Blogs from Höfn, South, Iceland, Europe - page 3

Today was a day on the road, travelling from the highlands, to the south west and then across to the east of the island (due to the presence of Vatnajökull, taking up most of the central eastern part of the island it was not possible to take a more direct route). Yesterday we saw the western side of this monster glacier and today we have seen most of its southern edge and it dominates the whole south eastern area with little between the glacial mountains and the sea. En route we stopped at Dyrhólaey, named for the arch stretching into the sea (holey door). This place is well known for its puffins and windy aspect. We experienced both today. The puffins were fantastic but the wind was so strong that it was hard to stay on ... read more

"We went on a snowmobile. We made stops. It was fun. We went on a car boat. We saw lots of icebergs. It was fun. We went to the beach. It had little icebergs. I drew a faec with ice and sand. I twas fun. We hiked up to a waterfall. I made a little sail boat. It was fun" - Sofia Journal Entry Aug 16, 2012 After a great 2 nights in Myvatn, it was time to head East. This was a long drive, but a beautiful one. We passed a lot of beautiful waterfalls and got out of the car on a couple of them. I had a lot of fun driving with Daddy. We listened to music, I played on my nintendo and ipod, and also watched a movie. Daddy also had me ... read more

The day began with a stop at the Vatnajokull National Park western offices and museum for a talk by the director of the park's western region. Vatnajokull is the glaicer in the southeastern part of the country that covers roughly 1/8 of Iceland. As we found later in the day it is also the name of a local beer that uses indigenous thyme for a slight floral taste. In addition to the mid-Atlantic ridge, Iceland is over a hotspot in Earth's crust centered under Vatnajokull. The are 10 volcanoes in the park, 7 of which are under the ice cap so there is a long history of interplay between fire and ice. One unique feature is the hyaloclastic brown rift rock that is formed under glaciers when lava interacts with ice and water. It is rarely ... read more

The Skaftafell glacier in the Vatnajokill National Park is very large. The drive south is on rugged roads. It was good to have a 4WD, as some of the hair pin bends and steep inclines made it a little "exciting". We met some local Reindeer hunters on the road. Hunting licenses are issued by lottery, and these two guys were both lucky winners of a limited number of licenses. They send the carcas to a processing plant for their winter supply of meat, but they had the trophy antlers with them.... read more

Portem tres dies de viatge i costa trobar adjectius per definir tot el que estem veient i sentint. Islàndia és pura màgia. És com visitar diferents paisos (per no dir planetes) en un mateix. Un es sent minúscul enmig de la inmensitat de la naturalesa, pura, incorrompuda de la la illa: volcans, cascades inimaginables, terres àrides, paisatges impossibles, glaciars, icebergs, llacs inabastables, rius....En molts moments del viatge tenim la sensació d'haver arribat a la fi del món. Les pringades, d'altra banda són vàries. A l'episodi conegut per alguns de vosaltres de l'aeroport (vam sortir amb 8 hores de retard), cal afegir altres incidències, com un clima més advers del previst i del descrit a les (males) guies de viatges consultades. D'altra banda, l'amabilitat dels islandesos és com el sol, brilla per la seva absència:són uns bordes ... read more