Monday, 25 June 2018
Reykjavik - the colourful capital of Iceland
This
is the start of my blog posts on Iceland, which we visited on a bus
tour around the ring road, starting from the Western Fjords to the
northern part of the island, then the Eastern Fjords and finishing in
the lava fields of South Iceland. Please join me on this journey to some
of the most unique landscapes we have visited.
We arrived in Reykjavik a day before the start of our 9 day coach tour of Iceland. It gave us a chance to get a headstart on getting over the jetlag and also to do a walking tour of the city centre. It's not a very big area and we thought we had hit the highlights in an afternoon of walking. We subsequently did a brief city tour as part of the Iceland tour but that was a cursory overview and nothing like walking the city to get a feel for it.
What struck me in Reykjavik was the colourful houses on the streets, probably typical of these northern places with long bleak winters. It reminded me of St. John's, Newfoundland only more sophisticated. The waterfront was also colourful. The Harpa Concert Hall was dazzling in its complexity - I could photograph it for hours and from every angle! The Halgrimskircha was stunning architecturally yet faithful to its purpose as a place of worship - I love the airy spirituality inside. The Perlan too with its striking dome was a people place even though it's hardly accessible except by car.
Another surprise was the excellent quality of cuisine in Reykjavik and in Iceland in general, as we discovered later. Our lunch at the Icelandic Fish and Chips, a mid-priced cafe specializing in fish, was exceptional in quality and reasonably priced. Dinner at Frir Prakkar (Three brothers), next to our airbnb apartment, was outstanding. It was a great introduction to Iceland. Please check Food Sparks the foodblog for details.
We arrived in Reykjavik a day before the start of our 9 day coach tour of Iceland. It gave us a chance to get a headstart on getting over the jetlag and also to do a walking tour of the city centre. It's not a very big area and we thought we had hit the highlights in an afternoon of walking. We subsequently did a brief city tour as part of the Iceland tour but that was a cursory overview and nothing like walking the city to get a feel for it.
What struck me in Reykjavik was the colourful houses on the streets, probably typical of these northern places with long bleak winters. It reminded me of St. John's, Newfoundland only more sophisticated. The waterfront was also colourful. The Harpa Concert Hall was dazzling in its complexity - I could photograph it for hours and from every angle! The Halgrimskircha was stunning architecturally yet faithful to its purpose as a place of worship - I love the airy spirituality inside. The Perlan too with its striking dome was a people place even though it's hardly accessible except by car.
Another surprise was the excellent quality of cuisine in Reykjavik and in Iceland in general, as we discovered later. Our lunch at the Icelandic Fish and Chips, a mid-priced cafe specializing in fish, was exceptional in quality and reasonably priced. Dinner at Frir Prakkar (Three brothers), next to our airbnb apartment, was outstanding. It was a great introduction to Iceland. Please check Food Sparks the foodblog for details.
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| Harpa Concert Hall, a collaboration between Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and Danish Architects Henning Larsen, has a distinctive hexagonal glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland, which we got to see later on in the trip. |
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| What I love about the place is how it was completely open to the public, it was a gathering place. There were no security guards at the door even at night. You just walk into the place and make yourself at home. |
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| The Sun Voyager sculpture, a must see for every visitor. Here, it would have been a perfect image with a speedboat in front of it, but I was photobombed... |
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| Colourful ships at anchor and also colourful condos at the waterfront |
We walked up to the church from the waterfront, and it was a parade of colour...
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| This is a bakery with flaky scones...:-) |
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| I couldn't believe I actually got a photo without people in it! It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday and it was just non-stop traffic across this busy plaza. Ordinarily, I would have said forget it. But when I saw the pattern on the plaza, I knew I had to wait it out. And it was worth it! |
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| The inside had beautiful clean lines and had an airy spirituality to it. |
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| Our airbnb apartment was just a short walk from the church - the residential area had some colourful, creative decorations |
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| I love this one with real and painted greenery - the painted one would do in the winter! |
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| Take a look at this creation with inlaid wood and stone! |
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| Our apartment is on the first floor of the peach-coloured building, right next to the restaurant Frir Frakkar |
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| City Hall and its large pond was a ten minute walk from our place. I love the sculptures outside and inside City Hall. The birds hanging out on the pond were a source of continuous entertainment, especially the aggressive seagulls. |
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| Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat - brilliant satirical work |
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| This one was inside - Monument to the unknown floor scrubber? |
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| The Parliament Building, still with the Danish crown on top |
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| The square in front of the Parliament building - note the posters on the wall |
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| The Perlan, at the top of the hill, a Museum showcasing the wonders of Iceland. We were there just to have lunch under the beautiful dome and admire the panoramic view of Reykjavik from its observation deck - afterall we've already checked out the wonders of Iceland in person. |
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| The spectacular dome of the Perlan |
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| The atrium inside |
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| the very cool sculptures outside |
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| Finally, a memorable visit to the Blue Lagoon with its hot spa - not necessarily the most spectacular part of the Golden Circle but certainly impressive, if only for its size. |
Labels:
Blue Lagoon,
City Hall,
Frir Frakkar,
Hallgrimskircha,
Harpa Concert Hall,
Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat,
Reykjavik,
Reykjavik Parliament,
Sun Voyager,
The Perlan
The
Golden Circle, consisting of the hot springs at Geysir, the tumultous
multi-tiered Gullfoss and the relatively staid Þingvellir National Park
with its rift valley, was the most visited area in Iceland. We headed
straight for Geysir after we joined the tour group as it is quite close
to Reykjavik.
Geysir has the one big geyser and other smaller ones but everyone who visited just hung around the big one as it is the most spectacular. What is so great about this geyser is you don't have to wait long for it to perform - every 5 minutes or so, it would shoot up a stream into the air and if you have your camera ready, you are almost guaranteed success. You would even have time for selfies!
We were lucky to see a rainbow when we arrived at Gullfoss. Apparently that is not unusual on a sunny day. The falls are quite spectacular, thundering down the gorge in several steps. We entered at the lower falls and hiked up a slippery wet path to the upper platform which jutted out into the falls. It is difficult to capture the falls in its entirety in one shot and still do it justice, even with a wide angle; so I have tried to recreate the feel of the powerful cascades in several images.
Þingvellir was anticlimatical after the thundering Gullfoss. You need to hike a bit to get the full impact of the rift valley which was apparently where the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates meet. It boggles the mind to imagine yourself standing on the edge of the continents (with the rest of it behind you) when you are standing on the edge of the rift valley. As we didn't hike in, my photos could only show you a distant view of the valley - not as impactful as an actual hike between the walls. I leave that up to younger legs...
We moved on from Þingvellir to Bifrost, spending the night there in the shadow of a crater, and getting ready for a day in the Western Fjords on the Snaefellsness Peninsula.
The
boat cruise in the Breidafjordur was one of the high points of my trip
to Iceland. I had waited 10 years to see the puffin, having missed it
when I was in Newfoundland in 2008. I considered myself very lucky to be
able to see it and captured it in action.
On the bird rock, there were nesting black-legged kittiwakes, fulmars and shags. On the water, we saw the guillemots and the eiders which were all over Iceland. There was also a seal tossed in to the mix. The kittiwakes were very noisy; it seems that they squawk every time they flew back to the nest and there were often corresponding sounds from the mate.
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
Iceland - the Golden Circle
Geysir has the one big geyser and other smaller ones but everyone who visited just hung around the big one as it is the most spectacular. What is so great about this geyser is you don't have to wait long for it to perform - every 5 minutes or so, it would shoot up a stream into the air and if you have your camera ready, you are almost guaranteed success. You would even have time for selfies!
We were lucky to see a rainbow when we arrived at Gullfoss. Apparently that is not unusual on a sunny day. The falls are quite spectacular, thundering down the gorge in several steps. We entered at the lower falls and hiked up a slippery wet path to the upper platform which jutted out into the falls. It is difficult to capture the falls in its entirety in one shot and still do it justice, even with a wide angle; so I have tried to recreate the feel of the powerful cascades in several images.
Þingvellir was anticlimatical after the thundering Gullfoss. You need to hike a bit to get the full impact of the rift valley which was apparently where the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates meet. It boggles the mind to imagine yourself standing on the edge of the continents (with the rest of it behind you) when you are standing on the edge of the rift valley. As we didn't hike in, my photos could only show you a distant view of the valley - not as impactful as an actual hike between the walls. I leave that up to younger legs...
We moved on from Þingvellir to Bifrost, spending the night there in the shadow of a crater, and getting ready for a day in the Western Fjords on the Snaefellsness Peninsula.
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| This was one tall geyser! It was interesting to note that after this one big one, the rest that followed were all much smaller, reaching maybe only half the height of this one. |
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| A tiny one... |
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| My first bird capture in Iceland - a Redwing |
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| Gullfoss decorated with rainbow - note the people on the left, the next shot was from that platform |
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| Looking downstream from the mid-level - a close-up shot and the one below, showing the gorge that the water flows through |
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| Beautiful lake on the way to Thingvellir National Park |
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| The path down to the rift valley |
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| In between the two tectonic plates |
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| Rift valley seen from the top with a close-up below |
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| The landscape on the way to the Snaefellsness Peninsula |
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
West Iceland
We
boarded our much anticipated boat cruise to see Icelandic bird life at
the seaside town of Stiksholmer. It was a perfect day for a cruise -
warm and sunny and the scenery in Breiðafjörður Bay was
enchanting. We also got to savour the fruits of the sea while on the
boat - fresh scallops and sea urchins were taken straight from the sea
and onto our shell plates. They were delicious even though the salt
water that came with them could still be tasted. The next post will be
dedicated exclusively to the wildlife encountered on the cruise.
After lunch in Stiksholmer, the fog has rolled in and our drive through the Snaefellsness Peninsula was disappointing because we couldn't see too much. The famous Kirkjüfell Mountain, that was on many an iconic photo of Iceland, was half obscured by fog. So I didn't bother making the trek to the waterfall in the drizzle to attempt to take that iconic photo. I did take photos of the mountain and the waterfall separately - maybe I can do a collage...;-)
Those are the breaks when travelling on a schedule. It is not the first time that we didn't see what we hoped to see on a trip - life is not perfect afterall. But there are a lot more to a trip than one missed view. We also had many glimpses of a large glacier while on the road, sometimes on the left side of the road, sometimes on the right side depending on which way the road turns. Photographers were trying to take pictures of it from the bus window. The irony of it is that when we got back to the hotel, we looked across the road, and there was the Langjökull Glacier in full view!
We had spent the night in the small town of Bifrost at a hotel that used to be part of the University of Bifrost. The rooms here are housekeeping rooms with a kitchenette - not that we needed to use it as our dinners were included. As it turned out the buffet dinner was superb, with an executive chef supervising the buffet to ensure the everything is fresh and hot, almost like a served dinner. The cured salmon was the highlight for me as were the fresh salmon and cod served with pine nuts and herbs.
The hotel was just beside the married quarters of the University which seemed to be built on a lava field. The backyards of these townhouses and apartments, including the children's playground consisted of lava rocks! The following day, we hiked up the crater that was beside the hotel and saw that there were two craters in the area. So we had slept beside a volcano... I subsequently found out that was the Grabrok crater, an old crater that erupted 3400 years ago.
After lunch in Stiksholmer, the fog has rolled in and our drive through the Snaefellsness Peninsula was disappointing because we couldn't see too much. The famous Kirkjüfell Mountain, that was on many an iconic photo of Iceland, was half obscured by fog. So I didn't bother making the trek to the waterfall in the drizzle to attempt to take that iconic photo. I did take photos of the mountain and the waterfall separately - maybe I can do a collage...;-)
Those are the breaks when travelling on a schedule. It is not the first time that we didn't see what we hoped to see on a trip - life is not perfect afterall. But there are a lot more to a trip than one missed view. We also had many glimpses of a large glacier while on the road, sometimes on the left side of the road, sometimes on the right side depending on which way the road turns. Photographers were trying to take pictures of it from the bus window. The irony of it is that when we got back to the hotel, we looked across the road, and there was the Langjökull Glacier in full view!
We had spent the night in the small town of Bifrost at a hotel that used to be part of the University of Bifrost. The rooms here are housekeeping rooms with a kitchenette - not that we needed to use it as our dinners were included. As it turned out the buffet dinner was superb, with an executive chef supervising the buffet to ensure the everything is fresh and hot, almost like a served dinner. The cured salmon was the highlight for me as were the fresh salmon and cod served with pine nuts and herbs.
The hotel was just beside the married quarters of the University which seemed to be built on a lava field. The backyards of these townhouses and apartments, including the children's playground consisted of lava rocks! The following day, we hiked up the crater that was beside the hotel and saw that there were two craters in the area. So we had slept beside a volcano... I subsequently found out that was the Grabrok crater, an old crater that erupted 3400 years ago.
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| Dímonarklakkar Islands seen on the boat cruise - the captain told a tall tale of trolls keeled over in the water resulting in these two islands...;-) |
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| The bird rock where all kinds of seabirds were nesting |
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| Our boat |
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| Catch of the day |
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| Scallop |
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| Scallop roe |
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| Sea urchin |
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| The port of Stiksholmer |
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| Houses in Stiksholmer |
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| The local church before they built on the Klingon Church below |
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| Our guide Kari sang for us in the church |
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| The iconic view of the Kirkjufell mountain and falls |
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| My view of Kirkjüfell |
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| Kirkjüfell falls |
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| Langjökull Glacier seen from the bus |
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| The scenic drive through the Snaefellsness Peninsula - the fog came and went |
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| Langjökull Glacier as seen from the hotel |
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| The backyard of the university residences |
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| Crater Grabrok |
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| The crater as seen from the top |
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| View from the rim of crater |
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| Leaving Bifrost in the morning |
Thursday, 28 June 2018
Birds in the Breidafjordur (West Iceland)
On the bird rock, there were nesting black-legged kittiwakes, fulmars and shags. On the water, we saw the guillemots and the eiders which were all over Iceland. There was also a seal tossed in to the mix. The kittiwakes were very noisy; it seems that they squawk every time they flew back to the nest and there were often corresponding sounds from the mate.
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| The Puffin - can it get any cuter! |
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| Having fun in the water! |
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| Getting ready to fly |
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| Black-legged kittiwakes flying back to the nest |
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| Kittiwakes talking to each other |
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| The tube-nosed fullmar looked like a kittiwake from afar. It is interesting that the tube-nose actually helped the fullmar remove salt from their system since as a seabird, it imbibes a lot of salt water. |
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| Fullmar lounging in a nice garden |
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| This one is trying to wake up the lady |
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| Fullmars flew very close to the water |
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| The shags look very similar to cormorants only smaller. Its feathers have a green tinge and it is sometimes called the green cormorant. |
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| Shag nesting on the bird cliff |
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| Street scene - shags and eider watching the puffin |
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| Pair of eiders - the female and male looked completely different |
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| Eider male in flight |
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| Black-backed gull - I saw this guy high up on a cliff and thought it was a puffin. Good thing it didn't take long for the real puffin to show up. |
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| A Black guillemot walking on water (getting ready to take off) |
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| The one seal we saw |
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| Bird condo |
Labels:
black guillemots,
black-backed gull,
black-legged kittiwakes,
eiders,
fullmars,
Puffins,
seal,
shags
It was a day's drive from the Western Fjords to Akureyri, in north Iceland with many breaks in between. But it was a scenic drive with interesting stops along the way.
Our first stop was the powerful waterfall at Kolugljufur Canyon, plunging into a deep, rugged gorge. We then visited the beautifully restored farm museum at Glambauer with its long houses in a wonderful setting with a mountain range as the backdrop. It was interesting to see the inside of the houses. In addition to the turf houses, there were two timber houses from the 18th and 19th centuries on the grounds.
The most exciting part of the day was lunch at a lady's ranch, Flugumyri in Skagafjordur, where she raised Icelandic horses. Anna, a single mom, raised a family and made a name for herself raising Icelandic champion horses. Her daughter rode the beautiful black and white stallion Stakkur and showed us the uniqueness of the Icelandic horse. Apparently the Icelandic horse has 5 gaits, walk, trot, canter, tölt and flying pace. Most horses only have the first three. It was fascinating to watch.
We continued our northward journey after lunch, reaching Akureyri, the northern capital in late afternoon. We spent a little time at the waterfront in Akureyri - there were lots of eiders and some arctic terns. I wish I had known that when I got off the bus with my wide angle...
We spent the night at the Hotel Laugar in a beautiful rural setting beside two streams teaming with bird life. We saw Arctic terns fishing in the river - it was not easy to shoot in the evening light but I did anyway - an unexpected find!
Friday, 29 June 2018
Iceland - the scenic road to the north
It was a day's drive from the Western Fjords to Akureyri, in north Iceland with many breaks in between. But it was a scenic drive with interesting stops along the way.
Our first stop was the powerful waterfall at Kolugljufur Canyon, plunging into a deep, rugged gorge. We then visited the beautifully restored farm museum at Glambauer with its long houses in a wonderful setting with a mountain range as the backdrop. It was interesting to see the inside of the houses. In addition to the turf houses, there were two timber houses from the 18th and 19th centuries on the grounds.
The most exciting part of the day was lunch at a lady's ranch, Flugumyri in Skagafjordur, where she raised Icelandic horses. Anna, a single mom, raised a family and made a name for herself raising Icelandic champion horses. Her daughter rode the beautiful black and white stallion Stakkur and showed us the uniqueness of the Icelandic horse. Apparently the Icelandic horse has 5 gaits, walk, trot, canter, tölt and flying pace. Most horses only have the first three. It was fascinating to watch.
We continued our northward journey after lunch, reaching Akureyri, the northern capital in late afternoon. We spent a little time at the waterfront in Akureyri - there were lots of eiders and some arctic terns. I wish I had known that when I got off the bus with my wide angle...
We spent the night at the Hotel Laugar in a beautiful rural setting beside two streams teaming with bird life. We saw Arctic terns fishing in the river - it was not easy to shoot in the evening light but I did anyway - an unexpected find!
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| Thundering waterfall plunging into the deep gorge below at Kolugljufur Canyon |
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| Bridge over the canyon |
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| We were driving through farm country with some fairly big farms on the way. Below shows trumpet swans that seemed to have invaded the farms in Iceland. They were digging up the fields and in general making a nuisance of themselves. We saw many similar "invasions" throughout our drive on the ring road. |
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| Glacier along the way |
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| We stopped near this modern church for a break |
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| The old church at the farm museum in Glambauer |
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| View of the mountains through a gravestone |
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| The beautiful mountain backdrop for the turf houses |
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| The turf houses look like regular houses from the front |
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| Long and narrow inside |
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| The beds are very short. Apparently the early Icelanders sleep sitting as the prone position was only for the dead. |
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| The turf houses from the back |
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| Two timber houses from the 18th and 19th centuries on the property |
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| The long houses echoed by the modern long houses on farms along the road. (below) |
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| Beautiful Icelandic horses at the ranch |
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| Going through the paces at the Flugumyri ranch in Skagafjordur |
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| Finished with his performance, he was rewarded with some free time...what a beautiful setting |
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| Akureyri, capital of the north with its art deco church on the hill |
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| An impressive art centre |
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| Family of eiders - it seemed that mom did all the work while dad just stood guard. She was training the two kids in how to dive by showing them how. They followed exactly what she did and did it again and again. It was quite fun to watch. See the little one frisking in the water below. |
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| The lovely pond in front of the Hotel Lauger and the sports complex nearby |
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| This female eider enjoying the golden hour on the pond - together with a black-headed gull and what I think is a graylag goose |
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| Black-headed gull |
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| Graylag goose |
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| The Arctic tern is such a beauty in flight - but so fast it's hard to catch up! |
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| Reaching for the prize... |
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| And getting it! |
Saturday, 30 June 2018
Husavik - where the whales are!
Husavik
is called the whale-watching capital of Iceland for good reason - the
harbour is packed with whale watching boats in different formats and
sizes and the captain of our boat boasted a 95% success rate! Ours was a
medium-sized boat and passengers were provided with warm jump suits. I
didn't need to wear it as it was a relatively warm and sunny day and I
have enough layers to keep me warm and mobile even though we spent all
of the two and a half hours on deck. There were zodiacs that chased down
the whales and got really close - a bit too aggressive and apparently
was frowned upon.
The captain was kept well-informed by other captains and apparently, they followed the birds. Where there were large groups of birds gathered, that tend to be where the whales were. This is because the birds would be going after the scraps leftover from the whale's meal and they had insider's information!
We saw some dolphins as we approached the spot where there were other whale-watching boats waiting, but we were not close enough when the dolphins came out of the water. But it was exciting to see a pair swimming side by side - possibly a mom and tot thing as they were really close together.
I captured a number of whale dives from various angles. At one point, the whale was so close part of the tail went outside the frame of my lens! It was a very productive morning and we truly considered ourselves lucky for the clear sunny morning especially just as we left Husavik after lunch, the fog started to roll in and we were glad we were not doing the cruise in the afternoon. You win some, you lose some...
The captain was kept well-informed by other captains and apparently, they followed the birds. Where there were large groups of birds gathered, that tend to be where the whales were. This is because the birds would be going after the scraps leftover from the whale's meal and they had insider's information!
We saw some dolphins as we approached the spot where there were other whale-watching boats waiting, but we were not close enough when the dolphins came out of the water. But it was exciting to see a pair swimming side by side - possibly a mom and tot thing as they were really close together.
I captured a number of whale dives from various angles. At one point, the whale was so close part of the tail went outside the frame of my lens! It was a very productive morning and we truly considered ourselves lucky for the clear sunny morning especially just as we left Husavik after lunch, the fog started to roll in and we were glad we were not doing the cruise in the afternoon. You win some, you lose some...
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| It's the first time I've gone on a whale-watching cruise (that actually saw whales) so it's a matter of learning on the job - watching out for the moment when the whale dives and catching the tail in the air. I learned quickly that was the most interesting part of the whale where photography is concerned - it's where the action is, otherwise it's one big black thing in the water...unless of course one gets really lucky and the entire whale comes out of the water! |
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| Husavik - the whale-watching capital of Iceland |
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| This is one of many whale-watching boats |
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| The church in Husavik has beautiful windows looking out onto the harbour |
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| A couple of neat buildings in Husavik |
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| Beautiful mountains on the way out... |
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| Dolphins (probably white-beaked dolphins) - the warm-up act |
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| Two dolphins very close together - possibly "mom and tot"? |
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| Other whale-watching boats were already waiting |
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| So were the dolphins and the seabirds |
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| Here comes the whale about to dive |
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| My first whale tail! |
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| The birds congregate where the whales are so they are ready for leftovers |
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| A typical whale-watching zodiac |
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| I love the waterfall from the whale tail! |
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| This one was practically next to the boat - so close I can't fit it all into the frame! |
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| Two whales side by side - one diving before the other |
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| See how close the zodiacs get... |
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| All gathered to wait for the performance... |
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| Watch the whale hump as it prepared to dive |
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| You just have to be in the right place when the whale dives...it helps to be on a part of the boat where you can easily access both sides of the boat. |
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| Beautiful mountains on the way back to Husavik - we can see the fog just starting to roll in. It had been an amazing trip! |
Sunday, 1 July 2018
Awesome volcanic landscape - Lake Myvatn area
After
the exciting whale-watching cruise, we spent another day and a half in
north Iceland. The highlights included Asbyrgi, a horsehoe-shaped
gorge, the unique and fascinating landscape of the Lake Myvatn area, and
three waterfalls that took our breaths away. Yes, it's true - there are
so many waterfalls in Iceland, yet they are all different and when you
see them, you can't help but gasp at their sheer power.
Asbyrgi the gorge is reputedly the hoof print of Odin's horse but it's so big, it's impossible to do it justice in a photo, unlike that other horseshoe canyon in Arizona. Lake Myvatn lived up to its reputation as "mosquito lake" - in our case, it was flies. It was a good thing we read about this before we came and because we were also going to the Scottish highlands after this, we were well-prepared with midge nets - and they did their job! You can see one photo below where my lens was covered with flies - it was almost impossible to even take a photo once you're surrounded.
The lava formations at Dimmuborgir near the Lake was unique but my favourite site was Namaskard with its spectacular Namafjall volcanic mountain, at the foot of which is a surreal landscape of sulphur mud springs and steam springs. The red mountain is gorgeous - and wild.
Godafoss (God's falls - where the gods threw their enemies) was awe-inspiring and we got to see its gushing power all the way as we hiked up the canyon to the head of the falls. Dettifoss, the biggest one in Iceland was in my opinion the least attractive of the falls - it's big, that's all. Selfoss, a short hike from Dettifoss, is actually much prettier and I wish we had more time to hike closer and be able to capture it in better light.
It was an awesome trip through the unique landscape of the north.
Asbyrgi the gorge is reputedly the hoof print of Odin's horse but it's so big, it's impossible to do it justice in a photo, unlike that other horseshoe canyon in Arizona. Lake Myvatn lived up to its reputation as "mosquito lake" - in our case, it was flies. It was a good thing we read about this before we came and because we were also going to the Scottish highlands after this, we were well-prepared with midge nets - and they did their job! You can see one photo below where my lens was covered with flies - it was almost impossible to even take a photo once you're surrounded.
The lava formations at Dimmuborgir near the Lake was unique but my favourite site was Namaskard with its spectacular Namafjall volcanic mountain, at the foot of which is a surreal landscape of sulphur mud springs and steam springs. The red mountain is gorgeous - and wild.
Godafoss (God's falls - where the gods threw their enemies) was awe-inspiring and we got to see its gushing power all the way as we hiked up the canyon to the head of the falls. Dettifoss, the biggest one in Iceland was in my opinion the least attractive of the falls - it's big, that's all. Selfoss, a short hike from Dettifoss, is actually much prettier and I wish we had more time to hike closer and be able to capture it in better light.
It was an awesome trip through the unique landscape of the north.
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| I thought this photo neatly summarized the landscape in the north - it went from snow-capped mountains and glaciers to lush green farmland, then dry volcanic desert - what a contrast! |
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| Asbyrgi, in between the two ridges, is the horseshoe gorge |
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| We drove alongside the gorge - these are the walls. It was impossible to capture the gorge in its entirety. |
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| The gorge below Godafoss was a sight in itself |
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| Godafoss from the top and from its foot (photo below). The hike down was a little treacherous but we did it. |
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| This little waterfall over red standstone stood out in sharp contrast beside the gorge |
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| Lake Myvatn - the crater on the left is considered a pseudo-crater |
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| The spots on this photo are flies |
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| A pair of tufted ducks at the lake |
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| Lava formations at
Dimmuborgir- this one looks like a statue
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| Lake Myvatn from another angle |
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| Blue Lagoon of the north in the foreground |
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| The ring road cutting through the red dunes |
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| Namafjall volcanic mountain |
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| Mud springs at the foot of the mountain |
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| Dettifoss decorated by the required rainbow |
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| The beautiful and complex Selfoss |
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| Basalt columns on the side of the gorge leading from Selfoss |
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| Flowers growing out of rocks |
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| The landscape of the falls |
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| We had a break in a little town with turf houses and the cutest gas station. |
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| And we reached the town of Egilsstadir for the night - the lupines were blooming by the roadside. |
Monday, 2 July 2018
Enchanting Eastern Fjords
Our
journey around the ring road continued on to the east coast where the
fjords were an important part of the landscape. In many instances, the
ring road goes around the tip of each peninsula and then alongside the
fjord on either side of a narrow strip of water. In some places, the
driver was able to take advantage of long tunnels (one supposedly as
long as 8 km) to cut through the mountains and shortened our trip. But
the drive around the fjords yielded some astonishing scenery. I was
lucky that it was my turn to sit in the front seat on the bus for the
day and so was able to capture some road trip scenery I wouldn't
otherwise have seen. Doubly lucky because this was my favourite kind of
scenery - snow-capped mountains at almost every turn.
We had a nice break at Petra's Stone Collection - her collection of rocks and minerals from the area since 1946. It was an amazingly diverse collection set in the most beautiful landscaped garden. The most wonderful thing was as we drove up to her place, the fog had started to roll in and we couldn't see what was beyond the water. When we came out of the garden, it was like a different world outside. The same thing happened as we arrived at the restaurant at Breiodalsvik. We couldn't see where we were but when we came out, the most beautiful mountain range greeted us. It was magical!
By mid-afternoon, we were almost at our overnight hotel in Höfn. I had earlier mentioned to our guide that everyone came back from Iceland with stunning photos of the Vestrahorn. He told me it was right across from our hotel in Höfn. So I was all excited about the prospect of a good photo. Sadly, when he pointed out the Vestrahorn to me on the bus, that was the only photo I was able to get of the iconic mountains, already half shrouded in fog. He asked the driver to drive us up a gravel road to the top of a lookout hoping to show us the magnificent view of the mountains and the glacier, but we couldn't see a thing. The Vestrahorn was behind fog the whole time we were in Höfn, even though it was sunny. The fog just sat there.
We took a walk along the waterfront to the Höfn harbour and was lucky get some good shots of eiders, fullmars, black-headed gulls and arctic terns - the late afternoon light was perfect. It seems that I was lucky with the wildlife on this trip but not so with the iconic landscapes. Them's the breaks, I guess.
Vestrahorn is the one on the left - these are the only shots I got of the iconic mountain...
We had a nice break at Petra's Stone Collection - her collection of rocks and minerals from the area since 1946. It was an amazingly diverse collection set in the most beautiful landscaped garden. The most wonderful thing was as we drove up to her place, the fog had started to roll in and we couldn't see what was beyond the water. When we came out of the garden, it was like a different world outside. The same thing happened as we arrived at the restaurant at Breiodalsvik. We couldn't see where we were but when we came out, the most beautiful mountain range greeted us. It was magical!
By mid-afternoon, we were almost at our overnight hotel in Höfn. I had earlier mentioned to our guide that everyone came back from Iceland with stunning photos of the Vestrahorn. He told me it was right across from our hotel in Höfn. So I was all excited about the prospect of a good photo. Sadly, when he pointed out the Vestrahorn to me on the bus, that was the only photo I was able to get of the iconic mountains, already half shrouded in fog. He asked the driver to drive us up a gravel road to the top of a lookout hoping to show us the magnificent view of the mountains and the glacier, but we couldn't see a thing. The Vestrahorn was behind fog the whole time we were in Höfn, even though it was sunny. The fog just sat there.
We took a walk along the waterfront to the Höfn harbour and was lucky get some good shots of eiders, fullmars, black-headed gulls and arctic terns - the late afternoon light was perfect. It seems that I was lucky with the wildlife on this trip but not so with the iconic landscapes. Them's the breaks, I guess.
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| The ring road cut through snow-capped mountain ranges |
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| The waterfront when we arrived at Stidvarfjordur to see Petra's Stone Collection |
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| The same waterfront after we spent a good part of the hour in the garden |
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| One of my favourites |
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| A boardwalk lined with whale bones |
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| Breiodalsvik where we had a delicious lunch of fish chowder |
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| Fog was rolling in again after we took some photos |
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| The local version of the sun voyager in Reykjavik |
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| A short drive from Breiodalsvik is Merry Bay in the town of Djupivogur where there are egg sculptures of all the birds in Iceland. They all look the same to my untrained eye. I was more interested in the scenery... |
As we continued our drive down the Eastern Fjords towards Höfn, there was more mountain and fog scenery.
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| We stopped at this spot to see an almost hidden waterfall coming out of a narrow gorge. This is the bottom half of a beautiful waterfall Fossadalur, too bade we couldn't get to see it. |
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| Vestrahorn from the side window... |
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| What we saw at the scenic viewpoint... |
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| An old boat at the Höfn Harbour |
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| Fullmar just found something to chew on |
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| Fullmar going fishing |
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| Pair of eiders, chilling as usual |
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| Gull with curious expression |
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| An Arctic Tern with a determined look |
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| Black-headed gull |
Labels:
artic tern,
black-headed gull,
Breiodalsvik,
eider,
fullmar,
Hofn,
Petra's Stone Collection,
Vestrahorn
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
The Amazing Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
From Höfn, it was just a short drive to the famous Jökulsárlón
iceberg lagoon. It was just as spectacular as expected - icebergs
floating in the lagoon with the huge glacier behind it. The glacier
itself is an outlet glacier of the vast Vatnajökull
glacier which is the largest icecap in Europe and has 30 outlet
glaciers, many of which we could see as we drove around the peninsula
covered by the Vatnajökull glacier. We also saw a few reindeers grazing at the foot of one of the glacier outlets - what a stroke of luck!
At the lagoon, we were herded into amphibious boats, then driven into the lagoon for a half hour tour to see the icebergs close up. The icebergs are beautiful although the cloudy day didn't provide too much light to show them off. It made it easier for photography though since they won't get blown out in harsh sunlight. The sun peeped out of the clouds for a few minutes and it was amazing how the icebergs were instantly transformed.
The more interesting part of the visit for me was the nesting area of the Arctic terns, which were right beside the lagoon. There must have been hundreds of terns in that area and they were all very aggressive because of the nests. Anyone walking within 20 feet of the nests would be attacked and screamed at. It felt like a reenactment of the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" at some point when all the terns descended on one person who walked too close. I myself was pecked a couple of times on the head - a good thing I had a cap on and I was more than 20 feet away from anything. But they have a line that you cannot see and you cannot cross without the sirens going off. That was quite an experience.
Practical tips:
- Don't worry about where you sit on the boat cruise, once the boat is in the lagoon, almost everybody got up to take photos and no one went back to their seats. It was okay for everyone to be standing in the boat, it was quite stable.
- When taking photos of the icebergs, it is better to underexpose than overexpose at the risk of blowing out some of the whites.
At the lagoon, we were herded into amphibious boats, then driven into the lagoon for a half hour tour to see the icebergs close up. The icebergs are beautiful although the cloudy day didn't provide too much light to show them off. It made it easier for photography though since they won't get blown out in harsh sunlight. The sun peeped out of the clouds for a few minutes and it was amazing how the icebergs were instantly transformed.
The more interesting part of the visit for me was the nesting area of the Arctic terns, which were right beside the lagoon. There must have been hundreds of terns in that area and they were all very aggressive because of the nests. Anyone walking within 20 feet of the nests would be attacked and screamed at. It felt like a reenactment of the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" at some point when all the terns descended on one person who walked too close. I myself was pecked a couple of times on the head - a good thing I had a cap on and I was more than 20 feet away from anything. But they have a line that you cannot see and you cannot cross without the sirens going off. That was quite an experience.
Practical tips:
- Don't worry about where you sit on the boat cruise, once the boat is in the lagoon, almost everybody got up to take photos and no one went back to their seats. It was okay for everyone to be standing in the boat, it was quite stable.
- When taking photos of the icebergs, it is better to underexpose than overexpose at the risk of blowing out some of the whites.
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| The sun came out just to show off this one which looked like a Lauren Harris painting! |
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| The glacier going into the lagoon |
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| This emerald coloured piece is one of the prettiest |
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| The Arctic tern nesting area beside the lagoon |
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| Nesting terns |
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| This one was standing guard at his post; don't come any closer than 20 feet, even if you're behind the fence, you will be attacked! |
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| In attack mode |
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| Add caption |
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| Bringing home the food |
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| Reindeers at the foot of the glacier - how perfect a scene can you get, except this was taken from the bus and could be sharper! According to the guide they are not normally seen at this time of the year around here. |
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| Another outlet of the glacier |
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| Icebergs left on the black beach beside the iceberg lagoon |
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| Diamonds on the beach! |
2 comments:
PeterFly5 July 2018 at 08:48
How did you get the birds to pose for you?
ReplyDeleteWednesday, 4 July 2018
Rustic Iceland
After
Jokulsarlon, everything is an anticlimactic. Yet when the guide took us
to see the Svinafellsjokull Glacier further south, I still find it
stunning, in a different way. It's not translucent blue and green like
the ones in Jokulsarlon. It's black and white mostly but certainly
appealed to the monochromatic aesthetics in me - it's beautiful in its
own way. I find it very Icelandic - in colour and tone.
On our way out of east Iceland, we visited Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks), a peculiar columnar basalt formation that seemed to have sprung out in the middle of nowhere. Icelandic myths had been created around it. Right across the road from it, is a beautiful waterfall called Foss a Sidu coming down between some extraordinary rock formations.
What I find particularly outstanding about this trip, now that we are near the end, is the rustic setting of many of our lodgings. The last night in Vik was particularly charming in a hotel surrounded by farms. We were able to go for a before dinner walk to a lovely waterfall and on the way back, saw a number of birds beside the stream. There was a pair of Curlew sandpipers, a Common redshank squeaking at us probably because we had unknowingly walked by its nest, and even a Golden Plover! Then there were the farms horses and the sheep that all made for a wonderful experience for us city dwellers.
Practical tips:
- Use the slowest possible shutter speed when photographing waterfalls to achieve the silky water effect. This is usually only possible when there is no sun unless you have a filter.
- Use the highest possible shutter speed when photographing waterfalls to freeze the water droplets. This is easiest when there is a lot of light.
On our way out of east Iceland, we visited Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks), a peculiar columnar basalt formation that seemed to have sprung out in the middle of nowhere. Icelandic myths had been created around it. Right across the road from it, is a beautiful waterfall called Foss a Sidu coming down between some extraordinary rock formations.
What I find particularly outstanding about this trip, now that we are near the end, is the rustic setting of many of our lodgings. The last night in Vik was particularly charming in a hotel surrounded by farms. We were able to go for a before dinner walk to a lovely waterfall and on the way back, saw a number of birds beside the stream. There was a pair of Curlew sandpipers, a Common redshank squeaking at us probably because we had unknowingly walked by its nest, and even a Golden Plover! Then there were the farms horses and the sheep that all made for a wonderful experience for us city dwellers.
Practical tips:
- Use the slowest possible shutter speed when photographing waterfalls to achieve the silky water effect. This is usually only possible when there is no sun unless you have a filter.
- Use the highest possible shutter speed when photographing waterfalls to freeze the water droplets. This is easiest when there is a lot of light.
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| Svinafellsjokull Glacier |
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| Like a painting |
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| Skaftafells glacier tongue, another outlet of the vast Vatnajokull glacier and the soft moss plain around it. |
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| The beautiful Foss a Sidu |
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| An icelandic horse completed the picture |
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| Dwarf rock(from different angles) |
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| The columnar basalt could be seen from the back |
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| The beautiful waterfall Stjornarfoss near our hotel; and of course the lupines were out! |
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| I was finally able to get some silky water out of the waterfall! |
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| Curlew sandpiper |
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| Common Redshank |
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| Common Redshank squeaking its head off |
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| Ready to attack! |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Hello! |
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| Necking? |
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| Right at home at our hotel |
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Labels:
Common Redshank,
Curlew sandpiper,
Dwarf rock,
Foss a sidu,
Golden Plover,
Skaftafells,
Svinafellsjokull Glacier
Green moss as far as the eye can see - it looked like an alien landscape from another planet. Driving along the ring road in south Iceland near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, we saw miles and miles of woolly green moss covering the lava field - apparently it took decades for the moss to grow so it is protected. The Eldhraun lava field is supposedly the biggest lava field in the world from an eruption that lasted from 1783-1784. It was astounding to look at the lava field and see no end to it.
Then we came to the black sand beach and its off shore rock formations at Vik i Myrdal - more breathtaking scenery. The beach spread out from both sides of the headland so we got a different perspective on either side. The lupines were also out in full bloom creating a great foreground for the landscape. There were also basalt columns at the beach, which was very crowded with tourists and one could wait a long time to get a photo without people in it since there are some optimal spots where everyone wanted to pose. That same headland was full of nesting birds - kittiwakes and fullmars among others - but they were too high up for photos.
We spent a couple of hours at the Skogar Museum, an interesting folk museum exhibiting a huge variety of tools and implements used for fishing and farming in Iceland, among other artefacts. There were also rebuilt turf houses on the property. These seem a little different from the ones we saw in the north. Near the museum is the spectacular Skogarfoss. It had started to rain at that point and I was lucky to get some shots even in the rain. Can't really complain as it was the first real rain in 9 days!
By the time we got to Seljalandsfoss, the rain had stopped. There was a ledge that allowed people to walk behind the falls but the rocks were wet and I didn't want to risk a fall. But it would certainly have been an interesting experience and major photo op.
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to Reykjavik. This was our last day on the ring road and I have to say the Icelandic landscape continued to astonish me throughout the nine days of the trip. We have barely touched the surface of Iceland - in my mind there are still the highlands and the parts beyond the ring road, not easily accessible, but something to keep in mind for the future.
For now, we move on to western Scotland to finish in the Isle of Skye. Please stay with me for the journey.
Coming up next week: Glasgow!
Thursday, 5 July 2018
South Iceland - Just as spectacular
Green moss as far as the eye can see - it looked like an alien landscape from another planet. Driving along the ring road in south Iceland near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, we saw miles and miles of woolly green moss covering the lava field - apparently it took decades for the moss to grow so it is protected. The Eldhraun lava field is supposedly the biggest lava field in the world from an eruption that lasted from 1783-1784. It was astounding to look at the lava field and see no end to it.
Then we came to the black sand beach and its off shore rock formations at Vik i Myrdal - more breathtaking scenery. The beach spread out from both sides of the headland so we got a different perspective on either side. The lupines were also out in full bloom creating a great foreground for the landscape. There were also basalt columns at the beach, which was very crowded with tourists and one could wait a long time to get a photo without people in it since there are some optimal spots where everyone wanted to pose. That same headland was full of nesting birds - kittiwakes and fullmars among others - but they were too high up for photos.
We spent a couple of hours at the Skogar Museum, an interesting folk museum exhibiting a huge variety of tools and implements used for fishing and farming in Iceland, among other artefacts. There were also rebuilt turf houses on the property. These seem a little different from the ones we saw in the north. Near the museum is the spectacular Skogarfoss. It had started to rain at that point and I was lucky to get some shots even in the rain. Can't really complain as it was the first real rain in 9 days!
By the time we got to Seljalandsfoss, the rain had stopped. There was a ledge that allowed people to walk behind the falls but the rocks were wet and I didn't want to risk a fall. But it would certainly have been an interesting experience and major photo op.
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to Reykjavik. This was our last day on the ring road and I have to say the Icelandic landscape continued to astonish me throughout the nine days of the trip. We have barely touched the surface of Iceland - in my mind there are still the highlands and the parts beyond the ring road, not easily accessible, but something to keep in mind for the future.
For now, we move on to western Scotland to finish in the Isle of Skye. Please stay with me for the journey.
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| Green moss over the lava field - as far as the eye can see. |
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| One of our fellow travellers gave us a sense of the scale |
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| There were other plants other than green moss, but not too much |
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| The black sand beach at Vik i Myrdal, this side of the headland |
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| Lupines in full bloom - the Icelanders considered the lupines an invasive species because it has taken over native species |
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| The Vik i Myrdal Church |
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| Basalt columns on the Reynisfjara black sand beach |
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| The rock formations at Reynisfjara beach |
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| Inside the Skogar Folk Museum |
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| Turf houses at the museum |
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| Skogarfoss |
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| Seljalandsfoss (see the people walking behind the falls) |
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| This seemed to be a typical Icelandic landscape - I only just realized how similar it is to the landscape on the Isle of Skye |
Coming up next week: Glasgow!
