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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Hotel Hekla |
It was too rainy to sightsee, so we just visited briefly with the Icelandic horses on the property.
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| 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.
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| Icelandic Horse |
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| 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
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| 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 …
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| Sejalandfoss on a gray day |
... Skógafoss, 82 feet wide and 200 feet high ...
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| Still gray |
... with a path up the side ...
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| A bit of a slippery hike |
... that allows you to view it from the top.
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| 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 ...
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| Wide view |
The weather clouded up more, but somehow it seemed appropriate for the scenery.
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| 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.
.JPG) |
| Panorama |
The area also features a phenomenal lava cliff with a section of exposed basalt that included a shallow cave ...
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| Interesting beach feature |
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| Rugged terrain |
As you can see, the cliff is massive ...
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| 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.
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| Stacks |
Across the water were an arch and a number of additional formations.
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| 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.
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| A fledgling resting |
In Vik, we saw a typical Icelandic church ...
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Just "Waterfall" |
There are lots of lava cliffs ...
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| Cliffs from ancient (well, kind of ancient) volcanoes |
... with green, green grass up the sides and at the base, where many sheep graze.
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| Icelandic Sheep |
After passing a beautiful rushing stream with cascades ...
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| 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.
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| 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 ...
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| Svartifoss |
Also along the trail is the very pretty Hundafoss.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Freshwater icebergs |
The lake has grown at varying rates because of melting of the glaciers.
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| Panorama |
It is now almost a mile away from the ocean's edge and covers an area of about 6.9 sq. miles.
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| Lots of colors |
It recently became the deepest lake in Iceland, at over 815 feet.
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| Scott's happy place |
The size of the lake has increased fourfold since the 1970s.
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| Massive berg |
The glacier constantly calves icebergs that rush out to sea, only to get caught up in the shallower edge.
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| Waiting to go to sea |
They crash and grind into each other until they are washed to sea, often leaving large chunks on the beach.
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| Like diamonds on the beach |
Seals were swimming about, avoiding the big icebergs.
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| Swimming Harbor Seal |
We stayed marveling
at this natural wonder until sundown, and then headed to our hotel ...
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| Otherworldly |
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| Pretty on a foggy night |
It had gotten quite cool and foggy, so the drive was magical in many ways.
This was especially true when we came around a bend and saw Foss á Siðu illuminated.
It's cool enough to have a waterfall in your backyard. But, one that is lit up?
Incomparable!
The only thing that could have made it better would have been some aurora. But, it was way too cloudy for that.
Trip date: August 19-September 9, 2014
