After packing up on Heimaey, we had a ferry ride back to the mainland, and then a moderate drive to get into the “Golden Circle”. Our first stop was for lunch at the tomato farm of Friedheimar, which is geothermally heated, artificially lit, and hydroponic. It produces over half of Iceland’s tomatoes. They also have a famous restaurant emphasizing tomato dishes.
Next we stopped at Hraunalaug hot springs. It was originally developed as a sheep-washing station.
Next up was the mighty Gullfoss (“Gold Waterfall”) that gives the Golden Circle its name. It was putting out a lot of spray and you couldn’t get within a hundred meters without getting drizzled on.
On to the famous Geysir hot spring area. Geysir itself, the source of the English word geyser, has been dormant for years and only erupts occasionally. But its neighbor Strokkur erupts every 5-10 minutes.
By now it was 20:55 and most restaurants closed at 21:00. We were looking at possibly no food until breakfast. I managed to find one 5-star luxury hotel (Grímsborgir) that was open until 23:30, so we made a beeline for it and were able to order dinner off the very expensive menu. There was a jazz guitar duo playing instrumental versions of standards like Days Of Wine And Roses; they made me miss Tago-san. Carol ordered duck and I ordered the lamb filet. Both were stunningly good, easily the best cooked meal we had in Iceland, so maybe worth the price tag. The wine list was massive with over 60 wines, but we were too tired to try anything.