So much to see today in the golden circle! I plan to see Geysir, the Gullfoss waterfall, a cool bridge, I have a noon meeting of the Women’s Thriller Writer’s association, then slip into some hot springs at secret lagoon, and then back to Reykjavik to check into the Galaxy Pods!

I slept so well in this quiet room by myself! This was a great opportunity to slow down and catch my breath, but I’m looking forward to what’s next.

Downstairs, the person behind the front counter is man bun dude who talks to me in quiet tones and smokey eyes like we’re in a jazz club. I can’t tell if he’s trying to be flirty or if he just smoked too much.

After a quick breakfast, I’m on my way. I’m still on what I consider the less touristy route, but it’s Saturday and there’s more traffic on this road. I stop quite a few times to capture photos of horses, birds, and the beautiful landscape.

The Geysir is not hard to find. There are signs along the road, and I arrive to find there’s a huge center with shopping and food, and there’s a geyser spitting up into the air. I explore the geyser’s first. 

There are lots of beautiful pools of hot water and minerals. The main geyser is defunct, but one of the geysers does explode every so often, so I wait for some photos, wander the area and check out those smaller pools with deep clear water. Then I have to check out the store and find some more things to bring home for friends and family.

And, it’s almost time for my meeting with my Women’s Thriller Writer’s Association members. I love that I can travel and work! For an hour we talk and write and I work on my travel blog. 

Gullfoss waterfall

Then it’s off to the Gullfoss waterfall. Just like other attractions, it’s right off of the road and there are easy to follow signs. You can’t see the falls from the road, and it’s a long walk with stairs, but it’s worth it. The air is filed with tiny water droplets from the falls. 

The Gullfoss waterfall is amazing! I’m bummed that I can’t walk on the cliff over to the waterfall – it’s blocked off with the shiny new stairs and signs that say don’t do that thing you’re thinking about!

However, you can get really close, onto the rocks above the falls and it’s an amazing view. Across the Gullfoss waterfall and river there are two people wandering to their hearts content and I wonder how they got over there.

Photos, shopping at the store, and glancing at the food available. There’s sandwiches but nothing hot and I’m in the mood for hot food. So I keep going. Next up is the bridge and the secret lagoon, but to be honest, I’m really hungry and I keep thinking about the bread and soup at the Laugarvatn Fontana. I had heard it was really good. So I skip the bridge, and decide no hot springs for me today and hop it back to Laugarvatn.

Laugarvatn Fontana

The soup and bread is all you can eat. I don’t suggest the coffee machine, because that coffee was awful, but the mushroom soup was so good! And the bread, of course the bread is great.

On my way back to Reykjavik I drive through the National Park and I haven’t done any research on it. So I’m surprised to find that there are amazing views. I stop at every parking lot and explore what’s there – most are short walks to interesting views. 

So, when I get to a huge gravel lot at the top of a hill and see a bunch of cars, I’m intrigued. I walk up to the gate and walk through, ahead of me is a rocky trail and I look back at the cars. There is no one in sight, yet there are ten cars sitting in the lot, so maybe there’s something interesting here. 

I walk down into the rocky canyon and wonder if this is a collapsed volcanic tube. At the other end of the trail is a waterfall, the water in the creak is clear and beautiful. I’m loving this place until I find a plaque that explains it was used for court proceedings in the 1300s and that if found guilty this was where the prisoners died. 

This beautiful waterfall was where women were drowned for their sins. This place is tragic.

I continue exploring and the trail leads down into a valley then up along the rocks again. And, I find out that this is where the country is slowly being torn apart – its the two tectonic plates! That rocky trail is the mid-atlantic rift, which runs through Iceland. This rift is the space between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Below the cliff of rocks is a giant lake, a series of smaller lakes with walkways over them, and a church.

For what started out as a boring parking lot, certainly turned into something more interesting. 

Now though, I’m on the clock. My new friend Anita is back in Reykjavik and we’re going to meet up for dinner. So I make my way to the church, snap photos, read plaques and keep going until finally I’m back at my car and happily drink some water (which I hadn’t brought with me thinking this was a short walk).

I continue on, passing by the visitor center I saw on my walk, and keep heading to town. 

The Galaxy Pod Hostel is in a weird spot between some car dealers, but it’s cool. A floor up, but there is an elevator. No one is at the desk, but there’s an envelope with my name. I have a room key and a pod key, so I hold the key over my room door and it beeps green. 

Inside the room are basically two bunk beds, four pods, all the doors are shut and the other three have lights on the outside that say “do not disturb.” 

Oh, this is so cool! I hold the key over the pod door, imagining it sliding open like on Star Trek or at least a beep to say it’s unlocked, and nothing happens. I panic. Oh no! I can’t get in.

So I call the phone number at the front desk and the guy asks, “Did you try opening the door? Due to safety reasons we can’t actually let the doors lock, so it should just open.”

Oh man, so much for my space age imagination of cool doors opening on their own. I thank him for his time and apologize for not trying that. Sure enough the door opens on its own. I soon discover that 1. The key is needed to drop in the slot for lights, 2. There are several glowing buttons that activate lights, 3. There are charging stations for all my electronics, 4. I have my own TV in here, and 5. This is the coolest hostel ever!

But, I need to get to dinner! Anita and I decide to meet at Sjavargrilliio because we’re both looking for seafood!

We arrive and the hostess isn’t sure she can seat us. It’s packed, but she finds us a tiny table in the corner of the bar and we hope the fact that it’s packed means good things. 

It’s time for some drinks because we’re not driving any where tonight. I get the apricot cooler and order the special cod dish. Anita orders one of the other specials but asks that the roe be removed because she doesn’t like them.

The waitress returns, “The chef would really like to suggest you leave them on. He says they don’t have a strong taste but they lend themselves to the overall flavor of the dish.”

Anita agrees and she’s excited. She’s never had a chef makes suggestions for her before and I can’t say that I’ve ever had that happen.

The dishes arrive. I don’t know what all is on my plate, there are so many elements, but they are all super tasty. Anita agrees that the roe don’t overwhelm and that her dish is excellent. 

This was a splurge on our part, but I do like to eat at good restaurants.

Anita kindly drives me to my hotel and I wander why there are balconies on the apartments here. It doesn’t get that warm, yet many are decked out with tables and plants, just like in New Mexico where we get plenty warm.

We say our goodbyes and I head back to go sleep in a pod!

Do you want more information about travel to Iceland? You can sign up here to get The Single Woman’s Guide to Iceland – Post Covid Almost.

Or maybe you just need an adventurous novel for that long flight. You can nab the highly rated thriller/adventure, Toy of the Gods today!

Or check out day one of my Iceland trip or day 8 of my trip where I embarrass myself on a scooter.