I C E L A N D // Part 3, The Golden Circle

Iceland Part 1, Part 2.

If you ever go to Iceland, or know someone who has, you will at some point hear about The Golden Circle. It's (mostly) made up of Þingvellir National Park,  Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir.
After our mammoth roadtrip, this seemed like it would be a piece of cake. And thank the heavens, it was! Again we followed the route on i heart Reykjavik and added on Gamla Laugin (The Secret Lagoon) and Kerid volcainc crater.

A note on Lagoons... Everyone knows about the iconic Blue lagoon in Iceland. It is the internets dream place, every photo taken there is the money shot, it seems. And as amazing as it looks, I found myself with little interest in going. I have no idea why, as if you know me it seems like absolutely my kind of thing - 1) beautiful 2) B L U E 3) hella photographic. And yet.... meh. After researching I'd heard that it was very expensive and always packed full of people, and the idea I had of Iceland was a quieter one. Plus paying so much for 2 kids who may not like it also seemed a bit of a bummer. Knowing that there would be ample opportunity for wild swimming and finding an alternative called The Secret Lagoon, I convinced my husband it was the right thing. We visited The Secret Lagoon on our 9th day and up until that point he was still *this close* to booking us a spot at the Blue Lagoon most days. Then we had this amazing trip which ended up at The Secret Lagoon and we knew it would never compare. It is natural and breathtaking and just an amazing slice of Iceland. I'm not saying go don't go to the Blue Lagoon, but do Gamla Laugin first/as well.

This is an ideal trip with (or without) kids. There are regular stops, wide open spaces, limited time in the car. And so much beauty. We did this trip in a day, setting off at a decent time and spending a glorious few hours at bedtime swimming the lagoon. You can really make the trip as long or as short as you want depending on stops. The Þingvellir National Park is amazing, you could easily spend the whole day here wandering and picnicing. It would also be an epic place to camp. Also the toilets at the visitors centre are the most picturesque place to wee ever, so go do that.

And did I mention The Secret Lagoon yet? No? At the end of the day we arrived around 7pm. We weren't sure what to expect or how the kids would be seeing as it was technically bedtime, so when we rocked up to this little quiet place in the middle of a small village, we had no expectations. We got changed in the little wooden cabin and walked through to the pool. It was beautiful. Go scroll down and look at the pictures. See? We all sunk in, and it was honestly just magical. The heat and the surroundings, the golden light and the hushed hum of everyone relaxing...It did something to us, to the kids. They were in a little trance like us. Sach was the most beautiful I have ever seen him. His face flushed rosy red from the water, he spent hours collecting the algea from around the pool and piling it up, happily chatting to himself. Arla was half asleep, happy to be held and whooshed through the water, us passing her back and forth so we could swim around and float and breathe. It was the highlight of this trip. Of this year. It's become my happy place,and sometimes I find myself wistfully thinking about it and pretending I'm there (instead of making this weeks 543rd meal).

So here it is, The Golden Circle.

Portugal - Ferragudo and Algar Seco

This area of Southern Portugal has been voted top 10 coastlines in the world...or something like that. It felt very much like parts of Thailand to us, with huge rocky cliff faces and crystal blue waters. There is a walk you can do (about 6 or 7 hours mind you) that takes you along the top of the cliffs and past some of the most amazing beaches and coves. Not recommended for those with small children who like to run everywhere (like ours), but if we didn't have to worry about him falling to a certain death we would have done it in a heartbeat.

We visited the small town of Carvoeiro a few times, and also one a little further away called Ferragudo. In Ferragudo we ate the most amazing meal of freshly caught fish and drank the delicious local 'green wine'. The restaurant was called A Ria (the hotel shuttle bus driver's favourite place to eat!) and if you are ever nearby, please go! We didn't eat out too much (budget, boring) but there are some highly rated foodie places around, should you want to visit them (of course you do).

On our penultimate day we walked from Carvoeiro to a small place a taxi driver had told us about. Our favourite thing to do in foreign countries is to ask the locals their favourite places, and this was his. Algar Seco are a small cluster of caves in the cliff face. Half way down (in a photo below you can see a white canopy, which is it) there is a small restaurant overlooking the sea. It's beautiful in it's simplicity, just the sea and sky and rocks, and this was our second best meal of the entire trip - chicken piri piri cooked on a outdoor grill on the side of a cliff face? YES. Also some gorgeous wihite Sangria that deserves it's own mention. Apparently the best time to visit the restaurant is at sunset, when a jazz singer provides the soundtrack to sunset and sangria. I can only imagine how magical that must be. The caves themselves are small and quickly looked around, although it is rocky (obviously) and probably not for anyone younger than Sachin (3 and a half) or too old either.

 And so that was Portugal. I have found myself longing to return since we got back, and I know that other parts are supposed to be just as beautiful. Fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later....

 You can see my previous post on the hotel and surrounding area here, and some Portugese Flora here.