No Northern Lights last night
Iceland is volcanic rocks, glaciers, ice and waterfalls. Nuff said. And we are loving it.
Fewer waterfall today, some glacial shyness, and lots of coastal fabulousness; think pounding surf on black-sand beaches, sea birds soaring, vast ocean vistas and dramatic fjord majesty.
We spent many hours rubber necking, photographing and bothering reindeer (not endemic – nothing other than birds are, to be honest) on our long trip eastwards on Highway 1. Sudden stops to photograph wild Santa helpers began to be almost tedious as we ventured into the wider southeast corner of Iceland. Warning – teacher moment ahead: Iceland’s endemic mammalian land wildlife is limited to Arctic Fox and very lost random Polar Bears (that don’t stay). Everything else has been introduced. Think mice, rats, reindeer, rabbits and mink. Cats and dogs (and domesticated livestock) are wisely clinging to the warmth of humans; think homes, barns, shops and hotels.
Kilometres of stunning black-sand coastline, dramatic towering cliffs, elegant waterfalls, bright orange lighthouses, snow-capped peaks, winding roads, bowling-green flat hay plains competed with each other to provide jaw-dropping photo stops. Most are too majestic for a photo to do justice.
A non-scenic stop was a visit to Beljandi micro-brewery in Breiddalsvik. Adam, the guide/brewery assistant/bar staff (he does pretty much everything at the place) gave us a fun tour of the former slaughterhouse (his words) turned brewery. We went behind the scenes as he explained the processes to make the variety of beers and he shared the well-known story (for us, courtesy of BG) of how beer was illegal in Iceland until 1 March 1989 = Beer Day in Iceland. Then it was tasting time of their range of brews. Yum!
A further road trip through a stunning mountain pass took us to Egilsstadir, an inland service town on the banks of the Lagerfljot River, where we rushed to the local swimming pool for a hot tub session. After our very enjoyable, calming soak, we had a terrific group dinner, getting to know each other that little bit more.
Again, we hope for no clouds and a dancing sky, but the conditions do not look good.
Add comment
Comments