Iceland Part 2, 2022

This is the bridge between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate

The Blue Lagoon a geothermal spa uses the hot and mineralized waters from the nearby power station.  It is blue because of the way silica (the lagoon's most abundant element) reflects visible light.  

Even though the Blue Lagoon is a large tourist attraction it was worth the visit.  We did it all, the scrubs, the drink, and the long soak in the hot pool.  We even cooled off with the showers provided where you could easily exit and then reenter the Lagoon.  Lunch at the Lagoon restaurant was excellent.

The Hofoi House is the location for the 1986 Reykjavik Summit meeting of President Ronald Regan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.  This was an important step towards ending of the cold war.

Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutherine parish churck in Reykjavik

In Hafnarfjordur we saw an enormous amount of fish heads drying.  The cod heads are dried on racks and sold to Africa where they are used in traditional dishes where cod head is the main ingredient,

Dramatic scenery as we drove around Iceland

More scenery

The mud pools and steam vents are collectively named Gunnuhver after a female ghost that was laid there.  They form where steam from boiling geothermal reservoir water emanates and condenses and mixes with the surface water.  Accompanying gasses such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide make the water acid.  This causes changes of the fresh lava rock to clay.

Hafnarfjorour is a large active thermal area with steam and bubbling water coming up from underground.

This is the Great Auk Memorial for this bird which was driven to extinction in modern time.

Will Ferrell's Eurovision spoof had Iceland scenes which were shot on location.  These keyboards were left where the filming took place.

Reykjanesbaer

Reykjanesviti is Iceland's oldest lighthouse.  It serves as landfall light for Reykjavik and Keflavik