Day 15. Gullfoss and Geysir

When I woke up this morning, the rain that started yesterday evening had stopped. I stepped outside my tent and looked up at a blue sky.

Today is going to be a good day, I thought. I wanted to join the crowds of tourists at Gullfoss and Geysir. After breakfast, I drove to Gullfoss. Unfortunately, the sky started to cloud over again. But it didn't matter as long as it stayed dry.

When I arrived at the waterfall, it was just as I had feared. The parking lot was full and countless people from all over the world crowded the well-built path to the cliff.

On the parking lot, I noticed some impressive vehicles again and couldn't help but take pictures of them. It's somehow a guy thing.

Here, the Hvitá River falls in two stages. The first drop is 11 meters and the second is 20 meters. It's incredible how much water flows through the canyon. For this reason, foreign investors wanted to dam the river and build a power plant in the 1920s. A woman named Sigríður Tómasdóttir protested against this plan and threatened to throw herself into the river if it was implemented. It's an interesting story that I won't go into all the details of here, as this is a travel report, not a history book. But I can tell you that there is a memorial stone with her likeness at Gullfoss. The information sign next to it mentions that she was a beautiful woman with blonde hair. Clearly, there is a particular taste here.

I also joined the procession to the lower part of the waterfall. Some people obviously think the water will be turned off any minute, they walk so quickly. I suspect there is a time limit for when the bus leaves.

Personally, I find the much smaller Godafoss more scenic.

Next, I went to the next tourist attraction, Geysir.

Here too, the same picture, a full parking lot and people walking in single file into the area.

What's interesting here is that the Geysir, from which all other geysers get their name, no longer erupts. It used to shoot a water column up to 80 meters into the sky. The currently active geyser, Strokkur, only reaches up to 30 meters, but it does so with beautiful regularity every five to ten minutes. Now I'm standing around it with hundreds of others, pointing my lens at the landscape. The eruption of the water column only lasts a few seconds and comes without warning. When it happens, a cheer goes through the crowd. Cameras and camcorders buzz in competition. And then it's all over. It took me two or three eruptions to press the shutter button in time.

I also went to the Geysir Center on the opposite side of the road in search of toilet facilities. There's a large restaurant with a souvenir shop. They have all imaginable kitsch that Icelanders think tourists need. They even offer mountain air in cans for 1200 ISK = 10.30 Euros.

The Icelanders are definitely business-savvy. At least there is no entrance fee at Gullfoss or Geysir.

Back at the campsite, it's time for the evening ritual: eating, reviewing pictures, writing, and planning the next day. Tomorrow, I will head east again, but along the south coast.