Land of Ice and Fire
I can’t believe it. Another post in less than a month! This is really a picspam about our short holiday last week to Iceland, which is an absolutely fantastic, if very expensive place. We were staying in Reykjavik but were part of a tour so went out somewhere different every day. Our tour guide was a delightful elderly Icelander called Kristopher who enlivened the trips with his dry humour and geological knowledge. On our first day we headed along the south coast of Iceland past the place where the road has been slightly shifted to avoid disturbing the Hidden People who dwell in a small hill. Kristopher told us that Icelanders didn’t necessarily believe in the Hidden People or elves or ghosts but had done it “just in case”. It’s that kind of country. He also had a wonderful story about the origin of the Hidden People as the unwashed children of Eve who she’d hidden when God came visiting so he told her they should remain hidden forever.
Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, which is a beautiful waterfall which you can walk behind. We didn’t as we didn’t want a broken leg on the first day of the trip but many people were including a Japanese girl in a red long red dress who looked as if she was part of a fashion shoot. The selfie sticks were out in force.
After Seljalandsfoss we moved on to Skogafoss and were lucky enough to arrive there when the sun was out so saw a wonderful rainbow through the falls. I thought we had changeable weather in the UK but it is nothing on Iceland where the saying goes “if you don’t like the weather wait five minutes” and it’s true (or was on this day).
Then it was on to Reynisfjall with its extraordinary black beach and towering basalt cliffs. The columns of basalt reminded me of Staffa but the black beach was something I’d never seen before. Kristopher issued dire warnings about cliff falls and the fact that this beach sometimes has unexpectedly huge waves referred to as “sneaker waves”. He stressed several times on our trip that Iceland was not a theme park and could be dangerous. We kept a respectful distance from both the waves and the cliffs but others were not so careful and the selfie sticks were out in force again.
Sneaker wave warning
Black sand
Basalt cliffs
Next stop was the edge of the glacier of Myrdalsjokull. Katla, one of the most dangerous of the Icelandic volcanoes, lurks under Myrdalsjokull but we were nowhere near this, which was quite a relief as both Katla and another volcano Hekla, which we saw from the road, are due to erupt any time now. Apparently the Icelandic phone system links to eruption warnings so we would have been sent a message on our mobiles to tell us to “get the hell out of there”. Iceland sometimes didn’t feel entirely safe!
It was a short walk to the tongue of Myrdalsjokull and we could see great lumps of ice that had broken off it (“calved”) in the river beneath it. As usual there were warning signs about the dangers and as usual people were ignoring them in pursuit of photos and selfies. There were also well-equipped parties going for a glacier walk but we did not feel like joining them.
Lumps of ice "calved" from the glacier
It was a long day but a truly fascinating one and the scenery that we saw as we drove along was awesome from fields of lava covered in moss, the only thing that will grow on them, to areas that had once been volcanic deserts where attempts to encourage vegetation has begun to leave Iceland with a lupin problem.
We went to bed thinking that the next day’s scheduled whale watching trip was likely to be cancelled due to bad weather. In fact, though the seas were described as “rough” we set off as planned amidst dire warnings to take seasickness pills. As I have been across the North Sea in a Force 10 gale I wouldn’t have described the sea as in the least bit rough, more like a slight swell, but I suspect that at other times the seasickness pills might have been necessary. We were also provided with protective suits which were a struggle to get into but worth it as they kept us warm on the top deck of the boat while looking for whales. As it was out of season for whales we weren’t precisely surprised not to see any but the scenery in Faxafloi Bay was beautiful and we did eventually see some dolphins which made the trip worthwhile.
After lunch we had a short trip round some of the sights of Reykjavik, including the new Harpa concert hall, which Kristopher said had been unfinished at the time of the financial crash so the Icelanders voted to complete the building despite the fact they couldn’t afford it. He thought they would be paying for it “until kingdom come” but it is a very striking building.
Photo of Harpa taken on our last morning when it was really sunny!
and inside
We also went up to Hallgrimskirkja but it was shut due to a funeral so John and I went back on our last morning. It is very plain but very striking. The statue of Leifur Eiriksson at the front was given by the U.S.A.
The final event of the day was a trip to the Blue Lagoon. This is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions as they have used the outflow of a geothermal energy plant to create an outdoor spa. It’s set in an area volcanic black lava boulders and the blue steaming waters make it all look very striking. We had two hours booked there and J didn’t want to go in but I wasn’t sure what on earth I was going to do for two hours so decided to have a dip. The changing rooms were chaos as it was hard to find a locker but the warm water was lovely. I lounged around in the pool exchanging holiday destination tips with fellow tour members while J lounged around in the bar doing pretty much the same thing. This was another selfie central with many people posing in the pool. Some had their phones in waterproof cases but not all of them. I’m not sure I’d have been happy having either my phone or my camera near that amount of steamy water but then I’m not good at looking glamorous when wet (or thinking I do).
The weather had been very kind to us for two days but for our last day we weren’t so lucky. It was raining on our way to Thingvellir but eased off when we got there so we could wander round more or less dry. Thingvellir is an amazingly atmospheric place, particularly in rather gloomy weather. Kristopher had given us a detailed explanation about the geology of Thingvellir on which he had written his university thesis (though he said he had spared us most of that) but geology is not my strong point and I have failed to retain most of the information apart from the fact that though it is widely supposed that two tectonic plates meet there they actually don’t as there is a third Icelandic plate. It is geologically very fascinating apparently but I was more interested in the history as it’s the site of the Allthing, the first meeting place of the Icelandic settlers, where they gathered to make laws and settle disputes. They certainly chose a dramatic place.
It looks pretty but the pool in front of the falls is where they used to drown witches
After Thingvellir the weather really took a turn for the worse and I was very glad I’d bought a new waterproof jacket for the Icelandic trip when we reached the Geysir Hot Springs area. With the steam from the hot springs and the mist from the rain visibility got quite bad but it was a fascinating experience. Geysir is the original geyser though it is now more or less dormant but we did get to see Strokkur which erupts every 8 to 10 minutes. It was great fun waiting for Strokkur to spout and try to catch a photo, which I nearly managed. Unfortunately the steam makes it actually rather hard to see the plume of water but I was pleased I tried.
I got rather fond of Icelandic danger notices
The original Geysir
The rather more active Strokkur
After the Geysir area it was off to Gullfoss, one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen, and I have seen Niagara. As there had been so much rain the amount of water coming through the falls was incredible. The rain eased off for part of the time we were here but there was so much spray from the falls that the visibility was not that good. We walked along a rather slippery path at the side of the falls and then I scrambled onto a rocky platform to get a view over the other side. After that we climbed up above the falls and got excellent views of it with less chance of getting cameras wet. The sheer power of the water was quite awesome and at one point they had planned to use it for hydro-electricity but a woman stood up to the plans and eventually the area was donated to the Icelandic people as the equivalent of a national park.
Gullfoss through the spray. Now my idea of Tolkien's Rauros falls.
We had one last waterfall to visit as we stopped at Faxi Falls on our way back. This is much smaller than Gullfoss but still very attractive with a fish ladder running up the side in the hope of aiding salmon to get to the top. The salmon don’t seem keen on the idea though but the ladder is there in case they change their minds.
We had the morning in Reykjavik the next day before we had to go to the airport. This really gave us our first chance to stroll around as it had been a very intense tour. All I can say is what an amazing country. The only thing wrong with it are the prices which are astronomical with a pint of beer costing about £10. The question that Kristopher kept being asked was “how can the Icelanders afford to live here?” and his answer was “They can’t!” Tourism is bringing in much needed income but it does come with problems. We were there towards the end of September but even so many of the main tourist areas were still quite crowded so I suspect it was far worse in the height of summer. I hope the natural wonders of Iceland aren’t spoiled by the number of people (including us) who want to see them.
And finally. One of our odder encounters in Reykjavik
and my favourite of Reykjavik's many public sculptures, Solfar, the Sun Voyager.
It was a lovely, refreshing, if exhausting holiday, which turned out to be a good thing as we came back to the news that the sale of my mother's house was about to fall through, which it now has. Actually, I'm quite relieved as our buyer mucked us about so much that I no longer wanted him to have the house and we're not quite back at stage one as the house is now clear and our estate agent is so pissed off with our original buyer that he is absolutely determined to sell the house for the price we all think is reasonable. Hey ho!
Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, which is a beautiful waterfall which you can walk behind. We didn’t as we didn’t want a broken leg on the first day of the trip but many people were including a Japanese girl in a red long red dress who looked as if she was part of a fashion shoot. The selfie sticks were out in force.
After Seljalandsfoss we moved on to Skogafoss and were lucky enough to arrive there when the sun was out so saw a wonderful rainbow through the falls. I thought we had changeable weather in the UK but it is nothing on Iceland where the saying goes “if you don’t like the weather wait five minutes” and it’s true (or was on this day).
Then it was on to Reynisfjall with its extraordinary black beach and towering basalt cliffs. The columns of basalt reminded me of Staffa but the black beach was something I’d never seen before. Kristopher issued dire warnings about cliff falls and the fact that this beach sometimes has unexpectedly huge waves referred to as “sneaker waves”. He stressed several times on our trip that Iceland was not a theme park and could be dangerous. We kept a respectful distance from both the waves and the cliffs but others were not so careful and the selfie sticks were out in force again.
Sneaker wave warning
Black sand
Basalt cliffs
Next stop was the edge of the glacier of Myrdalsjokull. Katla, one of the most dangerous of the Icelandic volcanoes, lurks under Myrdalsjokull but we were nowhere near this, which was quite a relief as both Katla and another volcano Hekla, which we saw from the road, are due to erupt any time now. Apparently the Icelandic phone system links to eruption warnings so we would have been sent a message on our mobiles to tell us to “get the hell out of there”. Iceland sometimes didn’t feel entirely safe!
It was a short walk to the tongue of Myrdalsjokull and we could see great lumps of ice that had broken off it (“calved”) in the river beneath it. As usual there were warning signs about the dangers and as usual people were ignoring them in pursuit of photos and selfies. There were also well-equipped parties going for a glacier walk but we did not feel like joining them.
Lumps of ice "calved" from the glacier
It was a long day but a truly fascinating one and the scenery that we saw as we drove along was awesome from fields of lava covered in moss, the only thing that will grow on them, to areas that had once been volcanic deserts where attempts to encourage vegetation has begun to leave Iceland with a lupin problem.
We went to bed thinking that the next day’s scheduled whale watching trip was likely to be cancelled due to bad weather. In fact, though the seas were described as “rough” we set off as planned amidst dire warnings to take seasickness pills. As I have been across the North Sea in a Force 10 gale I wouldn’t have described the sea as in the least bit rough, more like a slight swell, but I suspect that at other times the seasickness pills might have been necessary. We were also provided with protective suits which were a struggle to get into but worth it as they kept us warm on the top deck of the boat while looking for whales. As it was out of season for whales we weren’t precisely surprised not to see any but the scenery in Faxafloi Bay was beautiful and we did eventually see some dolphins which made the trip worthwhile.
After lunch we had a short trip round some of the sights of Reykjavik, including the new Harpa concert hall, which Kristopher said had been unfinished at the time of the financial crash so the Icelanders voted to complete the building despite the fact they couldn’t afford it. He thought they would be paying for it “until kingdom come” but it is a very striking building.
Photo of Harpa taken on our last morning when it was really sunny!
and inside
We also went up to Hallgrimskirkja but it was shut due to a funeral so John and I went back on our last morning. It is very plain but very striking. The statue of Leifur Eiriksson at the front was given by the U.S.A.
The final event of the day was a trip to the Blue Lagoon. This is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions as they have used the outflow of a geothermal energy plant to create an outdoor spa. It’s set in an area volcanic black lava boulders and the blue steaming waters make it all look very striking. We had two hours booked there and J didn’t want to go in but I wasn’t sure what on earth I was going to do for two hours so decided to have a dip. The changing rooms were chaos as it was hard to find a locker but the warm water was lovely. I lounged around in the pool exchanging holiday destination tips with fellow tour members while J lounged around in the bar doing pretty much the same thing. This was another selfie central with many people posing in the pool. Some had their phones in waterproof cases but not all of them. I’m not sure I’d have been happy having either my phone or my camera near that amount of steamy water but then I’m not good at looking glamorous when wet (or thinking I do).
The weather had been very kind to us for two days but for our last day we weren’t so lucky. It was raining on our way to Thingvellir but eased off when we got there so we could wander round more or less dry. Thingvellir is an amazingly atmospheric place, particularly in rather gloomy weather. Kristopher had given us a detailed explanation about the geology of Thingvellir on which he had written his university thesis (though he said he had spared us most of that) but geology is not my strong point and I have failed to retain most of the information apart from the fact that though it is widely supposed that two tectonic plates meet there they actually don’t as there is a third Icelandic plate. It is geologically very fascinating apparently but I was more interested in the history as it’s the site of the Allthing, the first meeting place of the Icelandic settlers, where they gathered to make laws and settle disputes. They certainly chose a dramatic place.
It looks pretty but the pool in front of the falls is where they used to drown witches
After Thingvellir the weather really took a turn for the worse and I was very glad I’d bought a new waterproof jacket for the Icelandic trip when we reached the Geysir Hot Springs area. With the steam from the hot springs and the mist from the rain visibility got quite bad but it was a fascinating experience. Geysir is the original geyser though it is now more or less dormant but we did get to see Strokkur which erupts every 8 to 10 minutes. It was great fun waiting for Strokkur to spout and try to catch a photo, which I nearly managed. Unfortunately the steam makes it actually rather hard to see the plume of water but I was pleased I tried.
I got rather fond of Icelandic danger notices
The original Geysir
The rather more active Strokkur
After the Geysir area it was off to Gullfoss, one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen, and I have seen Niagara. As there had been so much rain the amount of water coming through the falls was incredible. The rain eased off for part of the time we were here but there was so much spray from the falls that the visibility was not that good. We walked along a rather slippery path at the side of the falls and then I scrambled onto a rocky platform to get a view over the other side. After that we climbed up above the falls and got excellent views of it with less chance of getting cameras wet. The sheer power of the water was quite awesome and at one point they had planned to use it for hydro-electricity but a woman stood up to the plans and eventually the area was donated to the Icelandic people as the equivalent of a national park.
Gullfoss through the spray. Now my idea of Tolkien's Rauros falls.
We had one last waterfall to visit as we stopped at Faxi Falls on our way back. This is much smaller than Gullfoss but still very attractive with a fish ladder running up the side in the hope of aiding salmon to get to the top. The salmon don’t seem keen on the idea though but the ladder is there in case they change their minds.
We had the morning in Reykjavik the next day before we had to go to the airport. This really gave us our first chance to stroll around as it had been a very intense tour. All I can say is what an amazing country. The only thing wrong with it are the prices which are astronomical with a pint of beer costing about £10. The question that Kristopher kept being asked was “how can the Icelanders afford to live here?” and his answer was “They can’t!” Tourism is bringing in much needed income but it does come with problems. We were there towards the end of September but even so many of the main tourist areas were still quite crowded so I suspect it was far worse in the height of summer. I hope the natural wonders of Iceland aren’t spoiled by the number of people (including us) who want to see them.
And finally. One of our odder encounters in Reykjavik
and my favourite of Reykjavik's many public sculptures, Solfar, the Sun Voyager.
It was a lovely, refreshing, if exhausting holiday, which turned out to be a good thing as we came back to the news that the sale of my mother's house was about to fall through, which it now has. Actually, I'm quite relieved as our buyer mucked us about so much that I no longer wanted him to have the house and we're not quite back at stage one as the house is now clear and our estate agent is so pissed off with our original buyer that he is absolutely determined to sell the house for the price we all think is reasonable. Hey ho!