The initial impetus for this trip was that Philip, Penny and their three kids, Billy, Christine and Stephanie were visting family in England from Canada and were flying Icelandic Airways. This allows you a stopover in Iceland. We have always wanted to visit Iceland but have been thwarted in or plans to go.

So instead of meeting up with them for a day out in Derbyshire we decided to catch up with them in Iceland. So we came out a few days before them and met up this morning to go and do the classic tourist route, the Golden Circle.

Their AirBnB rental was about a five minute drive from ours in a more residential part of town, a stone's throw from shops and restaurants. After they bought provisions for sandwiches and snacks for the trip we set off in two cars towards Thingvellir - site of the Atlantic rift which marks the point where the European and American tectonic pates are slowly pulling apart. As we virtually all the sites we have visited, entrance was free but there was a small charge for parking.

The site was busy, with an improbable number of venture scouts but you could still admire the scenery and the deep rift.

Next it was on to Geysir and other geysers. Unlike the geysers we have seen in Chile which have been at high altitude, there were relatively low lyinng and beside a road. The stram by the road was steaming away with warnings about nt touching the water, but the fascinatio proved too strong for many. There was a field of hissing and spitting pools and sulphurous steam. The original geyser, Geysir, is virtually retired nowadays, but its younger relative, Strokkur, puts on quite a show with remarkable regularity. The main challenge was tp predict the eact second it was going to blow and capturing that photo. There is something innocently absorbing abut waiting for it to blow and we were all transfixed. We could have stayed for hours. It is amazing how little protection there is around the site, but people were sensible. As with virtually everywhere in Iceland that we have seen, a new hotel was being built across the road.

Finally, the last part of the Golden Circle was the waterfall, Gullfoss. Not far from the Haukadallur valley which houses the geysers, the spray gave away its location. This was a roaring force of nature, catchng rainbows are it fell.

Driving back as twilight fell took nearly 90 minutues and it was a frantic dash to the 10-11 store for dinner at Philip and Penny's flat. Brilliant!!