Blown Away
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If you've ever watched a geyser blow, you know the cool factor involved with that act.
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So do we. We’ve waited with bated breath many times as the hour hands passed ever so sluggishly for Old Faithful to be primed and groomed to spew his innards one more time. If you wanted to catch him in the act but missed a golden photo opportunity the first time because you were thumbing texts, I don’t envy you one bit. But we photographers are impatient creatures, not to mention the children in tow who essentially lack any perception of this fourth dimension called time, a scientific conundrum in and of itself even a century after Einstein. The question is, what else can exasperated souls do who would rather not wait for up to an hour-and-a-half?
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The answer is Strokkur, the Icelandic geyser that erupts as few as just six minutes. Imagine how many times you can try to get your perfect shot in the time Old Faithful blows. If you’re lucky, that number might very well be fifteen separate eruptions. Or you can take that time to finish that text you started.
And that’s not all the tricks Strokkur has in its sleeves. In fact, we recommend this geyser, even if you’ve nurtured a fleeting feeling to visit Iceland in remote past. Remember, air tickets to Iceland are among the lowest anywhere in Europe. And best of all, Iceland remains one of best family-friendly destinations in the world. Hands down!
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So why recommend Strokkur? Well, other than not testing your patience, it lets you go closer to the eruption. It is much more colorful as well, regularly showing the turquoise blue that bubbles up before spouting its steam and water. Incidentally, height-wise, too, it’s not much shorter than the Old Faithful, and since it’s what’s called a “fountain” geyser, it erupts from a pool of water that brings out the colors with every eruption. And oh, did we mention it’s right on your visit on the Golden Circle tour, so you don’t have to drive all the way inside a national park to witness the show it puts up.
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