Blogs from Iceland, Europe - page 115

Why would I go to Iceland in October? Among other things, it was free. The airline I flew on this trip was Icelandair. Their hub is (no surprise) Reykjavik, Iceland. A cool promotion that they had was that anyone could stay over in Iceland for up to four days for no additional charge. ‘Who knows when I will get a chance to go to Iceland’ I thought and…so I did for three nights. As is now my habit, I looked for couchsurfers to stay with. I found one that I could stay with and they even rented cars for slightly less than the rental companies. That sounded about right to me. Sadly, this was not the ideal couchsurfing experience. The daughter of my host picked me up and took me to their home. I stayed in ... read more

8:10 PM Travelling around Iceland, climbing volcanoes, waterfalls and glaciers can be tiring, and there is a lot to be said for sitting in a bath of sulphur, so our final complete day was a much more relaxed affair. We had always planned to end the trip at Iceland‘s main tourist spot, the Blue Lagoon, which sits in the lava fields between Reykjavik and the airport (via a slight detour), gently whiling away our last hours in its soothing waters. The Blue Lagoon is something of an accident, the by-product of the nearby geothermal power station. Like the other power stations in the area, it uses the hot water below the ground to generate electricity, after which the water is left to pour into the volcanic craters and holes next to it. Some clever person years ... read more

10:00 PM We had chosen to stop off in Skogar because of how close it was to Sólheimajökull, but despite being nearby, it took a very long time to get there. The site was a short distance off Route 1, along one of Iceland’s many unpaved roads, this particular one full of rocks and potholes, and yesterday’s storm had left pools and small rivers flowing across the road. Eventually we abandoned the car and walked, realising that we weren’t going to get all the way without a 4x4. As we arrived, pretty much on time as oppose to the 20 minutes or so early as we had planned, a small group were leaving the meeting area and heading for the glacier. Thinking we may have turned up too late, we ran after them (well Lyndsey did, ... read more

Day 11: 10th October 2009 9:10 AM I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of nothing. No howling winds that had battered us for the previous 30 hours or so, just a quiet calm. I’m not sure if it was the silence that woke me up, but it was the first thing I noticed. I didn’t write a song in the end last night, but John did beat me at chess and we whiled the night away playing games, reading books and eating. It was quiet, but pleasant. This morning it is as still as when I woke up at whatever silly hour it was, and the stillness was also the first thing John and Lyndsey commented on when they got up. Losing a day shouldn’t be a major problem for us, ... read more

Day 10: 9th October 2009 6:40 PM It’s difficult to describe just how strong the winds have been today, but I’ll give it a go. The ducks on the pond outside were blown sideways this morning and disappeared not long after. The pond itself resembles a particularly stormy ocean, the wind whipping up waves that crash against the sides. Even the sheep, those most hardened of weather-beaten animals, have taken refuge outside the front door of the hostel where they are sheltered from the worst of the wind. Perhaps the best way to describe its power, though, is by describing the waterfall in the distance, which appears to actually be travelling upwards, or at least it has stopped and the water is doing nothing more than spraying about at the top. After our cup of tea ... read more