Whales, water, poetry

Today is quite cold, windy and rainy, so a good time to stay in and work in the studio. Last night while watching the sun set in the lounge, we saw a group of whales in the fjord. They would not stay close long enough for a photo, but very exciting to see them. Now we are hoping for a glimpse of the northern lights—most commonly seen in the winter, but possible on a clear night this time of year.

I've been working on some new pieces about water, something I've been photographing for years and just now trying to do something with it. And every morning I get up early and write poetry in the lounge before anyone else is awake. My favorite time of day...

Part of the family and the 2 young girls who help out here left today for Reykjavik and return to school, so things will be quieter from now on. We will miss them.

favorite writing spot

Icelandic flag

Back to Baer

 We returned to Baer today by bus, very tired and happy to be back “home”, to download photos and to wash the sulfur smell out of our clothes. What a fabulous trip. With only 2 more weeks left here, it feels like it is going to go quickly!

Bus station in Akureyri

My Baer traveling companion, Emma, from Australia

On the way to Varmahlíð

Zen and water: Myvatn-Asbyrgi trip Day 2

We were up and out of our guest house before either the only store in the area (actually the only other building in the area) or the visitor center at Jökulsárgljúfur National Park was open. Unlike in the States, national parks here seem to have no gates, often no fees, and if you get there early you just go on in. So uncaffeinated and tired from our busy day the day before, we headed into the park and found an entirely different environment—a birch woods enclosed by a horseshoe-shaped canyon (called Asbyrgi). At the far end a path lead to a pristine and beautiful mossy pool encircled by high walls stone. It was a zen experience: smooth water reflecting stone and sky, and so many birds and ducks, just us there to see it. Worth getting up early for…

After appropriate amounts of caffeine, we started down a 25-mile stretch of dusty gravel road, most of which was like a washboard and only wide enough for one car. Bouncing and jiggling, trailing a plume of dust and pulling into tiny byways when another car came, we made our way south to the Dettifoss and Selfoss waterfalls. Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe, 144 feet tall and churning with milky-gray and gritty glacial water that roars and thunders. I loved it! You can’t come to Iceland without being overwhelmed by the power of nature, and this was it once again.

Back on blacktop again, we treated ourselves to a dip in the Myvatn Nature Baths, a set of geothermally heated pools where you can decide to cook yourself to whatever degree you choose in milky, silica-laden water. It was heavenly to wash off the dust and ease the tired muscles. Refreshed, we hit the Bird Museum for a look at specimens of all the Icelandic birds before returning to Akureyri.

Asbyrgi path

Asbyrgi pool

dusty car

Dettifoss

portrait (thanks, Emma)

Myvatn Nature Baths

Puffin at the Bird Museum

Wow! Myvatn/Asbyrgi trip, day 1

We set out early in beautiful weather from Akureyri in a rental Diesel Ford Focus (didn’t know they made those), headed east on the Ring Road along a fjord and through beautiful valleys to Godafoss waterfall and then Lake Myvatn. We decided to head directly to the geothermal fields at Hverir, passing two major geothermal energy plants on the way. Hverir was entrancing, with boiling mudpots and crazy vents in the earth that spout steam with a roaring that sounds a bit like a tornado. All around are colorful fumaroles, the mineral deposits left by the thermal activity, and steaming bits of earth.

From there we went to Leirhnjukur, where there is another geothermal area surrounded by an enormous lava field from eruptions of the volcano Krafla. The lava here is much younger (1977-1984) than other fields I have been to, and is quite black and rugged. In some places it is still steaming, and you can begin to see why there’s a nearby spot named Viti (Hell). The size of the lava field is a bit like the glaciers—astonishingly large, like an ocean of black stretching out for miles.

As a more humorous and definitely quirky end to the day we drove north to Husavik, a popular whale-watching town, and visited the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Yes, it is what it sounds like: a museum housing the private collection of preserved specimens of penises from the world’s mammals, including a human specimen (not, um, very impressive) donated by an Icelandic man, the mysterious elf specimen shown below, and the truly bizarre lamps made from bull scrotums made by the director and for sale should you want one in your living room. I passed on that opportunity, though it certainly would make a conversation piece!

After a long and amazing day, we drove on to Asbyrgi, where we stayed in one of the stranger guesthouses I’ve seen so far, an elementary school that becomes a guest house in the summer. Practical, I guess. 

geothermal energy plant

Hverir geothermal field

Hverir

boiling mudpot

mudpot

lava field

"young" lava

Icelandic Phallological Museum

Elf specimen (understandably hard to see...)

Unique lamps for the home

On the road again: Siglufjörður and Akureyri

We set out this morning from Baer, north up the coast to Siglufjörður, a remote fishing town that was flourishing when herring was plentiful, but declined after completely depleting the supply. The countryside is beautiful on the way there, with steep drops down to the sea and lonely farmsteads. Steinunn told us that when she was a child the road was to Siglufjörður was a terrifying gravel track—you can see it going up the mountain in the emergency hut photo below. In Siglufjörður we visited the Herring Museum, and walked around to see the interesting old houses mixed with new, and the revitalization that is coming with tourism to the area. Siglufjörður used to be a dead end, with no way to continue to the next town except by boat. Two new tunnels opened last year, allowing traffic to connect through to Akureyri. It was a clear day, so we could see all the way to Grimsey Island, which sits on the Arctic Circle. Although chilly and windy, it does not feel that far north at all. Passing through the tunnels, we continued into Akureyri, where we went to the Folk Museum and I had a much-needed Icelandic haircut. Now the others have returned to Baer and Emma and I set out on a new driving adventure tomorrow.

Gallery? really???

Emergency hut on the road to Siglufjörður. Imagining the winter here, you'd need it.

In the tunnel—one lane—oncoming traffic has to pull into a pull-out area. Gulp.

Siglufjörður street

Lunch in Siglufjörður, bundled up. 

Akureyri street

Folks at the Folk Museum

Icelandic haircut, photo courtesy of Emma

Cooking and planning

Today was my day to cook the main meal—pasta with roasted veggies & shrimp and spinach salad. I think it was good (at least no one complained!), but I forgot to document my kitchen ventures (aw!!!). Tomorrow we go to Siglufjörður and then on to Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland (though still very small by US standards). Emma and I will rent a car from there and spend 3 days exploring the lava flows (some still steaming), craters, and geothermal fields (boiling mudpots!) around Lake Myvatn, so time spent today on trip planning. Time at Baer is going so fast, and I am trying to soak in everything...

grass waving in the studio skylight

fellow artist taking wing

trip planning

Into the interior

Today was another spectacular day, so Finnur offered to take us in his 4WD on an excursion to the Sprengisandur region in interior Iceland. We started on paved roads, then to a gravel road that wound through a canyon, up the mountain in switchbacks, and across a desert. This was my first experience of the interior highlands about which I have heard so much. The vast center of Iceland is largely uninhabited, due to the harsh landscape and conditions there. As we left the last farms behind, it was easy to see why no one lives there. Our destination was a geothermal spring in which we had hoped to take a hot soak, but when we got there they had emptied the pool to clean the algae out of the bottom. So we did not get the soak, but had an amazing trip, with Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers icing the horizon, green canyons, and arid deserts. Our intrepid driver took us fording across streams, very exciting!

across the desert

Fording the glacial stream

Glacial river and Hofsjökul on the horizon

our destination

valley landscape

A perfect day...

Today was just about perfect, sunny, sparkling and warm, and I've been pushing (maybe forcing) hard in the studio, so I decided to take the day "off" and just be outside. I took two long walks, and spent some time chatting with these folks. They were VERY curious about my camera.

One of my fellow artists also taking advantage of the day.

Two sunsets