Follow our journey on this map.

Day 16 was another sparkling crisp day (totally unusual for Iceland) and perfect for 9-hour tour of the Golden Circle. It was actually a very comfortable tour because we stopped for 45 minutes to over an hour at each spot.

The first spot was the Kerid Crater Lake. It’s over 3,000 years old and has crystal clear water. The next stop was an off-the-path gorge with a great view.

Next on the list was the Secret Lagoon as we continued our sampling of geothermal baths. It was by far the most authentic one we visited. It’s rustic, unassuming and perfect for families. The pool is surrounded by several hot springs, including a little geyser, providing the pool with fresh warm water, maintaining a temperature of 38-40 °C throughout the year.

The next stop was the world's original geyser, the Great Geysir (Great Geyser). It is the source of the English word after which all other geysers are named. Geysir literally means "gusher" in Icelandic, and this natural phenomenon in the Haukadalur geothermal region has been active for more than 10,000 years; records of hot springs activity in the region date back to 1294.

Finally we stopped at the Gulfoss Waterfall and Thingvellir National Park (where we saw the Eurasian and North American tectonic plate separation) before return to the ship.

Today marked the end of the first cruise and the start of our second one. We’ll reverse the cities in Iceland before heading to Dublin. We wanted to do this back-to-back cruise because it is allowing us to really absorb the culture and experience all the Iceland has to offer.

I can’t go without a food shot. You’ll be seeing fewer and fewer desserts as the days progress (gotta pace ourselves!).