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19 Jul 2015
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We arrived in Grindavik in the south west of the Island with the intention of camping, but the winds were howling and it was 4 degrees and raining. It is shocking how expensive a room in a guesthouse (shared bath) is on Iceland. Almost as much as Scotland Gino. We did not have much choice and hunkered down for the night.
We woke up to a dreary day, but it was barely raining now and not really very windy. From Grindavik we rode up to the airport to meet our friends Gord and Adrianna who have come from Vancouver to spend 2 weeks with us exploring Iceland.
DSC00974 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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19 Jul 2015
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We had tickets to the Blue lagoon today, but instead of taking the paved road there we rode cross-country on a dirt track that was on the GPS, but not on the map. This was thru a lava fields. Along the way there were several steam vents visible and finally the pipes for “harvesting” the steam.
DSCN3328 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSCN3327 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1721 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC00988 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC00989 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1727 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC00994 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC00996 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC00999 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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19 Jul 2015
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The Blue lagoon itself is very expensive for a soak in the wastewater from the nearby geothermal plant, but was a relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon.
DSCN3331 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSCN3335 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1764 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1771 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1825 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1889 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1876 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
FILE1883 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Jul 2015
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From here we continued north towards Reykjavik, but stopped for the night in nearby Hafnarfjordur, which according to the signage is the city of Vikings, Elves, and lava. It apparently has the largest concentration of elves, dwarves, and hidden people on the island! It is set in a 7000-year old lava field and is home to a large Viking festival every summer. That said it is a very picturesque fishing town with brightly colored metal or wood clad houses.
DSC01002 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC01003 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC01006 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC01008 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC01009 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Jul 2015
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Most visitors to Iceland land in the capital and then only do a tour of the “golden circle” This includes the major attractions in a 300 km loop. They see Thingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Geysers as well as a scenic drive.
Golden-circle-in-Iceland by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We did a 212 km route that was off road and on the secondary roads.
Screen Shot 2015-07-21 at 8.15.05 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Last edited by saralou; 21 Jul 2015 at 20:18.
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21 Jul 2015
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21 Jul 2015
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On the way we did have some incredible view across the lake to Thingvellir.
golden circle 17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Jul 2015
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The first stop was at Geysir to see the hot water eruptions. The Great geyser was dormant before an 1896 earthquake and by 1910 was active about every 30 minutes this frequency declined over time and then only rarely. Since an earthquake in 2000 it became active again but by 2003 was only erupting about 3 times a day. The nearby Strokkur geyser erupts up to 30 meters every few minutes. It is very cool to stand there and watch the pool start to swirl and then splash over the sides. This increases in intensity until suddenly a large bubble appears followed by a huge plume of hot water.
golden circle 32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
IMG_4157 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
IMG_4446 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
IMG_4446 (1) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
IMG_4446 (2) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Jul 2015
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Next we rode over to Gullfoss, which is one of the most popular attractions on the island. The river makes a sharp turn and flows down a wide 3-tier staircase and then abruptly crashes into a 32-meter deep crevice. From a certain angle it looks like the river disappears into the earth. There was a lot of controversy here since the plan was to use the river to generate electricity. It was saved because of the failure of investors to raise the money and the land was sold to the state for protection.
golden circle 44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
DSC02960 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
golden circle 60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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