Trip to Iceland - Geysir, Gullfoss & Whale Watching
28 January 2012
On the second day of the trip, we made a coach journey to the Geysir
park, which contains the original Geysir which gave all such phenomena
their name. The original Geysir is currently dormant, but there was another lovely
regular spout, as well as plenty of steam and bubbling boiling water
holes.
The Utli geysir, a cheerfully bubbling little pool
The Strokkur geyser erupts!
And about five minutes later, it does it again - it was very active
today, going off every 4/5 minutes instead of the official 8-10. Once it
erupted three times in quick succession, which was very exciting
A comparison - Strokkur is not one of the tallest geysers, but it's very
impressive all the same!
A lot of people have these 'super jeeps' with massive tyres to get
around in the Icelandic weather
Our second stop of the afternoon was to Gulfoss or the Golden Waterfall,
a beautiful and impressive sight, particular in the midst of the snow
and ice
29 January 2012
On the final day, Lucy & her Mum chose to go whale watching - we'd been
warned that it wasn't really the season and that the weather might be
too bad, but took the risk, and in the event the weather had improved
and the boat trip went ahead
We hadn't been going long when we had the news from other boats in the
area that a humpbacked whale had been sighted, so we wrestled on our wet
weather gear provided and went up on the chilly deck for a better look.
That whale was a bit shy, as was the next, but then our luck changed and
we spotted a pair of humpbacks, which was very unusual apparently
Here you can clearly see two blows as the whales surface
After a few blows, they flip over, show the tail (fluke) and dive again
This pair were inquisitive and unafraid and came very close to the boat
Here you can clearly see the backs of both whales as they swim on the
surface to look at us
And another fluke showing as they dive again
We watched these whales for quite some time, but then received even more
exciting news of more whales, of a species so rarely seen in this bay
that the guide hadn't even mentioned it as a slight possibility
We headed over where they had been reported, and soon catch sight of at
least two or three fins
More fins showing
And a good clear view - it is a pod of eight to ten orcas or
killer-whales. You can clearly see the white patch on the cheek, and
even more exciting, there is a young whale with the pod!
Four fins and one just under the surface all at once! It was lovely to
hear that even the tour guide, who does this every day, was extremely
excited at both our sightings, and particular over the pod of orcas with
their baby. A real climax to a wonderful holiday!
Back at the hotel, it was sadly cloudy yet again
The viewing gallery with balcony where you can view the Lights in
comfort, popping outside should they appear. Alas, we weren't quite that
lucky, but perhaps another time we will try again. In any case it was a
lovely holiday!
Iceland holiday, January 2012
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