Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 3.5

Friendliness : 5

Noise : 3.5

Iceland may be about the most bizarre choice on my entire itinerary, and it is in many ways quite a different place. There are very few trees around, that’s for sure, and volcanic rock abounds. The population of the whole country is a mere 272,000 – half of Tasmania if my memory serves me correctly. On the bus from the airport you get quickly a good idea of how desolate the place is, but in the summer, July, there is virtually no snow and I’ve been enjoying days over 20 Celsius and the weather has been far better than Scotland. Prices are astronomical though, I will admit. Your McDonalds value meal is going to set you back about 13 Australian dollars, a price I have yet to see beaten. Even a block of chocolate is like four dollars. The people all speak English, which is a bonus, and many signs are in English. Not a huge number of tourists come, but it is a major industry (this contributes, without a doubt, to the expense) and you can get postcards and the like wherever you go.

One of Iceland’s major tourist attractions, this man made creation has hazy blue waters with supposed restorative powers, but I’m not so sure. One thing is for sure, there were a lot of people there and the water (heated geothermically, like all the hot water in Iceland) is very salty, and no good for your hair. And very warm in places. People pull up this white muck from the bottom and slap it all over their faces. Well, that’s there choice I guess.

These two things are nearly always seen together, I did them on a day trip from Reykjavik, the capital. Geysir used to be a giant spout of water which has died, but there is its 'little brother' (called skokkal) nearby that is still in working order. Every five or so minutes water that has been sitting in the ground is heated geothermally to a point that it sprays forth into the air, sometimes not very impressively, other times straight up 20 metres and is quite brilliant. There are several small pools around that don’t spurt but bubble all through the day and night like they are contemplating it. I found it very interesting indeed.

Gullfoss is a rather impressive 32-metre waterfall, which is formed from a glacier river, so it runs much faster in the summer when all is melted. The spray goes everywhere, and it is definitely a funny colour (the water) and it is quite in the middle of nowhere. There’s just a little hut which a girl who saved the falls from being part of a hydro-electric plant many years ago used to live, it is now an information office (all in Icelandic) and there’s a small souvenir stall as well.

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 3.5

Noise : 3.5

Akureyi is a charming little town in the northern part of Iceland. What is there? Not a hell of a lot. Some wonderful three quarter sized horses (pictured) inhabit the fields around this little village, the second biggest town in Iceland. I played a round of golf here, the round finished well after ten in the evening, still perfectly light however. I sampled some Icelandic nightlife here and was not overly impressed. $10 Australian for a drink is bad enough, but the DJ had such a limited selection of songs it was pathetic. This town is quite cute.

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 1

Noise : 3

This was just a stop over on the way back to Reykjavik. Very unfriendly.

<<<<<<<<<<BACK TO BRITAIN & IRELAND

FORWARD TO SWEDEN &NORWAY>>>>>>