Day 73 June 23rd 2018
While Liz and Gerd went for an early early morning walk we arose at a still early 8.30am for us! After breakfast Chrissi and Aggi the owners of Old Jadar took us on a tour of their Iceland Horse stables which had a number of horses of varying ages including a baby of 8 days old .
The tour included much information on these special small horses. For example they have 5 gaits when most other horses have 3. One gait was described as like sitting on a sofa. For this gait the horse moves quickly and smoothly with only 1 foot on ground at once. An Icelandic horse can cover 100metres in 7 seconds
All horses in Iceland have owners there no wild horses. On this farm they are trained for Icelandic dressage and racing.
Aggi took us to see 5000 old Lava tube bridge and gave histories as we walked – sagas, sheep and cattle killing feud, breeding horses and Icelandic Highway men.
Two secrets were shared over this time – one was the hot pools known as the “Secret Lagoon” in Fludir the other was an alternative walk to Gulfoss falls – from the opposite side of the bank.
As we set off we missed the turnoff described for the falls and found ourselves in Fludir so decided to begin with the “Secret Lagoon” with little information and no GPS it took a little while to find – increasing the feeling this was a real secret. The sight of large numbers of cars and buses burst that bubble. Still it was a lovely couple of hours wallowing about in the warmth of the natural pools. Even found another Aussie floating about nearby with whom we had a lovely conversation and as he now lived in South Korea he was promoting it as worth visiting.
While it was a miserable day out – the indoor table and chairs at the Lagoon entrance were a great spot to have our picnic before heading back to find Gulfoss Falls. The latter involved a long gravel road and a hike in but worth every bit of effort. It also meant a complete view of the falls rather than a smaller view from the main road entrance.
The falls and the canyon beyond it took our attention – partly because of the wind and updraft created near the cliff face threatening to blow one off your feet. Mainly because of the massive amount of water roaring over the rocks and down through the steep sided basalt columned gorge.
With care one could walk along the cliff face to each end of the waterfall and along the steep sided canyon
The walk in and out were across rocky areas filled with wildflowers of many colours, and volcanic rock forms.
Our final visit of the day was to Geysir the thermal area from where the Geyser (Geysir) got its name. The Geysir erupts every few minutes spontaneously (unlike others around the world that have been forced to erupt for the benefit of tourists).
This was a night the constant daylight was a bonus as we travelled on to find a camping spot for the night. Fortunate in that by the time we arrived and found a site the rain had eased and while the campground facilities at Arrhus Camp were less that clean and ideal the spot we chose was private and sheltered.
