21 October 2010

Diverse landscape and brilliant skies


The view of the glacier from Hofn.

Back at Jokulsarlon the icebergs chunks shone like chards of glass against the black volcanic ash sand beach.


This looked a lot like an aerial photo of the country of Iceland.

In order to make it all the way around the Ring road, we had a few days where we had to spend the bulk of daylight on the road. Though there were no shortage of places to stop, stretch our legs and take pictures.

We spent some time in reindeer and lobster country.

We enjoyed lunch in Djupivogur.



We witnessed the pattern of three again, as they booked it across the road in front of us.




One of the most anticipated events of the trip was the possibility to see the Northern Lights. One night in Hofn all the stars aligned and we had our first clear, cold night. As we peered out our hotel window we spotted a green haze in the distance. We could hardly believe our eyes, so we bundled up, jumped in the car and drove out of town away from any possible light pollution. Once parked on the side of a lightless road amidst the squawking of sawns and baaing of sheep we witnessed a natural wonder of color and light. They came on as quickly as they would stop, dancing to and fro across the dark sky. It was unreal and the amount of stars visible in the sky that night was massive. How lucky we were to be in a remote enough location, void of light pollution, but also fortunate enough to pair that with a clear night.


Driving during the day, we hardly ever encountered cars, but for some reason several trucks and semis passed us as Cameron was trying to take time lapsed photos. Despite the cars, he took some amazing photos.


One lane bridges are everywhere and this was our warning sign for an upcoming one.

The open road, the red on the hills in the distance, a day full of adventure ahead of us.



Entering the Lake Myvatn region you first encounter the mud pits of Haverarond. The smell of sulfur was so intense you had to hold your breath in places.


The Myvatn Nature bath, where we swam in hot water which occurs naturally and comes
from 2500 meters into the ground and has high amounts of sulfur (which makes it blue).

Staples while in Iceland: wild mushroom soup, Smjor (icelandic butter) and bread.

Iceland is so geographically diverse. This area reminded me of the grand canyon, while others remind me of the California coast, Idaho and the moon. In 1965, astronauts came to Iceland to train for walking on the moon.


The powerful Dettifoss.

1 comment:

Ketsy said...

Unbelievable. I am totally stunned by the beauty of it all. And maybe I am a little overwhelmed by jealousy, as well. Wow. Wow. Wow.