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Trip Overview Whitewater rivers, steaming geyser basins, and remote trails
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An illustrated itinerary of one of our many travel adventures for gay men, lesbians, and friends. This information supplements our
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Blastoff!
The small island of Iceland offers enormous contrasts and variety: unspoiled landscapes, uncrowded parks and unique geology. Iceland has a small but friendly gay and lesbian community in the capital, but you'll find few signs of gay life outside Reykjavik. In true Scandinavian tradition, however, the people don't feel it's any big deal whether you're gay or straight, and by traveling with a gay and lesbian group, you're assured of a friendly, comfortable atmosphere. For most of us the adventure will begin the evening before the trip starts, with a late evening flight to Reykjavik. You may want to shop for adult beverages at the duty-free shop in the airport (if you like to have a drink, now and then) as alcohol is very expensive in Iceland. Look for our Alyson Adventures luggage tags to spot others in our group, even before you board the plane. Who else will be here? You can count on quite a mix. This vacation is popular with travelers who range in age from late-twenties to early seventies, with a majority between 30 and 55. And they've come not just to see Iceland, but to be a part of the lively and friendly group that, as our many repeat customers will tell you, characterizes every Alyson Adventures trip. The majority of people will probably be traveling alone, but there are usually several couples as well. Single travelers don't need to pay a single supplement: we'll match you with a roommate if you'd like the double-occupancy rate. For our 2012 tour, if you have a little extra time, consider arriving a day or two early to join Reykjavik's gay pride celebrations. These begin with opening ceremonies Thursday evening and conclude in the early hours on Sunday, the day our tours begins. The Pride parade is usually on Saturday around 2 PM, followed by an outdoor festival and midnight dance parties.
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1: Volcanic Craters & Lava Tubes
Plan for an early morning arrival in Iceland, since we start our tour activities later that morning. At the airport, small islands have their advantages: it takes only minutes, after your plane touches down outside Reykjavik, before you've collected your baggage. And perhaps you will also begin to meet the other travelers with whom you'll soon be discovering the fantastic variety of Iceland. The most convenient way to get to our hotel in downtown Reykjavik is with the Flybus shuttle. It will take you to a central location on a large bus, but as part of the same ticket, you'll switch to a smaller van for dropoff at our hotel. We'll start our exploration of Iceland this morning by meeting in the hotel lobby in mid-morning, since rooms may not be ready until later in the day. Be ready for a hike up a volcanic crater, followed by a lava tube hike, led by Halldor, our guide for the week, who is a native Icelander and descendant of the Vikings, with an infectious love of his homeland. Volcano Hike: after a beautiful drive through suburban Reykjavik and Hafnarfjordur we hike across lava flows then up to their source at the Burfell Volcano Crater, created about 7,000 years ago. The hike will take about 1.5 hours. It is not too strenuous, as we have a fairly easy hike into and up a former lava river bed. We will see unique formations created as the lava flowed as a river down from the crater to create much of the land on which Hafnarfjordur now sits. Sweet heather fills the air as its pink blossoms delight in the long summer rays. We will be able to enjoy wonderful views from the top edge of this crater all the way to the North Atlantic Ocean. Lava Tube Leidarendi: we will hike on a 1-hour loop that includes an often-low lava tube. For those reluctant to bend over too much or who may be claustrophobic, it can be a simple out-and-back the same tube, seeing the wonders created by swift running lava, such as unique shapes and total darkness when lights are all turned off. For those up to a challenge: bend halfway down for twenty feet or so to get into a side tube, then follow it, wrapping around through yet more unworldly shapes, and then a tighter squeeze as you pop out into day light at the entrance! After our hikes we will enjoy a picnic lunch. We will return to our hotel in the afternoon, and have our welcome dinner this evening. Before dinner or on our return visit to Reykjavik later in the tour, there are many things to do in the city. On a long walk you could see a salmon stream running right through town, a stylized Viking ship sculpture (or is it a jungle gym?) on the harbor, and a giant relief map of Iceland that makes it easier to visualize the week's itinerary. You can also visit the outdoor Arbaer Museum, where some of Iceland's oldest surviving homes have been relocated. He points out the highlights as we walk through the grounds. The Arbaer Museum's buildings showcase an assortment of artifacts and household items from the past. Our favorite: Shoes made from fish, one of the three commodities of which Iceland has never had a shortage. (The other two: Ice, and hot water.)
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2: Landscape Reminiscent of the Moon
Today we'll hop in a bus to ride about 45 minutes over a pass and into a completely different landscape surrounding the village of Hveragerdi. Thermal activity is so strong here that there are year-round greenhouses growing much of the food that Icelanders eat during the winter. Today, we get upclose and personal with this unique landscape on an invigorating hike. Hveragerdi is home to a restless collection of bubbling springs. These include The Mankiller, a yawning hole of near-boiling water that was named in 1906 for just the reasons you must suspect, after a resident walked too close; and the Blue Hot Spring, named for equally obvious reasons. As for Garbage Hot Spring: This one deserves an explanation. For years, in an era before the word ecology had been coined, residents dumped their garbage into the simmering hole, where it remained out of sight and out of mind. In 1947, the earth rumbled, a new geyser blew out, and the garbage was redistributed to its original owners, albeit somewhat haphazardly. The townsfolk thereafter found new methods of waste disposal. After our hike, those who wish can visit these hot springs, then hike past heather and wildflowers and over moss-covered hillsides where you expect an elf to hop out from behind a toadstool at any time. We will spend tonight at our lovely small guesthouse. Through the windows of our rooms or from the hot tub, we can watch steam puff out from the vents bordering the river that flows past the guesthouse. After our 3-day visit to the Highlands we'll return here for one more night.
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3: Pompeii and Puffins on the Westman Islands
This morning we will take a van ride across South Iceland to catch the new 45-minute ferry to Heimaey, the main town of the Westman Islands. We will offer a variety of things to see and do in the Westman Islands, depending on time, weather, and ability. These include: Tour of the various natural sites around the island and the amazing effects of the Eldfell volcanic eruption buried half the town of Heimaey in 1973. Visit the Natural History Museum: one of Iceland's best. Visit the buried section of town and the museum "Pompeii of the North" Hike up Heimaklettur (283m), with amazing views of the island, lava flows, and even the cove of Klettsvik, former home to Keiko the whale. Look for puffins nesting at Storhofdi and hear about puffin traditions: puffin hunting; and the egg hunting tradition known at Sprangan (collectors would dangle themselves from long ropes over cliffs, swinging from side to side as they gathered eggs). And also the annual Puffin Patrol, usually mid-August, when baby puffins wander aimlessly into town, following the night lights, instead of heading to sea. The locals collect, weigh, and feed the babies, then release them the next morning, into the sea. Weather permitting, we may take a circle boat tour around the island, seeing a huge number of sea and land birds, sea caves, and interesting geologic formations. After our touring, we'll return to the mainland, and continue our journey east into the Highlands, and to our lodge for the next two nights.
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4: Exploring Colorful Landmannalaugar
After breakfast, we will drive into the beautifully-sited national reserve known as Landmannalaugar, a mysterious land created by fire and ice. Half hell, half Garden of Eden, it's an amazing land with an eerie mystical bent, made even moreso by multiple steam vents and the occasional whiff of sulphur coming from deep within the Earth. Even though we've seen quite a bit of varying geology this week, today we'll hike through different formations altogether: rhyolite mountains and craters rich in color, texture, and shapes. We'll have hikes of varying lengths for you today followed by a wonderful soak in one of Iceland’s best natural hot springs, with fantastic views, returning to our Highlands hotel.
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5: Wonderfalls, Ruins, and the Central Highlands
Today we explore more of the pristine secrets of the Highlands region, with hikes through native Icelandic forests and farm ruins, and possibly including: Seljalandsfoss, a beautiful waterfall that falls 60 meters (180 feet), allowing you to walk behind it. This waterfall flows from the glaciers under the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano that erupted in 2010, and this waterfall was featured on an episode of the Amazing Race (Season 6). A secret forest on the flanks of rumbling Mt Hekla, which is supposed to be the next big volcano to erupt. Other waterfalls and locations such as idyllic Gjain and the ruins and modern replica of an 11th century Viking long-house called Pjodveldisbear. Afterwards, we'll drive back to our Hvergardi guesthouse for one last night in the countryside before we return to the bright lights / small city of Reykjavik.
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6: Where the Continents Divide
Volcanic geology has been the main creative force for the wonderlands we've explored so far. Today we'll explore areas that will help us better understand why Iceland has such amazing volcanic activity – and in fact why Iceland is here at all. We will see where the North American tectonic plate is pulling away from the European tectonic plate, creating rifts in the earth's crust – sheer cliffs pulling from each other creating gorges and canyons that get wider each year. And we'll also see how water flows, falls, and gushes across such a varied landscape, with yet more and larger waterfalls, sparkling clear rushing streams, turbulent glacier rivers, steam and mud pots and geysers. One stop today will be at a beguiling geyser basin, home of "Geysir," the original spouter, whose name is now used generically for its cousins in Yellowstone and elsewhere. But we won't have the crowds of Yellowstone, as we walk amongst the steaming pools and geysers of this park. Nor do we have long to wait for a show: Stand in front of the geyser pool known as Strokkur, "The Churn", and soon you'll see the placid water rise and fall, as if panting hard. Then the surface swells like a giant blue egg emerging from the earth, and finally it spews up, in a performance repeated every five or ten minutes. High up in the hills between the Highlands and Reykjavik lies Thingvallavatn, Iceland's largest lake. Thingvallavatn is fed by the river Oxara, and along the shores of the Oxara we find Iceland's most historic spot: Thingvellir (Parliament Plains). It was here at Thingvellir that the rowdy Vikings formed the world's oldest true parliament, in A.D. 930. It was at Thingvellir that Iceland voted to embrace Christianity in AD 1000, just as Leif Ericson was first setting foot on North American soil. Thingvellir's history isn't all pretty. A fissure here creates Drekkingarhylur (the drowning pool). In 16th-century Iceland, men sentenced to death for crimes such as theft were beheaded. Women convicted of adultery or perjury got a slower fate: they were stuffed into a bag and drowned in the hot waters of Drekkingarhylur. (Those guilty of what were considered lesser crimes, such as cold-blooded murder, could usually got off with a fine.) Unbeknownst to those early parliamentarians and bag-stuffers, Thingvellir is noteworthy in another respect. This long chasm is the spot where the continental plates of America and Europe meet -- or, more precisely, are coming apart. You can literally stand on a high cliff at the end of the American plate and watch Europe recede. Hiking trails criss-cross the park. Alpine cinquefoils decorate tundra that barely conceals the lava fields below. Here, as in so many other parts of Iceland, we occasionally walk beside a crevice that plunges deep into the earth. After our hands-on lessons in geology and history, we head back to Reykjavik for our last two nights in Iceland.
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7: Free Day in Reykjavik
Explore Reykjavik, the northernmost capital city of Europe, and perhaps the most eclectic. It's a working harbor, and a cultural center; you can fish for salmon right here in town, or dine on salmon at a fine restaurant. (Likewise, and perhaps more discomfiting to some: you can see puffins at the zoo, from a boat - or eat them at a fine restaurant.) It's easy to fill a whole day strolling the streets, plazas, and waterfront of Reykjavik. While many imported items are expensive, travelers with a yen for shopping can find several bargains, most notably the strikingly-patterned wool sweaters. Reykjavik has several outdoor, naturally-heated pool complexes that are a mainstay of Icelandic social life, which provide a tempting way to relax. Whale-watching trips are another option and returning to the countryside for a horseback ride is another choice. Hop onto a handsome palomino, a purebred descendant of the horses that arrived with the Vikings. This is the only horse in the world able to achieve the remarkably smooth, yet fast, 5th gait known as the tolt. Another option: The Blue Lagoon. No, don't look for naked boys and girls and a dolphin or two -- that's a different travel package and a different Blue Lagoon. But this sprawling outdoor pool on the Reykjanes Peninsula near the airport does offer a vivid reminder that we aren't in Kansas anymore! Immerse yourself in the waters, naturally heated and naturally blue from a heavy mineral content, as steam fills the cool morning air. And don't be deceived by the nearby power plant, which merely converts some of this heat into electrical energy for Reykjavik. The water here is naturally blue, from a heavy mineral content that's also touted for its therapeutic value. And the water is naturally heated, from 6,000 feet below you. In fact, it would be hard to find a water heater anywhere in Iceland. Don't feel guilty about taking a long shower every morning -- the hot water is piped right from the earth, and there's plenty more where it came from. Tonight, our last evening together, a tasty seafood dinner awaits our whole group. As always, there are alternatives for vegetarians and those with special dietary requirements. Then, Reykjavik's gay disco awaits those who still have some energy!
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8: Departure day
If you're returning to North America, your flight is probably scheduled for mid-afternoon, so you still have a half day for shopping, the pool, or other activities you may have missed. And then, it's off to the airport. The hardest thing about our trips is saying goodbye to a wonderful group of new friends, and the magic of Iceland. But you've seen parts of Iceland that most travelers miss; you've interacted with the country and its people in ways that give you an extra appreciation for it. We'll bet you've made some new friends. Thank you for joining us -- and we hope to see you again!
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