The Traveling Widower

Category: travel

Default category for all travel related posts.

  • Waterfalls, Horses and Tomato’s

    A close-up of a brown horse inside a stable, looking over a wooden gate.

    June 25th, 2026

    I was a bit concerned about the itinerary for this trip when I finally got around to reading it in detail – it seemed a little too heavy on cultural related stops instead of nature. Now that we are a couple of days into the trip, I’m understanding why the leader structured the trip this way. This is a great, very detailed introduction to Iceland – nature, history and culture. And it’s been an absolute blast so far. 

    We had a busy schedule this day, a real smorgasbord of activities, starting from the South of the island, and working our way North with plenty of stops along the way. Unfortunately, this day had the worst weather forecast so far – lots of rain, sometimes heavy. I kept my rain gear ready, including the camera rain coat I bought for the Sony. I’d prefer not to use it, but best to have it ready.

    Touring by bus when you have so many different activities, especially when photography and hiking are involved. Since I’m traveling solo (sniff), I had an empty seat next to me, and that became my closet – I had room for both camera bags, place to keep my hiking poles, and seat backs to hang wet jackets. The bus was locked up at night, so I could leave some gear behind at night. I can occassionaly be quite organized. 

    Interior of a vehicle showing two pairs of pants, a collection of backpacks, and items in the seat pocket, including a bottle and bananas.

    The first stop of the day was a spectacular waterfall, the Gullfoss, one of the stops on the Golden Circle tour. We were doing it in reverse, and since we started early, we pulled into an almost empty parking lot. This is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland – there are trails and overlooks close up to the falls – it would have been nice to have blue skies and maybe a rainbow. No such luck. But it still was impressive even in the rain and mist. I hiked around for a while, wandered up the 100 steps to the upper viewing point, and then just watched for a while. Fantastic.

    A panoramic view of a powerful waterfall cascading into a river, surrounded by green hills and a cloudy sky.
    A panoramic view of a majestic waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs, surrounded by lush green grass and mist, under a cloudy sky.

    We moved on to the next stop, in the never ending rain showers – a small field of bubbling hot springs with a small geyser. It was incredibly unspectacular for anyone who has been to Yellowstone a few times, but it was fun standing around with a crowd, waiting for a very small geyser to blow every 5 minutes. More like a burp. I got to play with the GoPro, trying to catch the spout in slow motion. I did get “the blue bubble” as the geyser did it’s burp, but missed the full burst. No great loss. But it was still a fun stop.

    The Bubble…woo hoo!

    I have heard reference to Icelandic horses before, but never gave it much thought since I’ve never been that interested in riding or racing. I think I’ve been horse back riding maybe a half dozen times in my life, none of which were pleasant or memorable.  I did know that the Iceland horses were a special breed, but had never seen one before this trip. Our guide discussed them a bit as we drove around in the farm country – lots of these beautiful, small horses out in the pastures. The next stop was to a stable that bred and trained the horses, so we got to see them up close and personal. We walked around the stable for a bit, pet the friendlier ones that were sort of like very large golden retrieves, and then one of the locals demonstrated, on the track, the different gaits the horses are trained to do for shows. What’s interesting about the breed, is that once they leave Iceland, say for a horse show, they cannot return. Ever. The horses are very much isolated for the common diseases that horses get in other parts of the world – when they are shipped anywhere else, they must be inoculated, but the cannot be brought back home to avoid infecting the thousands of horses back in Iceland.

    A brown horse standing in a stable, with two riders in equestrian attire engaging in conversation. The stable features wooden beams, greenery outside, and a sign on the wall.
    Show horse

    Our next stop on this busy day was a very short walk from the stable – lunch at a huge green house, which is the largest grower of tomato’s in Iceland (Fridheimar). We had a tour, and then a great lunch of different breads and surprise, tomato soup. They had a big basket of delicious cherry tomato’s passed around during the tour – it was like eating M&M’s. The best part of the tour was the bee’s – they have to pollinate the thousands of tomato’s vines in the green house, and use female bumble bee’s, imported from Europe in boxes. Since the place is also a restaurant, they use bumble bees which are friendlier than honey bees. This short video is pretty cool – a box of busy bees.

    A greenhouse interior filled with tall tomato plants, under artificial lighting. A sunflower and pink flowers are visible in the foreground.
    Interior view of a greenhouse with vibrant green plants growing vertically, illuminated by warm overhead lights. Two potted flowers, one pink and one orange, are placed on a table in the foreground.

    We then did a very short stop which I found interesting, I watched some food related show on TV, which was focused on baking in countries around the world. One segment was in Iceland, and they showed one bakery that baked their bread in pots, buried in a hot spring. Well, we did stop to see that. It was on a college campus, and some of the students were also cooking eggs. We never did get a chance to either see or try the bread. Darn.

    The final stop for the day, was also on the Golden Circle – a historic national park, Thingvellir, which also happens to be a rift zone, with one side on the European plate, the other on the North American plate. The valley in between is beautiful – you can go snorkeling and scuba diving in the rift zone (very cold water), or just walk along the trails. The side we walked along has a huge basaltic wall, which was used for some scenes in the Game of Thrones.

    A narrow path between towering volcanic rock formations, with a group of hikers in colorful clothing walking along the trail under a cloudy sky.
    A walkway surrounded by towering rock formations with several people walking along it on a cloudy day.
    A scenic view of a rocky cliffside surrounded by lush green grass and colorful wildflowers in a natural landscape.
    A close-up of a rocky cliff with a heart-shaped arch at the top, surrounded by textured rock formations.
    A serene landscape featuring a winding river surrounded by rocky cliffs and lush greenery under an overcast sky.

    That was the end of a long day of driving, with some very interesting activities, much better than what I was expecting. It would have been nice to have sunny skies instead of mist and rain, but I enjoyed all of it. We ended the day with a two hour drive to our hotel in Husafell (Hotel Husafell), and a nice, relaxing dinner.

    This day happened to be a sad one for me – it would have been my wife’s 75th birthday, and the second one since she passed. I celebrate this and our anniversary by making or ordering a slightly dirty martini for her, and I toast the occasion with whatever I happen to be consuming (no alcohol anymore). It was a strange thing to do around a group of strangers, but it did lead to some nice conversations about her. I love to share stories about her. I miss her so much. She would have enjoyed this trip (maybe not the volcano).

    Peace

  • The Lava Cave and More Waterfalls

    Group of people wearing headlamps in a cave, with rocky walls and a wooden pathway leading upward.

    June 26th, 2026

    Today started out with one of the itinerary items I had been looking forward to – the lava cave. Given how many caves I’ve visited in the past year, including two earlier this month, you’d have to wonder why I could get excited about another one. Two reasons – it’s an obsession of mine, and this one is a lava tube, very much unlike what I’ve been seeing in California and Colorado. Plus, it’s in Iceland. I’ll try anything once here.

    The cave was only a 15 minute drive from the hotel, up and over a mountain pass, and down into a beautiful valley. This area of Iceland, Husafell Highlands, is a hikers paradise – gorgeous landscape with many waterfalls, mountain and a significant glacier. We were staying at what I believe was the best hotel, which owns the adjoining golf course and thermal pools (more on that later). The cave, (Viogelmir Cave) which is actually a lava tube (big difference) is one of the major tourist attractions here, but does not seem to get the crowds you get for the Golden Circle stops. 

    It was raining hard as we approached the visitor center (small building) for the tour, which was unfortunate for me as I did not wear my rain pants, and there was a short hike to the cave entrance. Nothing like going off to a cold, damp cave when you are already wet. The entry was a huge hole in the lava, with my favorite – lots of step, to get down to the boardwalk which streches through the cave. That was a nice feature – a nice, well built wooden walkway through most of the tour, with one uncomfortable gap. There was minimal lighting throughout the cave, but we had been issued helmets with head lamps, which were needed to illuminate the boardwalk since there were steps every now and then. I like to avoid falling in caves.  

    The tube was quite wide and high most of the way – it looks a lot like a subway tunnel. Unlike limestone or marble caverns, you do not have all the calcite flow  or stalactite/stalagmite types of features – this is all lava. What you do have are strange layering and drip features on the walls, splash or bubble features where rocks fell into the hot lava. There was one strange feature I have not seen before – little ice stalagmites, formed by dripping water – it was really cold and damp in the cave, so you get these fields of ghost like lumps of ice. Very strange.

    An underground cave interior with rocky terrain, featuring various mineral formations and shadows cast on the walls.
    Interior of a dark cave with a wooden walkway, illuminated by headlamps worn by visitors.
    A dimly lit cave interior featuring a wooden walkway leading through rocky formations, with beams of light illuminating the space.
    A guided group tour inside a dark cave, with participants wearing headlamps and standing on a wooden path, while a guide stands near a pile of rocks.
    A group of people wearing headlamps stands inside a cave, with a rocky texture on the walls and a wooden walkway leading into the distance.
    A person in a yellow jacket stands near a large, rocky arch formation under a cloudy sky.
    A dimly lit cave featuring a wooden pathway and scattered rocks on the ground.

    There was only one narrow section in cave, which was partially flooded, and had a very narrow section of boards layed down – that was a bit tricky to negotiate if you have balance issues. Fortunately, the walls and roof were low enough to brace as you tippy-toed across the 2X4’s. 

    The tour was excellent – a great guide (from Ireland), and we spent almost 90 minutes in the cave. It was nice to get out though – it was very cold and damp in there, and I could not feel my fingers or toes. Definitely worth a visit if you are into underground activities.

    We headed back to the hotel in the rain (it did eventually stop for a whie), and I passed on the opportunity to visit the farm of a local artist/musician. I was cold, damp and tired – too bad, it was an interesting outing. After lunch, we drove off to the remainder of our activities for the day. Another waterfall or two, and a soak in a remote geothermal pool, which was supposed to be a unique experience. I’ve already had a few of those, so what the heck. The falls (Hraunfossar) were another short drive, and both were reached by short, easy trails. The main section was interesting – the water was jetting out from underneath the lava layer. Quite pretty and worth the stop. The sun even came out for a very short while.

    A rocky canyon with rushing water flowing through it, surrounded by greenery and under a partly cloudy sky.
    A scenic view of a cascading waterfall over rocky terrain, surrounded by lush green vegetation and a distant landscape with rolling hills.

    And now for the the strangest activity of the day. We were told to bring our bathing suits, and slippers along if we had them. This was a small, private (owned by the hotel) thermal pool, in a remote and beautiful setting. We had to drive up a narrow, gravel road to get there, where we met the hotel employee who managed the site. We were handed a towel, and headed down a long stairway down to a steep (short) path, that lead to small, primitive building along the river. There were two pools across the river, and the building had two very small changing rooms and an outside shower. Unlike the Blue Lagoon, we could show with our bathing suit on. A good thing. Once you showered, you made a quick dash across a little bridge, and carefully entered one of the two pools. Ahhhh. These were not super hot, but warm enough to lull you into a nice, relaxed state of mind. The manager offered up wine, beer and soft drinks, and lectured us on the geology which was quite complex – I asked him if had degrees in geology….nope, he said he was just a geology nerd.

    Eventually, we all made the cold dash back to the cramped, rustic/primitive dressing rooms, and made the hike/stair climb back to the bus. I had not brought my phone or camera back, so I went half-way down to snap a few photos. I needed them for the blog. Our trip lead did take photos of us in the pools. I’m not going to post those….too embarrassing.

    A wooden staircase leading down into a rocky canyon with steep cliffs and a path visible at the bottom.
    A wooden staircase leading down into a canyon with rocky and grassy slopes, flanked by a small stream running through the valley.
    A group of people gathered near a natural hot spring surrounded by rocky terrain and lush greenery, with some walking along a path and others standing by the water.

    Before heading back to the hotel, we made a short stop on yet another waterfall. Another short hike. And it was worth the stop.

    A waterfall cascading down rocky cliffs into a small river surrounded by lush greenery.

    I was not too excited about the thermal pool stop, but after a couple of days of constant abuse on my body, I’m beginning to look forward to each new opportunity. It felt pretty darn good soaking for an hour in a warm bath with a great view.

    Peace