Why Iceland? Why not?

Over the years, I have heard lots about the diversity of terrain and natural wonder of this island positioned just a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. Once, on a trip from Europe to the US, the plane stopped in Reykjavik to refuel. It was late September or October; coming in for the landing, the landscape looked like another world. About a year ago, the new textbook that I use in a Photoshop class used only photos from Iceland for its illustrations. It blew me away.

For a couple of years, we have been planning to go to Norway, Randeen’s family homeland. Her cousin, Lisa, who I refer to as a professional Norwegian, was going to connect us with what family she knew. So, Randeen’s brothers, Ross and Jay, and families or significant others are off to Norway with us. As it turns out, Lisa and her brother, Joe, will be there, too. I discovered that if we were to fly Iceland Airlines to Norway, we could stop in Reykjavik for up to 30 days with out any penalty. The decision was easy for me. We will be in Iceland for 6 days, 5 full days of exploration.

Iceland is slightly smaller that Kentucky. It sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which is the 18,000 kilometer long rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. This is the rift that opens approximately 1 centimeter per year. So, North America and Europe are getting farther apart. I plan to take some photos of us straddling the rift. Iceland also contains 22 active volcanoes, 250 geothermal areas, 780 hot springs, and the worlds 3rd largest icecap (after Antarctica and Greenland). Earthquakes are common, and a volcanic eruption occurs about every 10 years. Half of the country is covered by desert and about 15% is glacier.
Although, it is near the Arctic Circle, the climate is moderated by the Gulf Stream.
We will be spending our time in the southwestern part of the island. This contains most of the limited agricultural land. The first night will be in Reykjavik, then we pick up a car and it is off to explore. More to come…