The Golden Circle tour, Iceland
We covered a lot of ground on this tour. We first travelled to Thingvellir National Park, which is designated a World Heritage site for its historical and geological importance. The thirty ruling chiefs first met at Thingvellir in 930 AD and formed a basic type of parliament. They would pass on news, create laws, discuss disputes, make decisions and mete out punishments. The standard execution method for men was decapitation and sometimes they were given the option of exile. If they took that option, it meant they were essentially outlaws and they had no protection if someone decided to kill them. The only execution method for women, usually for the crime of adultery, was to be placed in a burlap bag and drowned in the freezing waters. I asked the guide if women were also given the option of exile. They were not. Thankfully, the Icelanders have since made up for this injustice and the country is now recognised as being one of the countries with the least inequality. Thingvellir was such a success that most of the important decisions in Iceland’s history were made there, such as the conversion from Paganism to Christianity in the year 1000 AD. The national park is also important because you can actually see the rift between the tectonic plates that divide North American from Eurasia and walk along ‘No Man’s Land’.
Next up was lunch at the Efstidalur Farm, a 7th generation operation which is now run by three sisters and their husbands. The eldest sister spoke before our lunch about the history of the farm and explained how they’ve expanded their operations from just the dairy farm to a thriving business that also offers accommodation, a restaurant, a cafe and a store.
We then travelled to Geysir, which is a geothermal area quite similar to Yellowstone National Park in the US. We only had to wait a few minutes to see Strokkur in action and it was then on to unbelievably cold and windy Gullfoss, a spectacular waterfall.
Last stop for the day was the Skyr Factory where the maker explained the process, played us a very cute and quirky short video narrated by his best friend who is apparently an Icelandic actor, then arranged a tasting. It would have been rude for me to then not buy anything from the cafe, so I made a wee purchase of a skyr slice with chocolate, raisins and rice crispies. Absolutely delicious.
