Craters, mud pools, champagne pools, and sinter terraces.
After a full day at sea we docked on the eastern shore of the north island so we could visit the inland area known as Rotorua, which sits squarely on the Taupō volcanic zone and is thus rich with geothermal activity. We spent the morning exploring the many fascinating features of the Waiotapu thermal park – deep craters, bubbling pools of mud, and the colorful landscape made as mineral-rich waters evaporated or nurtured underwater fungal life.
Our week in Iceland began with a tour of some classic sights.
Our extended family loves to travel. We sought an interesting destination to celebrate a graduation and two birthdays, and settled on Iceland. So eleven of us met up in Reykjavik for a busy week of touring this beautiful country. Iceland’s northernmost point just grazes the Arctic Circle, but even at Reykjavik (on the southwest coast) and on our dates (three weeks after solstics) the days were still very long: sunrise at 0342 and sunset at 2325; it was never dark! Although Iceland is a small island, a one-week visit is really only enough to scratch the surface – we focused on the area around the capital of Reykjavik (and the crowded “Golden Circle” of nearby sights) and the remote Westfjords peninsula. This post focuses on the Reykjavik area; see the combined gallery or the location-specific galleries below. Read on!
Continue reading “Iceland – Reykjavik and Golden Circle”
David Kotz 