Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.03.2012, Page 26

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 3 — 2012 The winter Golden Circle and Lava Cave day tour is provided
by Arctic Adventures. For more information see http://www.
adventures.is/ or call +354 562 7000.
Travel | Caves
The Golden Circle tour is a quintessential
activity for most visitors to Iceland. You get
to see a waterfall, geysers and Þingvellir
national park, boasting another waterfall,
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and historical sig-
nificance as the meeting place of Alþingi, the
oldest parliament in Europe. Some tour op-
erators, like Arctic Adventures, think that's
not quite enough to sate adventure hungry
tourists though. They’ve added the bonus of
travelling by super-jeep and doing some cav-
ing in one of the hundreds of caves that dot
the country.
We show up at the Arctic Adventure's office
early Sunday morning and meet our guide for the
day and all round 'cool dude' Ingó Olsen before
heading off to Bláfjöll Mountains, where the cave
Leiðarendi (“Route End”) is located. Finding the
cave doesn’t seem like an easy task. Almost ev-
erything is covered in snow and the cave entrance
doesn’t exactly have a neon sign pointing it out,
but Ingó proves to know exactly where it is.
INTO THE vOID
After gearing up with waterproofs, helmets, and
lights, Ingó guides us through the snow covered
lava field to the entrance of the cave. It is nearly
engulfed with snow, which actually makes our de-
scent a little easier as we can partially slide on our
behinds into the mouth of it.
The next two hours are spent exploring whilst
Ingó tells us about the cave we are in and caves in
Iceland. It’s easy enough to make our way through
the cave and there are some awesome sights.
Some of the stalactites and stalagmites—rock that
have melted down walls and then hardened—look
decidedly like something from the mind of re-
nowned Swiss surrealist artist HR Giger.
After seeing the volcanic innards of Iceland
in all its glory, we emerge into the midday Janu-
ary sun. We enjoy a delicious lunch at the nearby
café Litla Kaffistofan (“The Little Coffee Shop”)
and then head back out into the wilderness. Our
super-jeep speeds us towards Gullfoss, cutting
along roads that a large coach simply wouldn’t be
able to travel.
ALL THAT GLITTERS IS…
Gullfoss is an almighty, two-tiered beast that liter-
ally carved the gorge it plummets into. The flow of
water is particularly large today due to the recent
snowfall and the area is pretty icy. This means we
can't get as close to Gullfoss as you can in the
summer, but it’s an impressive sight nonetheless.
Ice is also a problem at the geysers in Hau-
kadalur. We shuffle like penguins across the ice
to get closer to the most active geyser, Strokkur.
Strokkur has its hissy fit every five to ten minutes,
so witnessing it blow is guaranteed. Against Ingó’s
advice, we choose a less icy path, and wind up
downwind from Strokkur when it erupts and gives
us a spectacular soaking! Oops!
From there we head to our final destination,
Þingvellir. As we travel along a road that runs adja-
cent to Þingvallavatn, which is the largest natural
lake in Iceland, the super-jeep hits a bad patch of
ice. The jeep skitters and skids about before Ingó
is able to regain control. Still, something doesn’t
seem right. Ingó pulls over and discovers that the
left-rear tyre has been punctured in the melee.
HELp!
The puncture is worse than Ingó had first thought
and we need help to repair it. So while he calls
for back-up, we check out our surroundings. The
gloomy grey sky blends in with lake Þingvallavatn,
rendering the horizon invisible. It appears to us
that the lake begins at our feet and stretches into
infinity. There are definitely worse places to break
down and we are not completely stranded.
Ingó goes with the temporary fix of inflating
the tyre, driving until it deflates, and then repeat-
ing the process, until we make it to the Þingvellir
information centre. Of course this means we are
moving along ever so slowly. With each rotation of
the wheel, a burst of air escapes and it’s a deadly
countdown to deflation.
When we arrive, Ingó tells us all about Þingvel-
lir park, and we head out to explore. After taking in
the spectacular views and seeing the original site
of Iceland’s parliament, which formed in 930 AD,
we head back to the jeep. We wait a short while
for help to arrive, peering expectantly any time
lights appear on the road, until finally the cavalry
appears in the form of another super-jeep.
The puncture is quickly patched up, and for
one last bit of excitement, our super-jeep saviour
decides to take advantage of the empty, ice-cov-
ered car-park and treat us to a graceful super-jeep
ballet of donuts and handbrake turns. And with
that, we head back in convoy to Reykjavík where
the warmth of our hotels and homes await us.
CAvE IN, CAvE OUT...
The Golden Circle is also on our route!
CLYDE BRADFORD
ALÍSA KALYANOvA
ÞÓRSHÖFN
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
THORSHOFN
ILULISSAT
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT
NUUK
KULUSUK
NARSARSUAQ
GRÍMSEY
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
REYKJAVÍK
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