Turner's Take #1

Today we did the so-called “Golden Circle”. We started by going down the highway and making some stops along the way for pictures of the breath-taking scenery. Our first major stop was near a lake where we saw the splitting of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. It looked like Godzilla had walked through. The ground was split apart and all cracked and crumbled. It was amazing. We then proceeded to stop a few times to take photos of some mountains. At this point, I had taken what seemed to be 100 pictures. Our second stop was Geysir. Even though it smelled like rotten eggs and made me gag, I pushed through. The little geysirs were very cool but the best one was one that went like 60 feet high. It was phenomenal. Our third stop was a waterfall named Gullfoss. The waterfall was absolutely spectacular. It was very windy and I’m surprised that I didn’t get blown off the cliff and into the falls. The water had made a thin gorge at the bottom of Gulfoss, making it look very cool. The waterfall was amazing but we had to go to our final stop in the loop. Our final stop was Selfoss, a small town on the south side of the island. There, we got some ice cream, admired the mountains again, and went back to our closet like hotel room.  

Indefatigable Iceland

Once, not all that long ago fishing was the primary economic driver in Iceland, then it became heavy industry, and shortly after the world economic collapse of 2008 their leading industry became tourism.  The problem with inviting the world to visit is that the world comes to visit. In the case of Iceland their remarkable recovery from the 2008 financial crisis has a lot to do with this explosion of tourism, from 2009 onwards, its tourist growth has been on the rise like the take off of the Boeing 757 I arrived on, and now a population of 350,000 residents welcomes about 1.6 million tourists each year. This week I am among the masses of visitors taking advantage of the Icelandair stopover.

I can’t imagine how this beautiful place has changed in the last 9 years since the rest of the world learned that in fact Iceland has lots to offer, friendly people, a decent climate, and isn’t really covered in ice.  The story I heard goes that Norsemen settled here and not wanting their enemies to follow, sent word home that they had settled in a land of Ice, hence Iceland, but just to the west there was a land of green, you know the rest of that tale.  Turns out this tale is totally false and the truth of the matter is that Igólfur Arnarson, came to Iceland from Norway in a pattern of migration and expansion that saw the Vikings travel around the northern part of the globe.

In terms of change they apparently have not all been welcome. Many of the things that I have read discuss; problems with infrastructure, a rampant Air B and B issue, too many tourists with little regard for the fragile ecosystem that makes up this island, issues with climate change, too few trained travel professionals or police and the list goes on.  One can certainly understand the growing issue Icelanders might have with the myriad of people who have paid their pennies to travel here.  There have been stories of people camping in all the wrong places, partying in all the wrong places, starting fires where they do damage and even toileting in inappropriate places, (one article I read mentioned graveyards) and of course vandalism, because you can not travel to a place without putting your name or a sticker on it.  Not to mention the rising prices in Iceland that affect both traveller and local.

That all having been said it is one of the most beautiful places that I have visited and my passport is not shy of stamps.  We laughed today that each time we came over a hill we gasped in delight at the vista and wondered at what point the beauty would simply go unnoticed.  So far each hill and turn continues to impress us. From the coast to the mountains, from the rivers to the fjörður, from the waterfalls to the smallest lichen, we are impressed Iceland!

Today we, like thousands of other tourists saw the highlights; Þingvellir National Park where the Eurasian and North American plates are ripping themselves apart, Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and the rest of the Golden Circle.  Each place more amazing than the next. I know there is more to Iceland than this touristy circle, and I look forward to seeing it, both on this trip and when we visit again for a longer period of time.

It will be interesting to watch what happens here in Iceland.  There is talk of a cap or a tax on tourists and other measures to curb the current enthusiasm.  It will be interesting to see if Iceland can survive the influx of the world and it’s damaging ways unscathed.  Unfortunately,

I doubt it can and I am grateful to have been here before the world pushed this quiet friendly and idyllic place to the breaking point.
Cheers,
Rachel