Spring in Iceland this year is colder than usual. That was less of an issue than the wind and midnight summer as far as sleeping last night was concerned. A constant 20mph wind buffeted my tent all night and the sky never grew dark. Despite little rest, I found my way to the Brúárfoss (any name ending in “foss” is a waterfall) for morning light and then on to Gullfoss and Hjálparfoss by midday. Gulfoss is part of the popular Golden Circle tour that many visitors take. I found it to be unimpressive photographically speaking even after making a 30 minute drive and one hour hike to view it from the east side bank. I arrived at the oasis of Gjáin and spent the rest of the day there enjoying absolute serenity. My new hip waders proved invaluable as I navigated through and across the rivers for optimal angles and access.

I decided to navigate the Ring Road which goes around the entire island in the counter clockwise direction to give a few more days for the northern regions to get warmer.

I covered a lot of ground on my first full day in Iceland. I started from Keflavik where I spent the night and made stops at the Blue Lagoon, Krysuvikurburg Cliffs, the Seltun geothermal area, Kliefarvatn Lake, Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and back to Þingvellir where I pitched my tent.  Pictured above is the Strokkur geyser located 50m from Geysir, the first known to Europeans and after which all others have since been named. Geysir erupts infrequently now whereas Stokkur goes off every 4-8 minutes when a telltale dome of water rises under the pressure of steam from below.