Travelogue

Hike to Litlanesfoss and HengifossWe got a bit off schedule with our detour to Borgarfjörður Eystri (but it was so worth it!), so it was going to be mostly a driving day with one fun stop along the way - a hike to the beautiful Hengifoss waterfall.

We were only back on the Ring Road for 5 miles before turning south on Road 931, and driving for 20 miles along the shores of Lagarfljót Lake to the trailhead for Hengifoss. It was a bit more of an out-and-back than I previously thought.

Approaching LitlanesfossAs with many places in Iceland, there is a legend associated with this lake. Rocks, mountains, lakes, etc., all seem to have magical creatures (elves, trolls, monsters) either living in them or being turned into them. In this case, it's a large heath-worm (black slug).

But before we get to the legend of the heath-worm, let’s get to the reason we were here in the first place - the hike to the lovely waterfall known as Hengifoss.

Lovely LitlanesfossThe hike to Hengifoss is one of the most popular hikes in East Iceland, so by the time we got to the trailhead, the parking lot was already quite full.

From the parking lot, we began walking up a steady, but gradual hill, with a peaceful bucolic view of farmland and the river Hengifossá behind us.

At a little less than a mile we came to the first waterfall, Litlanesfoss, notable for the beautiful basalt columns surrounding it, like layers of thick curtains. These basalt columns are 15 to 20 meters high, making them the highest basalt columns in Iceland.

Approaching HengifossThis waterfall alone would have been worth the hike, but it is unfortunately overshadowed by its more impressive neighbor, Hengifoss.

We continued on for about another ¾ of a mile to the beautiful and unique Hengifoss, known for its distinctive alternating layers of volcanic bedrock interlaced with beds of bright red mud and ash deposits.

As the falls have carved out the canyon, the ash deposits have become conspicuously exposed, resulting in nearly a dozen very vivid stripes of red earth running perpendicular to the falls across the darker cliff face.

HengifossAt 128 meters high, it is also the third highest waterfall in Iceland.

On the hike down, we had a choice of retracing our steps or veering off to the left when we came to a bridge. We chose to see something new and I am so glad we did.

About a third of the way down, we came to an amazing collection of basalt columns. Because of frequent volcanic activity, Iceland has more basalt column sites than any other place on the planet, and we had seen many, but none as impressive as these.

Hengifoss up closeBasaltic columns such as these have inspired architects in Iceland, as we saw in the exterior of the beautiful Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik.

Okay, now for the Legend of the giant heath-worm of Lagarfljót Lake.

As legend has, a little girl was given a gold ring by her mother, who told her to place it under a heath-worm so that the gold would multiply. She did as her mother said, but when she checked back on it a few days later, she found that the worm had grown so large that it had broken open the chest she had placed it in.

Incredible basalt columns on the hike downTerrified, she threw the worm and the gold into the lake, where it continued to grow, terrorizing the countryside, killing people and animals and spitting poison onto the farmlands. This was not a nice worm.

Two Finnish magicians were commissioned to destroy it and retrieve the gold. However, all they managed to do was to tie its head and tail to the bottom of the lake, only allowing it to arch its back above the lake’s surface. If the worm ever manages to get lose, not only will it cause trouble again, but it will bring about the end of the world.

Well isn't that cheery.

Travelogue

Campsite view - Álfaborg, home of the elvesOriginally we thought we would camp in Seydisfjordur, but that was before we added Borgarfjörður eystri, home to one of the largest puffin colonies in Iceland, to our already packed itinerary.

We really wanted to see puffins (other than on a menu), and that was pretty much a guarantee at Borgarfjörður eystri, where 10,000 pairs of puffins nest every year between April and August.

Borgarfjörður eystri fishing villageThe best time of the day to see puffins is between 7:00 and 10:00 in the morning when they are getting ready for a day of fishing out at sea, and then again in the evening between 6:00 and 10:00 when they return to their burrows.

Camping near there would provide us with a chance to see them both times in the evening and then the following morning.

Marina with puffin colony behindSo, well left Seydisfjordur and drove back up the winding Road 93 towards Egilsstaðir, and then turned onto 94 which took us up and over some more mountains before coming to the end of the road in Borgarfjörður eystri, where the puffins nest. It was about an hour and a half drive.

This was by far our longest driving day to date - over four and a half hours (from Vestrahorn to here) rather than our leisurely two. But, as we would find out, it was definitely worth it.

Puffins in their burrowBorgarfjörður eystri is a quaint little fishing village of 130 people, 20,000 puffins, and countless sheep. We checked into the only campground in town, the Borgarfjörður eystri Campsite, which was quite lovely, set at the foot of a rocky hill called Álfaborg, which the campground website claimed was home to elves. Fortunately, the website added that the elves don't mind guests as long as they respect their home, the rocks. Ok, got it. I would have been much more worried if it was inhabited by trolls.

Marital spat?I’ve seen various statistics of what percentage of Icelandic people believe in elves, and it varies from just under 50% to up to 80%. Even those that don’t believe in them are hesitant to deny their existence, respect the traditions and myths surrounding them, and tread lightly when entering elf territory, just in case.

Those wings flap 400 times per minuteWell, anyway, elves have great taste, because that mountain was stunning. Not sure, how the stranded boat near the base of their mountain got there. Perhaps the owners were disrespectful.

We were pretty excited about seeing puffins, so almost immediately, we drove the short distance from the campground to the puffin colony, which is located on the grassy rock promontory behind the Hafnarhólmi marina.

Tucking in for a landingBefore leaving the parking lot, we just had to spend some time watching the sheep playing in the field. Each ewe gives birth to two lambs at a time. The lambs are adorable and they roll around on each other and play like puppies. I think they would be great pets. Just think of the sweaters!

Morning commute back to the puffins colonyWe had to drag ourselves away to go see the puffins.

We walked up to the hill behind the marina, where there was a shelter and wooden viewing platforms where we could get really close to the puffins without damaging their burrows. We were separated from them by a fence, but still, we were really close.

Along the way to the puffins colonyThis was definitely the place. There were hundreds of them right near us - coming in and out of their burrows, strutting around, mingling with each other, and most fun of all, flying in from a day at sea fishing for herring and sand eels.

There are several species of puffins, but the ones in Iceland are Atlantic Puffins. In fact, Iceland is home to more Atlantic Puffins than any other country in the world.

Playful lambsThey are beautiful birds, or at least they are during the breeding season (April through August) when they are trying to impress the ladies. It is only then that their bills turn a colorful reddish-orange, earning them the nicknames “sea parrot” and “clown of the sea.” As winter approaches the bright colors begin to fade.

They live in underground burrows, which they dig using their bills and feet. They use their bills to cut into soil and then shovel away loose material with their feet. They like to make their burrows between rocks or on steep cliffs so predators can’t easily reach them.

Off to workPuffins mate for life although they do not begin the mating process until they are 5 years old, just about the time when we humans start kindergarten.

The female lays one egg and both parents take turns incubating the egg for about 40 days. Once the egg hatches, the puffling (the puffin chick) and the adults return to the sea.

Puffins spend most of their time out at sea living a solitary existence, and only return to the crowded, busy colonies during breeding season.

Ready to start their day at seaPuffins are not only good swimmers, but they are also very fast fliers. They can flap their wings up to 400 times per minute and reach speeds of 50 mph. That speed made it very difficult for Herb to photograph them flying in for a landing. It was only after we got home and we reviewed the photos that we saw how awkward, and very amusing, they look when they come dive bombing in for a landing.

They are not exactly the most graceful fliersWe could have watched them for hours, but it was getting late and we had had a very busy day. I can’t believe that it was only this morning that we were wandering around a Viking Village.

The next morning we couldn’t just leave Borgarfjörður Eystri without saying goodbye to our puffin friends, so we drove back to the puffin colony to observe their morning activities.

We ran into a bit of traffic on the way over.

This time we watched as they climbed out of their burrows and prepared for flight, spreading their wings and looking out to sea. Some of them didn't seem in too much of a hurry to get going. Also, I'm not sure if just one of the pair goes out to sea, while the other one stays near the burrow with the egg. In either case, it looked like a busy little community about to start their day.

Gotta love them lambies thoughOnce again, we had to pull ourselves away from the puffins. Watching them can be very addictive. The sheep were pretty darn cute too!

I saw an article online that the annual sheep round-up for Borgarfjörður Eystri is facing a labor shortage, due to both a dwindling population and the increasing age of the sheep farmers themselves, so they are asking for people to come out and help with the herding. I’m seriously thinking about it. They are so adorable.

Time to hit the road

Travelogue

Herb in Kaffi LaraAfter leaving Djupivogur, we continued along the Ring Road (Route 1) towards the town of Egilsstaðir, where we would leave the Ring Road to take a side trip to the Seydisfjordur, considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in East Iceland.

We weren’t very far from Djupivogur before Google Maps directed us onto a gravel road. This road didn’t seem right, so we stopped to look at the map. Google does this sometimes, picking a shorter distance route, regardless of road conditions.

Oh, this was the infamous road 939 that went over Öxi Pass that McRent had warned us about - “absolutely do not go on that road.”

Iconic blue churchSo, we turned around and got back on the Ring Road, which weaved its way among the fjords - quite a bit longer, but much more scenic and safe.

When we got to the town of Egilsstaðir, we left the Ring Road and turned onto Road 93 towards Seydisfjordur. This was quite a road, winding and climbing over a 2,000 foot mountain pass, with snow all around us. It felt like we had entered a winter wonderland.

We later found out that this is one of the highest paved roads in Iceland, and they are even thinking of building a tunnel through the mountain pass, as the road is often impassable in winter. The scenery certainly was beautiful though.

Before exploring the village, we stopped to have lunch at Kaffi Lara, a cozy restaurant and bar right near Rainbow Street. The food and ambience was great.

Street Art along the Rainbow RoadWe got to talking to our waiter who told us he was from Barcelona, but comes here to work in the summer. Summer is a relative term, as he said the town was totally cut off from the rest of Iceland until a few weeks ago because of snow, reinforcing that need for a tunnel through the mountain pass on 93.

After lunch, we set out to explore the town, which we knew wouldn’t take very long because it is quite small, with only 700 inhabitants.

Our first stop was right outside our restaurant - the iconic Seydisfjordur blue church with a rainbow road leading towards it - just like Reykjavik's Rainbow Road leading towards Hallgrímskirkja, but on a much smaller scale. It’s a very popular spot to take a photograph, so we had to wait our turn.

SeydisfjordurTiny Seydisfjordur is surprisingly one of Iceland's cultural centers and attracts artists from around the country. In addition, there is an art academy that attracts young people from across Iceland and abroad.

So with all these artists, as you would expect, the buildings along the Rainbow road were covered with murals.

The street is also lined with many bars and cafes, and it is one of the liveliest parts of Seydisfjordur.

SeydisfjordurThe town has a nice harbor located at the innermost point of a 10-mile-long fjord. In the early 20th century it was a booming town of Norwegian-run herring fisheries, and many of the buildings survive from this time period. As herring stocks declined, so did the town.

As with many other Icelandic villages, the economy of the town is now driven by tourism.

We took a stroll around the harbor admiring the colorful houses, backed by snow-capped mountains and cascading waterfalls. And the lupine! Lots and lots of beautiful bright blue lupine!

And all because of one man, Hákon Bjarnason, who back in 1945 was sent to Alaska as a representative of a committee set up to revegetate areas of Iceland. Guess what plant he picked. That’s right lupine, and today it covers and beautifies so much of Iceland. Thank you Hákon.

SeydisfjordurIn December of 2020, tragedy hit the village when some of those beautiful hills overlooking the town came tumbling down in a landslide, destroying more than 10 buildings.

It was the most damaging landslide ever to hit a town in Iceland. The destruction and economic loss was enormous, but miraculously there were no casualties.

The townspeople came together in a massive clean-up and rebuild effort to save their beloved village.

Seydisfjordur definitely earns its distinction as the most beautiful village in East Island, as well as the most public-spirited and heroic.

Travelogue

Herb meets VestrahornWhat a day it had already been with enough varied scenery to normally fill a week - sod-covered churches, a beautiful canyon hike to a waterfall, a glacier lagoon with icebergs bopping about, and a stunning beach covered in glittering ice.

But it wasn’t over yet. In fact, the best was yet to come,

After Diamond Beach, we were pretty much leaving the touristy section of the Ring Road and heading into the more remote natural beauty of eastern Iceland.

VestrahornWe had watched plenty of YouTube videos during our pre-trip planning and were very excited about visiting Vestrahorn, a stunning mountain with spiky peaks rising 1,490 feet above a flat, black sand beach with undulating dunes and giant tufts of grass.

The locals call it “Batman Mountain,” because its spiky peaks (“horns”) look like the Batman logo.

Tiny little Viking Village at base of mountainUnlike most of the mountains in Iceland, which are volcanic in origin, this one is made out of iron- and magnesium-rich gabbro rock, which leads to its dark and jagged appearance. The perfect setting for a Viking Village or an episode of Game of Thrones.

Since it’s located down an unmarked dirt road off the Ring Road, very few tourists come here - mostly just photographers that know about this spot. It's absolutely stunning.

Across the beachTo get here, we passed the turnoff for the town of Höfn, and continued on the Ring Road for about 4 miles and made a right turn onto the unmarked dirt road immediately before a long dark tunnel.

We continued on this road for about 2.5 miles before arriving at the Viking Cafe.

It was quite cozy and nice with lovely pastries and other baked goods for sale. They have a small campground there - basically two parking lots, one behind the cafe and one atop a nearby hill. We preferred the one up the hill because there were better views.

We booked camping for the night, which gave us free access out onto the Stokknes Peninsula where Vestrahorn is located. Otherwise, it costs $10.

Shortcut along the tidal flatsAfter paying, we drove through the gate out onto a dirt road that brought us alongside the tidal flat and sand dunes. Clouds were moving in quickly, so he had to hurry if we wanted to catch the beautiful light that was still falling on Vestrahorn.

We parked in the first pullout we could find and ran out onto the grass-covered dunes for a striking view, and hopefully some striking photographs, of this amazing mountain.

Getting closerLuckily we did, because we literally only had 10 minutes of sunlight on the mountain before the clouds darkened its face. Thank God, we didn’t stop for a pastry and coffee in the Cafe or we would have missed it.

While Herb was rushing around trying to catch the fading light, Hilda and I noticed some tiny little structures at the base of the mountain, way over on the other side of the tidal flats. This must be the tiny Viking Village, which was the film set for a movie that never happened.

Our Viking hostAdventurous women that we are, Hilda and I decided that we would try to get there. It turned out to be a lot more of an adventure than we expected.

So off we went across the grassy dunes towards the beach, where we occasionally sunk quite deeply in the sand. The reflections of Vestrahorn in the calm sea though were worth getting our sneakers wet.

The real trail went straight across the beach to the base of the mountain before turning left towards the Viking Village. We, however, decided to take a diagonal shortcut (the hypotenuse) across what we discovered a bit too late was a wet tidal marsh.

Traditional Icelandic sod-covered homesWe weaved our way along the driest spots we could find and eventually made it to the Viking Village, dramatically set against the base of the massive Vestrahorn.

The village is a replica of an authentic Viking village, created in 2010 as a movie set for a Universal Studios production, which never happened because of budgetary reasons. We had the whole place to ourselves and were able to wander amongst the various sod-roofed wooden structures, much like the traditional Icelandic turf houses. There was even a wood-carved Viking to greet us.

There was even a Viking ship that we could board and pretend that we were Vikings. Hilda beat me to the ship’s wheel and took command of the ship.

Traditional Icelandic sod-covered homesWe had been gone for almost two hours already, so I texted Herb thinking he might be worried about us. When he didn’t respond after 20 minutes or so, I texted him again thinking I might get his attention with, “I met Thor in the Viking Village. Don’t wait up for me,” but even that didn’t get a response. Herb’s not the jealous type.

After having enough fun playing Viking, Hilda and I continued on and back to the van, where the boys were happily drinking beer, totally unphased that we had been gone for two hours.

Viking shipWe drove back out through the access gate and up the hill to our campsite for the night. The Viking Cafe was already closed (Vikings must go to bed early), so it was backpacking food for us in our camper - Idahoan powdered potatoes with Starkist chicken in a package mixed in. Oh, and Hilda made some cabbage so we would have a veggie.

We were pretty exhausted. It had been a very big day..

Travelogue

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoonThere is so much to see along the southern portion of the Ring Road that we didn’t have to drive too far before our next stop - The Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where 1,000-year-old, large blue, white, turquoise and black-streaked icebergs shift and bop about the lagoon, before breaking up and heading out to the sea through a narrow channel.

It is one of Iceland’s most popular destinations, and understandably so.

Jökulsárlón Glacier LagoonThis lagoon is less than 100 years old. Located at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, the lagoon was formed as the glacier warmed and began receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

As temperatures continue to rise, the lagoon continues to grow as the glacier recedes even further. Today the lagoon is four times larger than it was in the 1970s, making it the deepest lake in Iceland.

Jökulsárlón Glacier LagoonAs the glacier calves, it deposits icebergs into the lagoon. Eventually, these icebergs break up and when the chunks are small enough, they start floating across the lagoon towards the channel that connects it to the sea.

It was like watching the effects of global warming in real time.

Jökulsárlón Glacier LagoonThere are two ways to spend your time at Jökulsárlón. You can take an amphibian or Zodiac boat ride to get up close and personal to the icebergs on the lagoon, or you can hike around the lagoon’s perimeter.

We chose to avoid the crowds and walk the trail along the shoreline.

As we strolled along the shore, I began wondering why some of the icebergs were a milky white and some a bright blue. The blue ones were absolutely beautiful.

Harvesting Ice for Cocktail HourAs I often do, I turned to Google for the answer.

Blue icebergs are much older than white icebergs, originating from portions of a glacier that are very compressed and have fewer bubbles. The fewer the bubbles the less chance there is of light being scattered, resulting in red wavelengths being absorbed, with only blue light being scattered and escaping the iceberg. Hence, the blue color.

Diamond BeachSome of them were a little blue and a little white, like a peppermint candy.

As we continued our stroll, Paul and I spotted a piece of ice floating right near the shoreline. We had been lamenting the lack of ice cubes for our cocktails, so we sort of jokingly said that we should capture it. This little chunk of ice was just asking for it.

Diamond BeachSo, I ran to the van to get a plastic bag to hold it, while Paul continued to coax it in and lay it on the sand. I’m sure It was quite an entertaining sight to see us giddily wrestle it into the bag. We were quite proud of ourselves.

After our walk along the lagoon, we drove across the road to the parking lot for Diamond Beach, on the ocean side of the channel.

When the waves and the tides are just right, the icebergs that float through the channel from the lagoon get broken up and washed ashore, littering the beach with glittering chunks of ice.

Diamond BeachHow much is on the beach at any point in time is very dependent on the tides and the power of the waves. When we first got there, there were only a few little pieces on the beach, so we decided to wait them out by taking a nap in the van. When we re-emerged about a half out later, the beach was strewn with glittering chunks of ice in all shapes and sizes.

When we first arrived, there were only a few scattered pieces strewn across the sand. It was pretty, but not overly impressive.

A Teddy Bear?Fortunately, we did not leave, but stayed to make lunch and take a quick nap in the vans.
When we re-emerged, we were astounded. The beach was now covered with dozens and dozens of glittering ice chunks, in all shapes and sizes.

Some of them were milky white, but the most beautiful ones were perfectly clear, reminding me of my mother-in-law’s Swarovski crystal collection.

Dog or Fish?Once again, I wondered why and once again Google came through for me. Ice appears white when it contains trapped air bubbles and minerals, while clear ice has had the bubbles compressed out of it and is pure of minerals.

Wandering amongst them was like playing the cloud shape game I used to play as a kid, except with 1,000 year old pieces of icebergs rather than clouds.

Turtle?One looked like a long-necked turtle, like the kind I saw in the Galapagos. Another one looked like a teddy bear dropped in the sand. One looked like a dog from one side and a fish from the other, so we called it a dogfish.

I found Herb stalking an ice lizard with his camera.

It was incredible. My only advice is that if you have the time, have patience, and wait for the ice show to begin.

Diamond BeachDiamond Beach was pretty much the last of the highly-visited tourist spots we would see in awhile, aw we were getting out of reach of the Reykjavik tour buses. In another hour or so we would arrive at our final destination for the day - the beautiful Vestrahorn mountain in the southeast corner of Iceland.

After that, we would start heading north along the much less traveled eastern coast - zigging in and out amongst the fjords. For the next 10 days, we would pretty much leave the crowds behind and experience a bit more of what Iceland was like before becoming a major tourist attraction. .

Travelogue

Hiking up Múlagljúfur with Vatnajökull behindDuring my pre-trip research, I came across a supposedly “hidden gem” along the southern portion of the Ring Road called the Múlagljúfur Canyon. Obviously Justin Bieber had not included it in his music video, or it definitely would not still be hidden.

Múl means mule and gljúfur means canyon. Hence, "Múlagljúfur” means Mules Canyon, so I added two more Icelandic words to my vocabulary today. I am practically fluent and it's only day 3 on the Ring Road.

Hangandifoss viewpointAccording to the directions, unlike every other place of interest along the Ring Road, the turnoff to this canyon was not signed out. Hmm…maybe it could still be a hidden gem. Before leaving home, we marked the turnoff on Google Maps.

The drive to the trailhead off the Ring Road was a bumpy gravel road, but turned out to be very doable, even in a camper van.

Rainbow over HangandifossThere was only one other car in the parking lot, so this was promising.

From the parking lot at the mouth of the canyon, we began hiking up into the canyon, with views of the Vatnajökull glacier behind us all the way.

After about a mile and a half we came to a lovely view of Hangandifoss, one of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland. Its source is the Múlaa River, which is fed by the melting water of the Öræfajökull (glacier), an ice-covered volcano at the southern extremity of the Vatnajökull glacier

Of course, there was a beautiful rainbow in its spray. We’ve come to expect nothing less in this incredibly magic land.

From there we hiked back down from whence we came. We only saw about 5 people the entire time, so it is still pretty much a hidden gem. I only hope it can remain that way.

Travelogue

HofskirkjaToday was our last day on the southern end of the island before we would start heading north along the much less traveled eastern coast - zigging in and out amongst the fjords. For the next 10 days, we would pretty much leave the crowds behind and experience a bit more of what Iceland was like before becoming a major tourist attraction.

But first, we still had a lot more to see today along the southern coast.

Our first stop of the day was at the lovely Hofskirkja church, the last of the old churches of Iceland to be built in the traditional turf style.

Hofskirkja cemeterySince the Vikings pretty much deforested most of Iceland over a thousand years ago, timber was in short supply, so they rather resourcefully came up with the idea of using turf instead. Not such a bad idea as it proved to be sturdier than timber in the face of storms and better at keeping the cold out. Plus they are so cute.

Next to the church was a peaceful little cemetery with grassy mounds adorned by simple white crosses.

As we wandered respectfully through the cemetery, I couldn’t help but notice that everyone’s name ended with the suffix -son or -dottir. A son is given his father’s first name, with the suffix -son added to it and the daughter also has the father’s first name with -dottir added to it.

Today, however, it’s perfectly acceptable to follow the matrilineal line and for children to take their mother’s first name followed by the appropriate suffix.

Travelogue

Roter Stuhl auf FelsenThe following morning before leaving Vestrahorn, we drove back through the access gate to show Herb and Paul the Viking Village that Hilda and I had enjoyed so much the day before.

Then it was back on the Ring Road again. Today, we would be leaving the highly-traveled areas along the southern portion of the Ring Road and heading north along the eastern fjords, along an area referred to as the Laekjavik Coast, which extends for about 60 miles from Vestrahorn to the village of Djupivogur.

Black sand Beach black and EystrahornAs soon as we pointed our van north, It was like we were entering an entirely new Iceland, or more correctly an old one of how things used to be before it was discovered by tourists from around the world.

The Ring Road along the East Fjords follows an incredibly beautiful rocky coastline, with steep cliffs and mountains dropping dramatically down to the ocean, sea stacks off the coast, and the occasional quaint fishing village along the way.

Djupivogur's Eggin í GleðivíkWe hadn't gotten too far before we came across a rather random bright red chair set atop a rock alongside the road. It is called Roter Stuhl Auf Felsen (Red Chair on a Rock), and, of course, it had to be sat on. There was a very nice view of Eystrahorn (Vestrahorn’s sister mountain) behind us. I wish I knew the story behind this, but thank you to whoever had the foresight to place it in this lovely location.

A little further along, we turned off into a pullout for the Hvalnes Lighthouse. From the lighthouse area, we climbed up a small hill and looked down upon a beautiful black sand beach with Eystrahorn (Vestrahorn’s sister mountain) in the background.

I felt a need to hug oneContinuing on, we stopped at the small village of Djupivogur, which has the oldest port in Iceland, dating back to the 16th century.

It also had some more contemporary art - 34 over-sized eggs along the jetty. It’s called The Eggs of Merry Bay (Eggin í Gleðivík in Icelandic) and they are a tribute to the 34 native birds of eastern Iceland.

Each stone specimen accurately depicts the shape, patterns, and colors of the individual bird egg it represents. Each egg has a sign giving the bird’s name (both genus and species) in Latin and its common name in Icelandic. Of course, Herb found it necessary to photograph Turdus Iliacus

I couldn’t resist hugging one.

Then it was on to Seyðisfjörður, considered the most beautiful village in Eastern Iceland, for lunch.

Travelogue

Herb's PylsursAfter leaving Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, we drove for about another hour to Skaftafell, where we planned to spend the night.

Skaftafell was once its own National Park, but in 2008 it became part of the larger Vatnajökull National Park. Vatnajökull has a lot of superlatives associated with it: not only is it one of the largest national parks in Europe, but its ice cap (also called Vatnajökull) is the largest ice cap in Europe. It is so large that if covers 11% of the surface area of Iceland - or at least it did before global warming began melting most of the world’s ice caps.

Heart-shaped SvartifossVatnajökull National Park has several entry points, but Skaftafell is the best place to explore the park from the southern side.

We didn’t know it yet, but the Skaftafell campground would be the nicest one we would stay in during the entire trip. Most of the campgrounds in Iceland are basically grassy areas that you park on with a range of facilities. All have bathrooms and most have showers, but usually not enough for the amount of people camping there.

SvartifossThis one was in a lovely setting with a gravel area to park in surrounded by a grassy area to sit out in. It also had great facilities (lots of bathrooms and showers, laundry, etc.). However, even more importantly, it was located near the trailhead for the two hikes we planned to do today: Svartifoss (waterfall) and Skaftafellsjökull (glacier), so we didn’t have to move the campers.

Since this was going to be our base camp for the day’s activities, we got there right around lunchtime. We were not particularly creative with our menu when cooking in the van, mostly because we ate out whenever possible.

Svartifoss close-upHowever, we did find that Herb’s bratwurst (sort of a German Pylsur) and Hilda’s salads were easy and tasty. So that’s what we did.

This was the first day that it was actually warm enough to sit outside in shorts and a t-shirt, definitely not the Iceland we expected. We were very, very lucky with the weather - the forecast had 10 days of sunshine and fairly warm (for Iceland) temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s - definitely much better than the cold, rainy weather more typical this time of the year.

Approaching SkaftafellsjökullAfter lunch and a brief siesta, we set out on a 3-mile hike to Svartifoss, which is Icelandic for “Black Waterfall,” because of its beautiful backdrop of black hexagonal basalt columns.

The water originates from the Svinafellsjokull glacier, also in Vatnajökull National Park, and plunges 80 feet over a cliff into a heart-shaped amphitheater surrounded by tall black basalt columns. These columns were created by lava rapidly cooling and contracting over centuries, typically splitting into six-sided columns.

SkaftafellsjökullIf you look really close, you can see that the rock faces are marked by narrow horizontal bands. This is due to slow fracturing events as the columns cascade downwards. Bit by bit, the basalt crystals break off and plunge into the river at the base of the falls.

Although not necessarily one of the tallest waterfalls we would see, it certainly is one of the most picturesque, and served as the inspiration for architect Guðjón Samúelsson’s design of Reykjavik’s Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland.

After Svartifoss we hiked another 3.5-miles to Skaftafellsjökull, a glacier tongue spurting off from Iceland's largest ice cap, Vatnajökull. Just like “foss” means waterfall in Icelandic, “jökull” means glacier. I had now doubled my Icelandic vocabulary

Happy HerbIt was massive, despite the fact that over the last decade, Skaftafellsjökull has been receding dramatically, serving as another example of how climate change is steadily affecting the glaciers in Iceland and how stronger environmental policies are needed asap to preserve the world’s glaciers.

Foolishly we thought we would be able to walk on the glacier, not realizing that there would be so much water between our trail and it, because of the great amount of melting occurring. So, we satisfied ourselves by admiring it from afar.

Happy LoloI became curious as to why the edge of the tongue was so black and dirty looking, so when I got home I tried to find out why.

What I discovered is that a substance called Cryoconite, which is a powdery windblown dust made of a combination of small rock particles, soot and bacteria, gets trapped in holes in the glacier’s surface.

My wine barWhile many of the materials in cryoconite are natural materials, human activities based on coal use have increased the amount of black soot in cryoconite since the substance was first discovered in 1870, causing glaciers to darken in a phenomenon scientists call “biological darkening.” Besides being aesthetically unpleasing, this darker surface absorbs rather than reflects heat from the sun’s rays, making snow and glaciers melt more quickly.

Skaftafellsjökull was still an overwhelmingly impressive sight to see, so we figured we should enjoy it while we still could. I only hope that it will still be around for my grandchildren (who don’t exist yet) to enjoy in their lifetime.

What an incredible variety of experiences in two short hikes!

View from our camper at 10 pmWhen we got back to our campsite, it was still a lovely evening, a bit cooler, but still warm enough to sit outside for cocktail hour.

Later on, after everyone had gone to bed, I walked outside our camper and was treated to a splendid display of colors - snow-covered mountains squeezed between blues and the golden light of pre-sunset. It was 10:00 pm, but there was still plenty of light in the land of the Midnight Sun.