The Skogarfoss Water Falls
The View Beside the Falls
Ash-Covered Sheep Near the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
The Lava Fields, About 1000 Years After the Eruption
Fisksup With Viking Beer
Part of the Vatnajökull Glacier, the Largest in Europe
The Glacial Lagoon, Where Parts of the James Bond Movie, "Die Another Day", Were Filmed
All Geared Up To Explore the Icebergs in the Glacial Lagoon
Icebergs (90% Are Underwater)
Giant Slabs of Ice in the Glacial Lagoon
Broken-Off Pieces of Ice from the Icebergs, on the Coast of the Atlantic Ocean
The Fishing Village of Vik
The Foothills of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
The Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls
View From Behind the Falls
Side View of the Falls
Another View of the Falls
The Rabbit in a Field of Alaskan Lupins
The Sun at 11:00 p.m. in ReykjavikIt turns out that the bus tour I signed up for yesterday was not 10 hours long, as I had thought, but a good 14 hours. I was pleased because I got to see the entire southern shore of Iceland, from Reykjavik in the south-west to Vatnajökull in the south-east. It was a long, exhausting and intensive trip, but here are the highlights.
I woke up in the mid-morning sunshine this morning only to realize that it wasn't yet 5:00 a.m. I went back to sleep and was rudely awakened by my wake-up call at 6:30 a.m., and Man, was I tired! I lounged around for a bit, trying to wake up while watching some lame 70s BBC comedy. (Last night, before going to bed, I watched the Fawlty Towers episode with "Lord" Melbury). Anyway, I finally got up, showered, got dressed and came downstairs to check my e-mail messages. It was already 7:20 a.m. by then, and I wondered whether I could get a quick bite to eat before the tour bus would show up at the hotel. It was supposed to pick me up between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. As it turns out, it pulled up in front of my hotel just then. But we were going to stop at a convenience store downtown to get something to eat anyway, so it was no big deal. I got myself a bottle of water and a delicious chocolate chip muffin.
And we were off.
The entire island of Iceland is circled by a road called the Ring Road, or route 1, and we were going to go exploring the southern section of this road from the capital, Reykjavik, to the glacier, Vatnajökull. There were several stops along the way.
As we made our way east, we basically covered a lot of the road I saw yesterday on the Golden Circle tour. Then, after about 2 hours, the landscape was completely unfamiliar to me and new. We reached the river Þjórsá, the longest river in Iceland, which cuts across what is believed to be the world's largest lava flow, at 805 square km, and about 8,000 years old. Nothing grows here except for moss on the volcanic rocks. We saw several dormant volcanos and some hot springs coming out of the rock. We visited the Skogarfoss waterfall, and stopped for lunch at the Islandia hotel, a remote hotel located in the heart of barren lava fields with nothing else in sight. Truly a surreal experience. We were given a choice of soups for lunch, and as I had already had the lamb soup, I tried the seafood soup today, which was seasoned, I believe, with saffron. I had an Icelandic beer, a Viking, with my meal.
We got to the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, now dormant, but expected to begin erupting again soon. The entire region here was bleak, and even the sheep in the fields, usually a snowy white, were a dull grey from the volcanic dust and ash. The vistas all along the southern caost from this point onward were simply stunning. Of course, I couldn't always catch the place names of the areas we visited. I do remember that the valleys near Kirkjubæjarklaustur were particularly verdant, with sheep high up in the mountains (or should I say, volcanos). We started seeing glaciers high up in the mountains, and it was truly a stirring sight! We stopped shortly in Skatafell National Park, and then passed Ieland's biggest volcano, Öræfajökull glacier, which has the highest peak of the country, Hvannalshnjúkur. When we got to the western edge of Europe's largest glacier, the famed Vatnajökull, our tour bus stopped at the Jökulsárlón, an amazing glacial lagoon at the foot of the glacier. We disembarked so that we could board an amphibian boat which drove the short distance to the lagoon before setting off on the water. The experience was definitely a highlight for me, floating along on our boat, snapping pictures of the massive icebergs among which we sailed. The air was incredibly cold here. Without the wind chill, I am guessing -10C, easily. Our guide caught hold of some ice from a glacier and explained to us that it was 100% pure water because it had been compressed under the glacier for more than 1500 years and had then been floating in the water of the lagoon so long it got rid of any impurities. She chopped her slab of ice into small, manageable chunks and gave each of us a bite to sample.
When we emerged from the lagoon, I walked across the road to the other side of the Ring Road, and the Atlantic Ocean. I snapped photos of the smaller chunks of ice that had broken off from the icebergs in the lagoon and drifted onto the sandy beach of the Atlantic Ocean. The waves here were enormous, and I did not venture too far from the shoreline.
We boarded our bus again and made our way back to Reykjavík, stopping along the way in the small fishing village of Vík, where we had a mediocre dinner at a fast food type joint. I figured it was a fishing village, so I got the fish and chips at 1700 kronúr (around 17 dollars Canadian), but then again, the soup of the day was going for 750 kronúr (7,50 Canadian). Did I mention that Iceland was expensive?!? The villagers in Vík live in dread of the next volcanic eruption of the Hekla volcano, not because of the ash or the lava, but because of the very real threat they face of having a tsunami. I would not like to live there!
As we were enjoying the view, we suddenly noticed in a river we were crossing, a small red car sinking fast, and a young twenty-something driver climbing out of the driver's window, with his cellphone to his ear, clutching his backpack, and attempting to climb onto the roof of his sinking car. Incredibly, we just kept on our way, and the guide called 112 on her cellphone for help.
We made a final stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall. What made this one the most special of the three I have visited is that we could walk along a pathway that leads behind the waterfalls. It was a most mystical, magical and memorable moment for me. Even the pictures I took are breath-taking, I think.
We were supposed to arrive in Reykjavík by 10:00 p.m. at the latest, but we were already running behind schedule with 12 more km to go when the guide suddenly cried out "rabbit". The bus stopped, and stalled. We couldn't get it to start again. And what was the connection with the rabbit?? Turns out there wasn't one, just a coincidence. The fact was we ran out of gas. So, we waited about 20 minutes for another bus to come to our rescue. In the meantime, I took a picture of this mysterious rabbit...
We boarded the new bus at 11:00 p.m. sharp, and I snapped a picture of the sun which was still fairly high above the horizon. I got dropped off at my hotel shortly thereafter, and learned -- alas! -- that the Ice Bar has just closed for the evening. So, I won't get a chance to go.
We shall see how tomorrow unfolds, but as my flight out of Iceland is only at 5:00 p.m., I am going to try to go to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in the late morning, early afternoon.
But for now, I'm going out to see Reyjavik on my last night of my trip.
Troy, see you tomorrow!
M.
I woke up in the mid-morning sunshine this morning only to realize that it wasn't yet 5:00 a.m. I went back to sleep and was rudely awakened by my wake-up call at 6:30 a.m., and Man, was I tired! I lounged around for a bit, trying to wake up while watching some lame 70s BBC comedy. (Last night, before going to bed, I watched the Fawlty Towers episode with "Lord" Melbury). Anyway, I finally got up, showered, got dressed and came downstairs to check my e-mail messages. It was already 7:20 a.m. by then, and I wondered whether I could get a quick bite to eat before the tour bus would show up at the hotel. It was supposed to pick me up between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. As it turns out, it pulled up in front of my hotel just then. But we were going to stop at a convenience store downtown to get something to eat anyway, so it was no big deal. I got myself a bottle of water and a delicious chocolate chip muffin.
And we were off.
The entire island of Iceland is circled by a road called the Ring Road, or route 1, and we were going to go exploring the southern section of this road from the capital, Reykjavik, to the glacier, Vatnajökull. There were several stops along the way.
As we made our way east, we basically covered a lot of the road I saw yesterday on the Golden Circle tour. Then, after about 2 hours, the landscape was completely unfamiliar to me and new. We reached the river Þjórsá, the longest river in Iceland, which cuts across what is believed to be the world's largest lava flow, at 805 square km, and about 8,000 years old. Nothing grows here except for moss on the volcanic rocks. We saw several dormant volcanos and some hot springs coming out of the rock. We visited the Skogarfoss waterfall, and stopped for lunch at the Islandia hotel, a remote hotel located in the heart of barren lava fields with nothing else in sight. Truly a surreal experience. We were given a choice of soups for lunch, and as I had already had the lamb soup, I tried the seafood soup today, which was seasoned, I believe, with saffron. I had an Icelandic beer, a Viking, with my meal.
We got to the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, now dormant, but expected to begin erupting again soon. The entire region here was bleak, and even the sheep in the fields, usually a snowy white, were a dull grey from the volcanic dust and ash. The vistas all along the southern caost from this point onward were simply stunning. Of course, I couldn't always catch the place names of the areas we visited. I do remember that the valleys near Kirkjubæjarklaustur were particularly verdant, with sheep high up in the mountains (or should I say, volcanos). We started seeing glaciers high up in the mountains, and it was truly a stirring sight! We stopped shortly in Skatafell National Park, and then passed Ieland's biggest volcano, Öræfajökull glacier, which has the highest peak of the country, Hvannalshnjúkur. When we got to the western edge of Europe's largest glacier, the famed Vatnajökull, our tour bus stopped at the Jökulsárlón, an amazing glacial lagoon at the foot of the glacier. We disembarked so that we could board an amphibian boat which drove the short distance to the lagoon before setting off on the water. The experience was definitely a highlight for me, floating along on our boat, snapping pictures of the massive icebergs among which we sailed. The air was incredibly cold here. Without the wind chill, I am guessing -10C, easily. Our guide caught hold of some ice from a glacier and explained to us that it was 100% pure water because it had been compressed under the glacier for more than 1500 years and had then been floating in the water of the lagoon so long it got rid of any impurities. She chopped her slab of ice into small, manageable chunks and gave each of us a bite to sample.
When we emerged from the lagoon, I walked across the road to the other side of the Ring Road, and the Atlantic Ocean. I snapped photos of the smaller chunks of ice that had broken off from the icebergs in the lagoon and drifted onto the sandy beach of the Atlantic Ocean. The waves here were enormous, and I did not venture too far from the shoreline.
We boarded our bus again and made our way back to Reykjavík, stopping along the way in the small fishing village of Vík, where we had a mediocre dinner at a fast food type joint. I figured it was a fishing village, so I got the fish and chips at 1700 kronúr (around 17 dollars Canadian), but then again, the soup of the day was going for 750 kronúr (7,50 Canadian). Did I mention that Iceland was expensive?!? The villagers in Vík live in dread of the next volcanic eruption of the Hekla volcano, not because of the ash or the lava, but because of the very real threat they face of having a tsunami. I would not like to live there!
As we were enjoying the view, we suddenly noticed in a river we were crossing, a small red car sinking fast, and a young twenty-something driver climbing out of the driver's window, with his cellphone to his ear, clutching his backpack, and attempting to climb onto the roof of his sinking car. Incredibly, we just kept on our way, and the guide called 112 on her cellphone for help.
We made a final stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall. What made this one the most special of the three I have visited is that we could walk along a pathway that leads behind the waterfalls. It was a most mystical, magical and memorable moment for me. Even the pictures I took are breath-taking, I think.
We were supposed to arrive in Reykjavík by 10:00 p.m. at the latest, but we were already running behind schedule with 12 more km to go when the guide suddenly cried out "rabbit". The bus stopped, and stalled. We couldn't get it to start again. And what was the connection with the rabbit?? Turns out there wasn't one, just a coincidence. The fact was we ran out of gas. So, we waited about 20 minutes for another bus to come to our rescue. In the meantime, I took a picture of this mysterious rabbit...
We boarded the new bus at 11:00 p.m. sharp, and I snapped a picture of the sun which was still fairly high above the horizon. I got dropped off at my hotel shortly thereafter, and learned -- alas! -- that the Ice Bar has just closed for the evening. So, I won't get a chance to go.
We shall see how tomorrow unfolds, but as my flight out of Iceland is only at 5:00 p.m., I am going to try to go to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in the late morning, early afternoon.
But for now, I'm going out to see Reyjavik on my last night of my trip.
Troy, see you tomorrow!
M.
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