After Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon on July 14 we went for a very short visit to to Diamond Beach across the road late in the afternoon. By then a thick fog was rolling in.
We had to race to make it to the amphibian boat tour Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon (enjoy the videos in this link). I didn’t get dramatic skies to photograph behind the glaciers on July 15 but I think the gray is more chilling. I briefly saw a seal’s head, Arctic Terns flying by with fish, and an Arctic Skua dashed by. These photos are true to life. The blue ice is natural.
We met our guide for Troll Expeditions in Vik who drove us and a small group up to the Glacier. Our leader is in orange on the right. He is an expert mountaineer and has led numerous scientific expeditions and rescued many people in trouble. Unfortunately, the cave had collapsed before we arrived. They are looking for a new one. It is a race against global warming.
To make up for the lack of an ice cave our guide also drove us to Hjorleifshofdihellir Cave on the shore, also called the Yoda Cave because the opening looks like Yoda. The Yoda Cave is located in between the Gýgjagjá and Rituberg. It is large with echoing. If you have watched the Star Wars movie, you can see that you will recognize the cave’s opening as soon as you arrive. Named after Hjörleifur. “According to historians, Hjörleifur, the first settler in Iceland visited Iceland around the eighth century with his foster brother Ingólfur Arnarson. Both the brothers were sailing in different ships and they drifted apart on the way to Norway. Ingólfur lived at Ingólfshöfði and Hjörleifur landed at Hjörleifshöfði. After some time, the slaves of Hjörleifur turned against him and killed him. Slaves fled with his wife to Westman Islands. As Ingólfur got to know about the killing of his brother, he decided to take revenge and killed the slaves. At the top of Hjörleifshöfði cave, Hjörleifur is believed to be buried.”
Marc (pictures signed Felix are by Marc) photographed a spider catching a fly outside the cave. The flies where enjoying the sticky sap on Angelica.
July 15 will take 4 days to cover. We drove south to Vik. The Hotel Katla was just past Vik. The wind was almost gale force and it was raining hard when we arrived at the hotel.
The first picture isn’t a painting it was the view from our room. The wooden plaque hangs in many restaurants in Iceland. The lamb is so tender and sweet. We ate it often while there (See Waterfalls – Sherry Felix – port4u for information about sheep).
After breakfast we went back to black sands beach. It was a treat to see a Black-tailed Godwit – a life bird from the car on the way.
The pretty lupins are found everywhere they should not be. The Nootka lupine was imported from North America in 1945 to combat topsoil loss, which had been a serious problem since the 19th century. The lupine has a tendency to create monocultures which prevents other plants from growing and suffocates more delicate flora. Beauty or Beast? Iceland Quarrels Over an Invasive Plant – The New York Times (nytimes.com).
After the Ice Cave we set off for the boat trip in a Glacier Lagoon. I took pictures along the way (second set of images) as we drove by Katla Geopark (check the Katla link to see all the things there are to see by in Iceland’s largest glaciated area). Also see this brochure about Katla.
Tomorrow I’ll cover the Katla Ice Cave trip that started from Vik.
On the way out of Reykjavik on July 14 (last of my posts for that day) we passed this interesting church and I took photos of Mofellskirkja in the distance from the Golden Circle.
We stopped at Rutshllir CavesFascinating stories about the man made caves. This one has a hut with a sod roof. Details here: The Peculiar Rútshellir Cave in South Iceland (guidetoiceland.is) Hálsanefshellir Cave is by the Reynisfjara black beach is a huge sea cave located at the beach close to the small town Vík. The cave is exceptional because of octagonal basalt pillars at the cave entrance. The vertical columns are quite similar to Fingal’s Cave on Staffa Island.
In the morning we went back to black sands. There was a fellow there with a drone I’m sure he was not happy to see us as he was the only other person there and I’m sure he wanted it all to himself to take pictures of the Hálsanefshellir Cave. I stepped out to the edge to see if I could go around the point to have a look behind the cave and a wave almost caught me. I realized that these waters were very unpredictable and to try to go around that point would be very dangerous, so I didn’t. This video on shows some people getting washed out to sea by one of these rogue waves: Extremely dangerous Waves by Reynisfjara and Kirkjufjara … (guidetoiceland.is). The water is so cold that within seconds they were unable to move or stand up.
There is also a story associated with the cave about a Seal skin The Seal’s Skin: Icelandic Selkie Folktale (vikingrune.com)
The Nootka lupin was brought to Iceland from Alaska in 1945 to help to restore degraded soils which had been a serious problem since the 19th century. Although there are still large areas in Iceland which suffer erosion and desertification many feel the lupine has become too aggressive and needs to be stopped. It is especially feared that the lupine will spread into the Central highlands, permanently transforming the local flora. It is an invasive species in Iceland, threatening local plant life. It creates monocultures which can suffocate more delicate native flora. Icelanders are trying to destroy the lupine. The goal is to protect the distinctive woolly moss, known in Icelandic as graymoss, which covers the lava. It is not least the luscious moss which gives the lava field its magical aura.
Oystercatchers are seen all over, both by the shore and inland. I do not know why so many appear to like the roads. I wonder what they find there. It is a suicidal behavior that often gets them run over.
We saw three grand waterfalls on July 14. In the Golden Circle the first waterfall was Gullfoss. Guide to Iceland’s video (our travel agent) is excellent. On route 1, the Ring Road, on the way to Vik in South Iceland we stopped at Seljalandsfoss. We climbed up behind the fall. It was not an easy climb because it is steep and slippery. It was a relief to make it to the top. Running out of time as usual we stopped for a 10 minute photo shoot of Skógafoss. I would have liked to climb up to have a different view – but not time! Check out that video too.
It was pouring rain and it was hard to tell what was waterfall and what was rain. I had brought along plenty of rain gear because I knew Iceland has a lot of rain in the summer. The saying is if you wait a minute the weather will change, which is true.
“Due to the presence of the fatty acid exaltolide, angelica root extracts have a musky aroma and the root is used for flavoring foods and beverages. This plant appears very ornamental with wide, pinned hairy leaves and clusters of white to greenish-white or yellow-green umbrella-like flowers. The history behind the name of the herb is interesting. It is said that in ancient times, the root of the plant was brought to earth by a monk for the treatment of plague.”
Geysir (Guide to Iceland) Geysir (Wikipedia) is a huge tourist attraction in the Golden Circle in Southwestern Iceland (coordinates 64°18′49″N 20°17′58″W). We went there on July 14, 2021. It was a very atmospheric with misty rain, clouds in the sky, and lots of steam. There are wonderful colors in the ground and water from the minerals.
Geysir geothermal area is stupendous as you can see by the pictures. It’s very touristy and there are huge buses loads of tourists coming to see it, but I didn’t feel crowded. I had to pop in and see the huge gift shop. We did not need to eat lunch there because I had bought a lovely loaf of fresh baked bread in town the day before and some cheese and butter. I had a collapsible cooler for lunch food for the trip.
The purple Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox) is called blóðberg in Icelandic meaning bloodstone.
Driving around the Golden Circle took us all of July 14th. The area is so rich in beauty and gorgeous landscapes that I will be breaking the pictures taken July 14th into several more posts.
First we stopped at Thingvellir National Park (this link provides information about the ancient history of the area and some natural history).
“No single place epitomizes the history of Iceland and the Icelandic nation better than Þingvellir by the river Öxará.At Þingvellir – literally “Assembly Plains” – the Alþing general assembly was established around 930 and continued to convene there until 1798. Major events in the history of Iceland have taken place at Þingvellir and therefore the place is held in high esteem by all Icelanders. Today Þingvellir is a protected national shrine. According to the law, passed in 1928, the protected area shall always be the property of the Icelandic nation, under the preservation of the Alþing.
The Þingvellir area is part of a fissure zone running through Iceland, being situated on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The faults and fissures of the area make evident the rifting of the earth’s crust.”
Here is Wikipedia’s Thingvellir information. It is such a fascinating place. The geology fascinates me. My major in college was geology. I wish we had more time to explore but we had to push on to other grand sites.
