September 3-Waking Up at Skogafoss

We were awakened from our peaceful slumber at 6 a.m. by a pack of rowdy tourists with no regard for sleeping campers. They pulled in right next to us and proceeded to smoke and horse around while leaning on our vehicle. We packed up and left. Looking back, we got our first view of the glacier sitting up on the mountain behind us.

The museum that we wanted to see  was not open yet, so we drove down the road towards the Seljavellir hot spring for a good morning bath. We drove up the cove for a ways, parked and then walked up a bleak looking draw that we would have never bothered with unless we knew about it.

It was cold and grey but we grabbed our suits and towels and headed up the footpath. I had not even had coffee yet.

There was a changing hut and a cement pond built into the base of the rock which oozed hot water, and a pipe at one end bringing in more from another fissure. About 15 people were already there and we wasted no time getting in.  One couple was from Richmond Virginia and we traded ideas while floating around. It was not the cleanest looking pool but a little algae didn’t bother me. It felt great.

This was a much better start to the day. Afterwards we went back to the, now open, museum. The sun was finally coming out through the clouds, casting a green glow on the musem’s sod farm buildings and houses.

When you enter, all sound is muffled by the thick stone and sod covered walls and you can imagine them being snug in the winter months.

We learned that wood has always been scarce in Iceland and people depended on driftwood from shipwrecks and logs floating in from Siberia for the building of doors and furniture.

Inside the Skogar Museum were a lot of cool artifacts related to sheep farming, spinning, weaving, fishing and wintering. One display was about the Yule Lads, an Icelandic  Christmas tradition.

Roads are a modern invention here, and like New Foundland, transportation has been mostly by boat. I wonder what the sheep thought of this adventure? And how well might they swim?

Dyrholaey Seaside Cliffs

Next stop was at Dyrholaey seaside cliffs, where we saw a large Minke whale swimming dangerously close to the beach and some seals riding the waves.

It started to rain and we moved on again.

Black Beach- Reynisfera

We love geology and wanted to see some Columnar Jointing so we drove to the Black Beach at Reynisfera. Lots of people here, so glad it is off season. There was still a wedding party and a drone hovering above though.

The formations are huge and the possibility of a giant sneaker wave coming after you is apparently real. The pebbles (not sand)on the beach are all polished black lava and flow through your fingers sounding like a clean rain stick.

We continued on, gassing up in Vic and looking for a sweater for Jeff, but all we saw was stuff made in China. Some of the sweaters said the wool was sourced in Iceland, but still made elsewhere. We are holding out for Iceland made.

Volcanic Ice Flow

We drove along the coast until we came to an area that looked like a humongous herd of sheep had laid down, turned to stone and grown moss over themselves. Then a pull off marking the spot where a village had once stood but every single person had been killed by an eruption and cairns of rocks and flowers had been built in memory of each one. Iceland has its share of live volcanoes. devastated by a flood, with twisted remains of a bridge and a scoured landscape. In 2010 there had been a large volcanic eruption under a glacier, causing an extremely fast melt and expulsion of sulfuric acid gasses, ice, ash water and rocks which tore out a huge flood plain and disrupted airplane traffic in Europe for days.

Camped at Kirkjubazjarklaustur in the rain at 40 some degrees F.

Sept 4-5 Skaftafell National Park

We woke to the sound of rain and sheep. There are sheep everywhere in Iceland.

I boiled water for hot chocolate and coffee, ate some bread with lingonberry jam and we drove east out route 1.  We stopped at a few roadside waterfalls and drove on to Skaftafell National Park, where it had stopped raining and we signed up with Iceland Mountain Guides for a 4.5 hour glacial hike. Kyle, our guide was from Singapore and was able to converse with the older Chinese couple who had zero English (nor any Icelandic). He showed us how to use crampons, so we would not slip on the ice, fitted us out with climbing harnesses and ice axes and we drove in a big off road bus to a nearby glacier.

The usual glacier was deemed unstable so we had to go to a lesser one but it was still cool. Our little group moved very slowly but we got a chance to see blue ice, and climbed through icy fissures and, connected to a rope, we each went down into a hole.

The day was grey but stayed fairly dry. The glacier had a mushy top layer which kept us from slipping much but is indicative of them melting at an alarming rate.

We camped at the park that night, making good use of their brand new shower building, and woke to sunshine and a good hiking day. It was chilly so I wore my fleece lined snow pants and midway up the steep trail I got seriously overheated. I took off my pants and Jeff gave me his lightweight quick dry pants, continuing on in his long johns, hanging his ball cap for a sporan. We looked odd but it worked.

We took the Glacier Overlook( Skaftafelljokul)  trail by mistake but the views were great  and worth the additional time.

We hiked across open alpine terrain onto the Svartifoss trail , with more basalt columnar jointing

Then down to a recently inhabited sod house over looking the glacial flood plain way down below. I love the soddy houses.

We were tired when we got back from our hike and woke to 0 degrees Celsius and a brisk wind, but there was sun!

Everyday is a new adventure and as long as you have your wind and rain gear, the weather is fine.

_Wendy, writing at Edgewise Woods, Gardens and Critters