets reasonably good mileage.  As part of the package the car comes with a handy, mobile internet device.  Basically it uses the phone network across the country as you wander.  It provides a wifi signal in the car for up to 10 connections.  If you are in a 4g area the connection is fast.  Tonight we are in a 3g area.  Not as good.  You can take it with you into a hotel room.  I did two nights ago.  It's proved to be a handy device on the trip.  Warning:  There are areas without cell coverage and the device just waits until you drive into one before it handles your request.

Tourism is now a huge part of Iceland's economy.  Not too long ago 500,000 tourists visited.  Now, Iceland hosts over 2 million visitors.  As a result, in a country of roughly 300 thousand people, half of whom live in Reykjavik, there are not enough laborers to work in the hotels and other tourist support businesses.  Our wait staff tonight hailed from Serbia and Portugal.  Our waiter this morning proudly talked about his Italian roots.  They come here to earn money as a summer job.

Tomorrow we are whale watching.