The Great Atlantic Rift

The Great Atlantic Rift, believe it or not, has nothing to do with the chilliness that exists between the Trump Administration and our Western European Allies.  Although it could.

Instead, it is the one place in the world where you can see tectonic plates that are not underwater.  The land is moving apart at about two centimeters a year.  It serves as a reminder that the third rock from the sun is still changing (much as the volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii serves similar notice).

It was our first stop outside of Reykjavik on a cloudy, gray day.  We walk through part of the rift, and down to Logberg, the site of the first Icelandic parliaments.  Back in the day, you elected yourself if you were an important person in your community, and spent several days feasting and discussing the law.  Logberg translates as "Law Rock."

The parliament was first formed in 930, and lasted as a yearly tradition until 1262, when Iceland aligned with Norway.

I suppose I should take a couple of paragraphs to describe exactly who "we" are.  A number of years ago, Carol and I joined a company named "Portico" which offered top notch vacation homes at discount prices.  Eventually Portico was bought out by Inspirato.  The latter company has been growing like wildfire, offering more places, including experiences, hotels, and resorts.  We've been quite happy with the selection (no, we do not use them for every trip, but we do when it suits our wanderlust).

Anyhow, we went to Antarctica with Inspirato in January 2016.  Then, in February 2017, we went to Myanmar with an Inspirato group of 12 people.  We all hit it off pretty well.  Four of us had been on the Antarctic trip, and talked the others into doing this year's Arctic trip.  As a pre-trip, we decided to go to Iceland together, along with three other friends of one couple.

So, through the work of Kevin and Pam, we have a guide, and we are all hopping on a small bus and rambling through the south of Iceland for a few days.  There, you should now feel caught up!