Wow, where to start? The last 2 days have been jammed full. Too sunny on the glacier yesterday, so I went hiking and had a beautiful day. I hiked up to Svartifoss waterfall, which is surrounded by basalt columns, looking a bit like a pipe organ and reminding me strongly of similar basalt formations at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. From there I went on to Sel, site of a former farm from the early 1900's where turf-roofed buildings still stand. It looks out over an endless-seeming stretch of black sand/gravel desert formed by devastating volcanic eruptions and flooding. It is hard to believe that this used to be a fertile farming area, as the desert is incredibly bleak, not a living thing in it. Part of the area is called Oraefi, which means "wasteland". From there I hiked over a high alpine plateau and got an amazing bird's-eye view of Skaftafellsjokul, one of the glacial tongues that comes down from the enormous Vatnajokul glacier. With lots of daylight left (there's kinda nothing BUT daylight at this time of year!), I drove east to pay homage to the glacial lagoon Jokulsarlon, one of my favorite places from my visit last year.
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| Svartifoss |
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| turf-roofed farm buildings at Sel, volcanic desert |
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| Skaftafellsjokul glacier tongue |
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| Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon with icebergs |
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