Esja, and Golden Circle deluxe

Climbing Mt. Esja was super fun. Most of it varied between windy gravel paths to steep dirt path with grass growing on either side of the trail. The best part is climbing the rocky top to the summit, I think it was just over 800 meters. The water is so clear and clean it is safe to drink, I refilled my water bottle near the top of the mountain. It is actually a complex of mountains, I'm not exactly sure what mountain within the Esja mountain range we climbed to the top of. I am definitely a little bit nervous about the Fimmvorduhals trek we are doing in the South which is more intense, but I think the adrenaline of being between two active volcanoes (Eyjafjallajokull and Katla) will help me keep up with the rest of the group. I'm so pumped.

On 6/2/2011 the Iceland Studio had the most epic day- EVER. We drove up to Thinvallin, walked the continental divide (where the north american tectonic plate meets another one), saw some amazing waterfalls, visited the place where the name geysir comes from there are a few geysers, one that goes off about every 5minutes spewing boiling hot water 20 feet in the air (did you know geysir is an icelandic word?). We stopped to go caving in this really great cave after a little excited persuasion from myself. Climbing through this icy cave where lava once flowed through melting some of the rock and causing others to crash down to the ground was the coolest thing I've done here this far. Maybe the coolest experience for something I've been looking forward to doing for so long. I've heard there are many more tunnel systems and caves to explore and that's all I want to do now! We ended the day by visiting a hot river thta you have to drive on a crazy gravel road for a while from the main road, and then hike for another hour to get to. There is this place where water from the mountain that is freezing cold meets the water from the ground which is boiling hot, and where they mix, people bathe in these natural springs. So fun. It was incredible. Hot springs are a must-do when in Iceland. Especially because bathing and swimming is the favorite pasttime for Icelanders. Reykjavik has many swimming halls, 3 of which we've visited.

Amazing amazing day. We saw and learned a lot, had a great time. I WENT CAVING.