Well, after spending the night in Vik, we started out in the morning only to come immediately to a roadblock. During the night there was seismic activity in Katla, the nearest volcano. It lies under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, and when there is heating under the ice it sometimes causes a jökullhlaup, a torrent of water, rocks and chunks of ice that flood down to the sea. On its way, this one took out a bridge and a piece of the Ring Road, the only road through the region that is open to regular cars, and the route we were going to take. So... though VERY disappointed not to get to Skaftafell National Park or the glacial lagoon, at least we were on the west side of the flood and not under an erupting volcano.
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Little car, big mountain, and my excellent traveling companions, returning from the south coast
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On the road -- Icelandic horse and bicycle on the mountain pass
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We returned to Reykjavik with some beautiful stops along the way, regrouped, and went north instead, to Snæfellsnes peninsula for 2 days. It is truly spectacular, and at times so bizarre a landscape that it feels like a different planet. My favorite spot was the Berserkjahraun, miles of undulating lava covered with thick gray moss. It seems that every turn in the road here brings something extraordinary, and all sense of scale is turned on its head. Snæfellsnes is said to be a magical place, home to trolls and ghosts, as well as more spiritual beings. And Snæfellsjökull glacier was Jules Verne’s entry portal for “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.
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Berserkjahraun
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| Snæfellsjökull glacier and church |
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Icelandic backyard
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This morning we squeezed in a visit to Þingvellir National Park, where you can walk under the edge of the North American continental plate as it shifts across Iceland.
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| Plate edge at Þingvellir National Park |
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| Lava fissure, Þingvellir National Park |
Back to civilization today -- time to do laundry and return to the studio!
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