soaking up the sun...

And believe it or not, the title of this post is no joke. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful for the past three days. It literally just got cloudy for a bit, but other than that we've had sun and I've spent most of the past three days outdoors.

Now, there's something I'd like to say about the weather in Iceland (not to tread on Alda's turf as the official Iceland weather report or anything like that): the temperature here means almost nothing. I mean, the official temperature. Apparently, they report on air temperature, but the sun is hotter than hot when it does shine, and a temperature reading of 11 or 12C can be entirely deceptive. (That's like, in the 50s or so, for the Americans reading this.) I've had days when I wore a short sleeved shirt, and even more days when I wished I had worn one. However, the minute the clouds appear, a sweater is required.

Which is all just to say, I have gotten a TAN while in Iceland. No joking, and without even trying.

So, I'm way, way behind in telling stories about my trip. I'm going to have some catching up to do when I get back (I've been taking notes, both for me and for blogging purposes.)

Backtracking to last week, on Wednesday we went to both Geysir and Gullfoss. The wild blueberry picture on Saturday was from the hill behind Geysir (umm... and Geysir is the eponymous and super-famous geysir of Iceland - now, quote/unquote - "lying in majestic dormancy"). There's another geysir at the same geothermal site that does indeed spout up and do all those kinds of things (I got a bad picture, which I'll skip). But really, Gullfoss was the best part of the day.

Gullfoss means, basically, Golden Waterfall (gull is gold and foss is waterfall - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). While I was slightly underwhelmed by hot water spouting out of the ground at the geothermal site, I was totally overwhelmed by the majesty of Gullfoss.

Ok, how about this:

Okay, while that one has some pretty sky, it only gives a partial picture. How about this?:

Or some people for scale:

When I get home I'll sort through what's on my camera. I actually took a few short videos to try to capture the falls in action. I think they're worth posting, when I have some more time to upload to YouTube and all of that.

We spent quite a while at Gullfoss. Once again, I totally exasperated myself by saying vá and wow way too much. (There were also quite a few "holy sh*t" exclamations, when I was really in awe.) Now, I'd like you to take another look at that last picture (you can click for big) - do you notice anything? Well, besides the supercool rainbow that's barely visible in the front? See those people on the rock (I was there at one point too)? There. are. no. ropes. No ropes, no guardrails, nada.

And you know what? It made it even more fabulous. I mean, there was the realization that that kind of thing totally wouldn't fly in the US - Americans being what they are about lawsuits and all that - but it was an incredible experience to be right next to the incredible power and force of that waterfall.

Oh, wait, there was one warning sign:

Yeah, right. International Falling-Off-a-Precipice warning. heh.

So, to end off the day in truly lovely Icelandic fashion, Sigga Sif and I went back to the summer cottage after seeing Gullfoss, had a wonderful dinner, and then hung out in the hot pot (hot tub, literally "hot pot" when translated from Icelandic) while drinking wine. 41°C in the water, 10°C air temperature.

Iceland is a really rough country, I'm telling you. More soon....

Comments

[Marcia]

They were boiling eggs in one of the hot water pools at Geysir the day we were there, so moderately interesting. Gullfoss does not photograph well when it's gray and cold and windy, trust me. Your photos are great!

[elizabeth]

It sounds like vacation is really being hard on you! ha! LOVELOVELOVE the rainbow in your picture!

[Aubrey]

Wow. Va'. Wow. Va'. Repeat.

Add Iceland to the list...

[Caroline M]

Think of it as evolution in action - those who muck about at the edge of a drop into seething waters don't survive to breed. I would guess that the "no win, no fee" legal system hasn't made it that far.

[Misty the Kneedler]

What a beautiful place! That is a trult awe-inspiring picture!

I also enjoyed the lack of railings, signage, and other over-protective American stuff while I was in Europe years ago. While I was in Paris it was so exasperating to hear the French exclaim "she's going to sue!" every time they found out I was an American.

[heather]

the sun's like that up here in alaska too...unfortunately it's been rainy & cloudy most of the summer so it's pretty cool.
the funniest warning sign i ever saw was at the port on Visingsö in sweden. it showed the edge of the dock and a car halfway to a waterline. almost like yous, but with a car. we took pictures of it, it was so funny to us.

[The Other Kristen]

I got a tan in Siberia. Really. On the one hand, it was the "southern" part of Siberia. On the other, it snowed on May 22 when I was there.

Beautiful photos. Va, indeed!

[Melissa]

Truly an awe inspiring sight.

And the funniest sign I ever saw was a warning against killer bees in Hawaii.

[Linda]

No such thing as too many superlatives in that kind of setting. I'm so glad you're having a good trip!

[Jenny in Jersey]

Love the sign. To the point to say the least.

[Alda]

Heheh. We like to live dangerously here, what can I say.

So interesting to have your take on the air/sunshine temps. Something I've never addressed on my blog. Maybe I'll add a little link over here to give a bit of fresh perspective.

See you tomorrow!

[NeedleDancer]

Wow.

Somehow, Niagara seems small all of a sudden.

[Huh]

How the devil would that make Niagara seem small? They are clearly larger :O This is certainly a beautiful waterfall though.

[Jennu]

Actually I think that all the guardrails etc. are in pane in America not because we're lawsuit happy, but because some Americans are convinced that everything is perfectly safe and they can pull off stupid stunts like pretending to fall off a cliff without actually falling off the cliff. These are the same people that want junior to stand just a little closer to the edge of the Grand Canyon while they take a picture.

I'm not one of those people. I'm a big scaredy baby.