Paging aJohn Denver

It's Monday and we have had this day pencilled in for months. It is "Golden Circle" day and we are very excited to return to "the road." The Golden Circle isn't really anything other than a marketing idea to promote several sites. We start our day at Pingvellir National Park. It is jaw droppingly stunning for its harsh beauty and its historical significance. If you follow Game of Thrones, this is where a sword fight between The Hound and that giant,blonde woman was filmed. Upon seeing the scenery here, the episode came flashing back at once. We score a bonus "foss" here....Oxararfoss. It is not the biggest we have seen but would handily win in the category of "Best Mini-foss".

We then set our sights on Laugarvatn, a mere blip on a road map BUT home to a well respected restaurant, "Lindin." We normally have not stopped for lunch so today is a treat for both of us. Considering it is mid-afternoon, the place is quite busy. Lunch scores thumbs up from us both. Time for a gusher or two.

Next up....Geysir. THE original. All future geysirs were named after this one. It doesn't really have a name BUT it likely boasts the largest tourist info,gift shop, restaurant,etc building that we have encountered at any site. Cath gets video of the geysir blowing its top a few times and we wander through the shop before leaving empty handed. We agree that because of the large touristy building, Geysir truly is a tourist "trap" but not in a bad way like Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls.

OK.....stop number 3 of 3 coming up. It's time for another (and possibly last in Iceland for us) "foss". We make the short trek to Gullfoss. You may recall that I said we visited Dettifoss and that it was possibly the mother of all waterfalls? Well, we have a new #1 folks. Gullfoss wins in a landslide vote as our favourite waterfall.....and believe me, we saw a LOT of them during our travels. It has everything you would want......speed, power,beauty. One of their info boards stated that it moves water faster than The Falls at Niagara Falls. Can't honestly say I would want to know who jumped into the water to test that so I'll take their word as gospel. Again.....white water rafters need not apply at this "foss."

WHEW. What a day. As Denver sang, "thank God I'm a country boy." We were so happy to hit the road again. We agreed that finishing with 2 days on the road is the perfect ending to our time here in Iceland. Reykjavik versus the entire country is so polar opposite and for us, we came here to see the natural beauty and experience some natural phenomena.

Oooops, wait a sec......seems I forgot one last thing. Speaking of natural phenomena. We ended our day at "The Secret Lagoon", a hot pot fed by a natural hot spring. It is in Fludir, yet another pimple on the map but oh, so worth finding. We soak our day away chatting with a couple from Seattle. She and Catherine are both enjoying a Somersby Cider which is not available in Seattle so now we have another person to deliver Somersbys to when we visit the gang in Portland !! The Secret Lagoon was our 6th pool/hot pot/hot tub spot during our trip. Heck, we barely dip our toes into the lake at Port Stanley and we live there!

Tomorrow....pack and go. Small road trip followed by a move closer to the airport and the return of the rental car.

Pics....Cath at Oxararfoss, us in Pingvellir Park, 2 "Canada" geese in Pingvellir, 2 shots of Gullfoss, Gullfoss info boardRead more