If I Were Going...: Back to Iceland

Bardabunga; Photo: Scott Stevens

On our way home from Norway, we scheduled a few more days in Iceland. We hoped that we would have clear weather again so that we would be able to see Bardarbunga erupting. It was clear on the way there and Scott was able to get pictures of it smoking away from the plane.

On our way

But, we landed in rainy overcast, which persisted throughout the rest of the visit. I shouldn’t (and I won’t) complain, because for the most part we had had extraordinary weather throughout our trip. And, Iceland generally has rain and fog.

Upon arrival, we headed east, with the intention of seeing the sights along the southern part of the Ring Road. We stopped for dinner in a little café where Scott had excellent arctic char and I had a delicious salad with chicken and veggies.

Then, on to our hotel, the Hotel Hekla, that was oddly quiet signaling that tourist season was pretty much over.

Hotel Hekla

It was too rainy to sightsee, so we just visited briefly with the Icelandic horses on the property.

Visiting the horses

Developed from ponies taken to Iceland by Scandinavian settlers in the 9th and 10th centuries, these small horses are long-lived and hardy -- and fiercely protected by the Icelandic government. Law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.

While most horses have three gaits (walk, trot and canter/gallop), the Icelandic horse has two additional: the tölt, which is an exceptionally smooth gait that can be performed at a range of speeds, from the speed of a typical fast walk up to the speed of a normal canter; and the fast and smooth skeið, flugskeið or "flying pace,”with some horses able to reach up to 30 miles per hour.

Icelandic Horse

A beauty

It is said these gaits are so smooth, the rider can carry a full glass of beer and not spill a drop.

Icelandic horses have full manes, weigh between 730 and 840 lbs. and average 13 and 14 hands (52 and 56 inches), high.

The breed comes in many coat colors, including chestnut, dun, bay, black, gray, palomino, pinto and roan – and we saw some with multi-color manes.

They have double coats developed for extra insulation in cold temperatures.

Besides the horses, the only other wildlife was some Whooper Swans

Common in Iceland

Waterfalls, Sea Stacks and Glaciers

The next morning, we headed east and stopped at two of Iceland’s most well-known waterfalls. Sejalandsfoss, a 200 ft. waterfall that has a path up and behind it …

Sejalandfoss on a gray day

... Skógafoss, 82 feet wide and 200 feet high ...

Still gray

... with a path up the side ...

A bit of a slippery hike

... that allows you to view it from the top.

Cascading down

Then, we took a gravel road south to Reynisdrangar, a black stone beach with unearthly formations on the beach and in the water ...

Wide view

The weather clouded up more, but somehow it seemed appropriate for the scenery.

Remnants of a volcanic eruption

Not only are the basalt sea stacks black, but so it the beach, which is made up of small, smooth black rocks.

Panorama

The area also features a phenomenal lava cliff with a section of exposed basalt that included a shallow cave ...

Interesting beach feature

Basalt, formed from cooled lava (often rapidly cooled) often forms large crystals, creating interesting textures and surfaces, including columns ...

Rugged terrain

As you can see, the cliff is massive ...

Dwarfed! Left photo: Scott Stevens

Legend says two trolls tried drag a three-masted ship to land and were frozen in place when daylight broke, creating Reynisdrangar's sea stacks.

Stacks

Across the water were an arch and a number of additional formations.

Distant

It was on this beach that we first noticed odd behavior by seagulls that just hunker down in the sand and are not disturbed if you walk right up to them. Later, we saw Northern Fulmars doing the same thing on the road as cars sped by.

A fledgling resting

In Vik, we saw a typical Icelandic church ...

There are many that look just like this

Then, we arrived at Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where we would be staying for the night. No one can pronounce it, so they just call it “Klauster.” The town also has a waterfall, Systrafoss (“sister falls”), named for two nuns of the Kirkjubæjarklaustur monastery who were buried on the mountain above after being burned at the stake for violating codes of ethics.

How cool to have a waterfall in your yard

Our next stop was Foss á Siðu (“waterfall on the side”), generally just called Foss, the Icelandic word for waterfall.

Just "Waterfall"

There are lots of lava cliffs ...

Cliffs from ancient (well, kind of ancient) volcanoes

... with green, green grass up the sides and at the base, where many sheep graze.

Icelandic Sheep

After passing a beautiful rushing stream with cascades ...

Roadside attraction

... we began seeing the glacial tongues of the massive Vatnajökull icecap, Europe's largest glacier, with a surface area of 5,000 square miles and a thickness of 1,300-3000 ft. The glacial ice conceals a number of mountains, valleys and plateaus, including active volcanoes, of which Bárðarbunga is the largest and Grímsvötn the most active.

Massive glacier

We stopped at Staftafell National Park at the foot of the Skaftafellsjökull (jökull means glacier). I hiked the mile out to the Svartifoss ("black falls"), an unusual waterfall that falls 65 feet over a wall of sharp black basalt ...

Svartifoss

Also along the trail is the very pretty Hundafoss.

The name means "Dog Falls" because it sometimes swept farm dogs away

Glacial Lagoon

Then, we headed around the corner to one of the most spectacular sights in southern Iceland: the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park.

Amazing!

Situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, the lagoon only formed after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in the 1930s.