Our next stop on the Golden Circle was the geyser valley of Haukadalur. Here is the home of Geysir, the geyser for which all geysers are named as well as a few of it’s friends such as Strokkur and Litli-Geysir. Geysir doesn’t erupt much anymore, but when he does he shoots water upwards of 200 meters, much higher than Old Faithful. People used to throw in soap to trigger an eruption, but that is now banned, not quite so environmentally friendly. Strokkur is much more accommodating and erupts every 5-10 minutes, so we saw about 3 or 4 eruptions during our trek through the paths. The hills around the geyser area has super rich mineral soil resulting in an amazing mix of colors. Since it was winter, the spray from the geysers had coated the ground in inches of slick ice which would sit right next to hot geothermal pools making for a funny yet beautiful contrast. Across the street there was a gift shop and cafe, which we did not patronize except for the bathrooms as Svenni had a better lunch planned for us at our next stop, Gullfoss.
