Catch of the Day

My intention of getting as far south and east as possible in our trip to Iceland inevitably meant an early start was needed on our last full day in Iceland to travel the 300 miles back towards where we'd arrived. One of the advantages however of Icelandic mid summer is that there was no time pressure on the journey - it wasn't going to get dark - and we had pre-booked a hotel near the airport in readiness for an early morning departure.

Our first stop on the journey back was at Jokulsarlon (again) for a final look at the icebergs. In each different light the ice had taken on different hues - today blues were more prominent. Walking away from the lagoon, passing a great skua and several eider ducks we arrived at the black sand beach. The shore was littered with shards of ice and the early morning cloud created a natural filter as if we were viewing the world in monochrome. 

Tearing ourselves away we carried on driving for about an hour, passing glacier after glacier, until an unplanned detour down a couple of miles of gravel road took us to Svínafellsjökull. This is an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull icecap and provided us with the chance to get really close to the glacier edge. From a small car park we found a rocky path that hugged the side of the glacier and climbed above the ice. A guided glacier walk was taking place below but the people were just tiny specks when seen against a backdrop of against the layers of ice and deep crevasses.

Svínafellsjökull

The halfway stop our return journey was the tiny town of Vik. We'd bypassed here on our outbound travels but planned to break our journey by stopping on the return leg. Another unplanned detour delayed our progress. In the middle of a vast plain, we saw hundreds of stone cairns dotted around a small hillock. An information board revealed that a farm known as Laufskalar had been destroyed in an eruption of Katla (another Icelandic volcano) in 954 AD and this created a lava mound that has since been named Laufskalavarda. The story goes that travellers who pass this spot add a stone to a cairn for good luck, which, over centuries, has evolved into hundreds and hundred of cairns. How much of this is myth and how much real history is unclear. Icelanders do have a fondness for myths and legends - even now about half of all Icelandic people believe in elves (Huldufólk) - and not in a story book way but as real inhabitants of the landscape. What is certain is that Laufskalavarda makes for a surreal and other worldly landscape. 

Laufskalavarda

Vik finally hove into view, its three basalt rock stacks (Reynisdrangar) showing as silhouettes on the skyline. The church sits above the small fishing town, perched on a small hilltop, and is apparently the only place that would be safe in the event of a glacial flood following a volcanic eruption. Mist swirled around the black sand beach and above the cliff tops. A statue set back from the beach, a single person looking out to sea, all combined to create a moody atmosphere, almost like a setting for an Ingmar Bergman film. Incidentally the statue has a twin in Hull - a symbol of friendship between Iceland and the UK following the cod wars of the 1970's.

Reynisdrangar

The church at Vik

Vik black sand beach

After Vik we had at least 3 more hours of driving to complete but time to make one additional significant detour. On the N1 road a few miles past Vik was a signpost to Dyrhólaey. A short drive led to the end of the road - promontory overlooking the Atlantic. Once parked we set off to explore braving a colony of Arctic terns. These birds are migratory, ground nesting, fiercely territorial and not endowed with masses of intelligence. You've seen Hitchcock's "The Birds"? Well we performed our own reenactment, using a walking pole as a decoy to avoid getting attacked. The thing with Arctic terns is they attack even when you are nowhere near their nest site. We survived! Once past the tern colony we could relax and take in the views of more black sand, cliffs and rock arches.

The cliffs and beach at Dyrhólaey

The main attraction at Dyrhólaey wasn't the views - as good as these were - but the chance to see puffins. Walking to another cliff we got our first glimpse of these comical looking birds who were nesting in burrows on the cliff tops. We watched as every so often a puffin would fly out to sea or return to land - and although ungainly looking birds on land they are remarkably fast and agile in flight. Before too long our patience was rewarded as one landed only a few meters away giving us a close up view. This one returned from a fishing expedition and decided to display the 'catch of the day'.

We stayed and watched puffins for quite a while until it was time to return to the car and complete the last stage of our journey, pausing this time only to refuel and take a few more photos of Icelandic ponies that were galloping around a field.

Finally arriving at our airport hotel we packed our bags for an early morning flight and ventured out in search of food. An unprepossessing looking restaurant housed in what looked like a light industrial unit on a drab housing estate turned out be be a bizarrely good find. Popular with locals - I think we were the only tourists - it served excellent pizza and lamb steaks. 

So ended out time in Iceland. From the hipster vibe and contemporary art and architecture of Reykjavik to hot water pools and ice cold glaciers, thundering waterfalls and silent, lupin covered plains we'd seen so many contrasting places. The landscape was of course the star attraction, empty of people, ever changing, rugged, largely untamed and unpredictable it had in turn left us beguiled, awestruck and stunned into silence.  We had only seen a small part of Iceland - and its possible a return trip will be needed to sample some more of its delights!

Waterfalls and Glaciers

We left our cabin on a grey but thankfully dry morning to head south and east along the southern half of Iceland's 'Ring Road' - the N1. The first 30 minutes of driving took us through Selfoss, a small nondescript town, and across a coastal plain. Its fair to say the scenery was dull, but things picked up after we arrived at Seljalandsfoss. A very short drive off the main road, set in a green, buttercup filled meadow, Seljalandsfoss is an impressive and accessible waterfall that drops dramatically into a pool leaving a small cave behind. I thought it unwise to walk behind - as people emerged looking very wet - and water and DSLR cameras don't tend to mix well together! We did walk in front taking in the view, conversation inhibited by the deafening roar of water plunging 60 meters over the cliff face.

Mrs B. preparing for her morning shower...

Seljalandfoss

A short walk along the valley led to a smaller and less accessible waterfall with an unpronounceable name to non Icelandic speakers, Gljúfrabúi. This is partially hidden from sight- it teases you with views as it is set behind a very narrow, water filled canyon.

Gljúfrabúi

From this point on the scenery became much more dramatic as the road skirted the volcanoes, mountain scenery and glaciers of Southern Iceland. We passed Eyjafjallajokull (another mouthful) farm and visitor centre - this was the place where the above named volcano erupted in 2010 - causing massive disruption to European airspace. Before too long we arrived at the second large waterfall of the day, Skógafoss. 

This is a really popular waterfall as evidenced by the tourist coach parties and vehicles - in the carpark but its also the start of a popular hiking trail with a campsite, so there were plenty of serious hikers around too. Skógafoss drops 60 metres but is roughly 25 metres wide so the speed and volume of water it discharges is astonishing. A track and 527 steps take you from the bottom to the top with multiple places to stop and admire the view or regain breath - it was a steep climb!

Skógafoss from the bottom..

....from halfway up

...and from the top

Once at the top of Skogafoss my natural instinct to explore a bit further led me to a stile and the start of the Skógar–Þórsmörk trail a 25 kilometre hike across the mountains. I persuaded Mrs B to walk a bit further and as the crowds thinned out the landscape opened up to reveal more waterfalls and mountain scenery - black and green but with occasional splashes of alpine type flowers. It was delightful to breath in the clear air and take in the stunning views of wilderness. Not having planned any sort of hike, after a couple of kilometers I reluctantly turned back as the path was slowly climbing and we hadn't set off with any food or water. A sensible retreat seemed prudent! 

Scenery at the start of the Skogar - Porsmork trail.

Returning to the car we mapped out the next stage of the long drive and after a picnic lunch drove on for a good distance before detouring to Reynisfjara near the village of Vik, stopping to look at a typical small Icelandic church on the way.

Widely regarded as the most impressive black sand beach in Iceland, Reynisfjara overlooks basalt sea stacks and on the beach itself is an impressive cave with basalt stacks. As we'd driven east the sun had broken through so our stroll along the beach was taken in sunshine and we were able to see some of the amazing geology that helps shape the Icelandic landscape.

 
As we'd driven further and further eastwards the roads had emptied of traffic but the landscape constantly changed. After the grey and black of the coastal plain, dark and forbidding mountain cliffs, strange rock formations with occasional green meadows we found ourselves on open road amidst a sea of purple. The Nootka lupine was introduced to Iceland (its not native to the country) to help with soil erosion. Like many experiments its now got somewhat out of control and has colonised vast areas.

Rush hour in Iceland

Having travelling about 200 miles we'd still got another 50 or so to go to our hotel but kept getting distracted by the scenery and stopping to take in the views. Good job it wasn't going to get dark anytime soon! What distracted us most were constant views of glaciers and icecaps that seemed to get closer as we drove on. The surprise of the day came after we spotted a small car park which seemed to offer a safe place to stop and get some landscape photos of the distant glaciers. Walking up a stony path we came over a small rise in the ground where a glorious vista open up. We'd arrived at the Jokulsarlon lagoon. 

Jokulsarlon Icebergs

Lots of places that appear stunning in guidebook or internet photos often disappoint in reality. Not so with Jokulsarlon. Shades of blue dominated the colour pallette. The water reflected back late afternoon sunshine as predominantly white and blue icebergs, that had broken away from the glacier tongue, created eddies that swirled around creating patterns and ripples as they made their way out to the Atlantic. All set against a backdrop of white cloud and icecap. We immediately decided to return the following morning for an even closer look. 

Another 40 minutes of driving and we arrived at our modern Scandinavian type hotel, checked in and booked a table for dinner at the earliest time available (8.30pm - a bit late for Mrs B but as we were in the middle of nowhere other dining options were limited!) and found we'd got a room with a view:

After a good night's sleep and a hearty buffet style breakfast we headed back to Jokulsarlon. Ahead of most of the crowds we booked an amphibious vehicle trip that would take us out onto the lagoon so we could get closer to the icebergs. I'd read that Jokulsarlon was only 80 years old and created by the retreating Breiðamerkurjökull glacier part of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest icecap. Icebergs breaking off from the glacier float out to sea, exiting the lagoon and flow along Iceland's shortest river out to the Atlantic. The iceberg journey from glacier to sea can take years and during this time melting and freezing and erosion from the wind creates fantastical sculptures. The bergs are in some cases layered with black and gray ash deposits from ancient volcanic eruptions. The lagoon is also a wildlife haven supporting a small seal population, colonies of arctic terns and great skuas.

Kitted up with life jackets we got into the amphibious boat and were driven into the lagoon. The sheer variety of ice sculptures was breathtaking. We were fortunate to spot a seal 'chilling out' (literally) on an iceberg.

Mrs B with a 1000 year old block of ice.

 

 

The tour ended all too soon, (but not before we'd had the chance to hold and taste some 100 year old ice) and we found ourselves back on dry land. Walking down by the side of the river we spotted another seal, arctic terns hitching a lift on a iceberg and eider ducks, including one sitting on her nest right by our feet. 

When we got to the beach we found it littered with melting icebergs another surreal sight!

Reluctantly tearing ourselves away from Jokulsarlon we headed westwards towards the Skaftafell National Park. We didn't get too far before detouring to look at another glacier; Fjallsjökull. The lagoon, Fjallsjökullsaron, was much smaller, littered with icebergs, but somehow quieter, with an almost cathedral like atmosphere but with a feeling too of intimacy and closeness to the landscape.

Skaftafell is a popular Icelandic hiking destination. The National Park has lots of trails of varying lengths and grades from 'easy' to 'challenging'. We decided on a shortish hike to see another waterfall, Svartifoss, not in itself as impressive in terms of water volume, but cut into a basalt column cliff. The trail started off on the level but soon climbed steadily uphill. Birdsong surrounded us and I spotted a redwing chirping away. After several stops to recover from the exertion and after about a mile and a half of climbing we arrived at the waterfall.
 

Svartifoss

The vertical basalt columns made for a stunning but slightly gloomy backdrop. The trail crossed a river and then climbed uphill over moorland. I saw a ptarmigan having a birdbath and as we started to drop downhill the path forked. Rather than head back to the start of the walk I persuaded Mrs B. to detour to a place named on the marker post as Sel. I had no idea what we would find - and it turned out to be a good hunch to go that way. Tucked into the hillside were some traditional Icelandic farmhouses, now abandoned and preserved as a slice of Icelandic heritage. We wandered around trying to imagine what life must have been like in this isolated spot. It must have been a lonely and demanding life for these Icelandic farmers.

The old farm buildings at Sel

We returned to the start of our walk enjoying panoramic views of the coastal plain before heading back to our hotel. After freshening up we set off in search of somewhere to eat. The nearest 'town' was Hofn and I'd read about an unusual 'diner' called Hafnarbudin near the harbour.We found it easily enough - Hofn isn't big enough to get lost in - and I enjoyed the local speciality. Hofn is a fishing town and its prize catch is langoustine - they have an annual festival to celebrate it. 

Hafnaburdin Diner and Hofn Harbour

In Hafnarbudin, where tourists and locals eat side by side, I ordered 'lobster soup' (actually langoustine) which was served inside a very large hollowed out crusty bread roll - about the size of a melon. The soup was creamy, full of flavour and packed with langoustine. Delicious but very filling. So ended a packed day that have revealed so many different aspects of Iceland. Tired but full of both food and experiences we returned back to our hotel to plan our final day and long return journey to Keflavik airport.