Iceland's Golden Circle
What a day to finish our touring with the photography course. Having returned to Reykjavik quite late on Thursday evening, we were up early for breakfast and our 3rd class at 8am.
The classes have been wonderfully instructive - each class we put forward 6 or 7 photos for critique. This particular morning was not overly good for me, but I knew that the photos I put forward had significant flaws. So I've taken the constructive comments on board and will learn from these.
After class we were back on the bus, and soon after leaving Reykjavik for Thingvellir, it started snowing. By the time we arrived we were in a blizzard. Thingvellir is a historic site where the oldest existing parliament in the world first assembled in 930AD. It is also a fascinating national park where the Almannagja canyon has formed between the North American and European tectonic plates.
Once we were down into the canyon the wind abated, and the snow let up for a while. Lots of photos were taken along the way - the first two show the canyon and a new building on the site of the first parliament.
From there we went to Strokkur to see the large Geisyr - always amazing to watch the mass of water shoot out of the ground - some photos will be on my website a little later.
I had last visited the massive waterfall at Gullfoss in 2013, in summer with sun shining and clear visibility, including a rainbow! But this time it was entirely different. In all these places we have been wearing spikes to avoid slipping on the ice - here it was essential, particularly when walking from the top viewing area down stairs to the lower area.
The way the mass of water roils around the snowy rocks & ice and is then launched over the falls is mesmerizing. At one point yet another blizzard hit - many of us stayed to wait it out, but when my lens hood start to fill with snow I realised it was time to retreat to our nearby bus to dry everything out.
Once the blizzard passed, I was out again capturing some fun people photos. All in all, a wonderful day despite the difficult weather.
Today, Saturday, I noticed a sign in the hotel lift telling us about weather warnings for the whole of Iceland & "check before travelling." Fortunately we were staying in Reykjavik, first visiting the church high up on a hill, then being "let loose" to photograph the town. It turns out that this little city has a thriving street art scene!
This afternoon we had our final critique (marginally better than last time), and tonight is the final show of all our slides prior to dinner.
Tomorrow Sue & I will be met by our guide at around 9am and we are then off to new (to us) parts of western & northern Iceland. A little sunshine and clear skies will be nice for a change!
Please stay tuned!