Thursday 31 December 2015

Iceland: Bits and Pieces

          I wish now to hurry on with this Icelandic saga. So far the journey has been one of largish, discrete chunks of experience from the "Blue Lagoon" to the "Northern Lights," "Horse Riding" and "Water Birds." Although the last big event was the Golden Circle tour (still to be posted by Lucy), the rest of our stay seemed to be more like a series of small, but interesting observations. For example:-
1.       Many of the buildings were covered in corrugated iron, and painted. This often gave the impression of buildings made from Royal Icing, a not unpleasant sight.

2.       The lake which I mentioned in my post, "Iceland: Arrival," was about 150 metres deep, 90% of its water being fed from underground sources, and so clear that scuba divers often suffer from vertigo when swimming in the lake.


3.       On two evenings, we dined at the same very pleasant restaurant, good food and wine, finished off with a glass of Schnapps.


4.       On the way to our eating place, we stopped to watch the children enjoying themselves - and some of them were very good indeed.


5.       Under the floor of a local town, hit by an earthquake in the not too distant past, can be seen (not too clearly) the divide between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The divide can be seen more clearly out in the countryside.


The Eurasian Edge
The North American Edge (on the far side of the lake)
6.       At no time did the sun rise very high above the horizon, our daylight time being approximately from 11am-ish to about 4.30pm-ish. During those hours, the sun slipped along just above the horizon. And there was still a week to go to the winter solstice.


7.       We kept well clear of the Rock Trolls but saw no elves, although one knew where their cities were because the road was obliged to go round, not through, them.



8.       In the far distance we saw the volcano that famously erupted in 2010, and


9.       The geyser, close up, that erupts every four minutes or so.


10.     Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.......except that we knew that all good things must come to an end.......but not yet!










12 comments:

  1. Great shots of the Rock Trolls. And Lucy looks as happy as a clam, assuming clams are ever happy.

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    1. Hullo Bruce; Never heard the expression, "happy as a clam." But she certainly was, and continues to be, happy. In fact I tend to measure my success rate (if that's really necessary) by the amount she laughs. And that is often!

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  2. I find myself intrigued by the way light plays in this place. Night seems bright in Reykjavík and the day hazy and misty.

    The children are all wearing helmets. I suppose that's wise in the cold with ice about. I wonder if that forms part of their playworld.

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    1. Hi RW; When it's night it is very dark. Much of the evening light is from the street-lighting and other artificial lighting. Out in the rural areas it is as dark as pitch. The mistiness of the day depends upon where you are. The air is surprisingly crystal clear in some places (surprising because Iceland is the middle of a big, rough ocean), but very misty close to hot spring outlets.

      Both when skating and horse-riding, helmets are worn. The piled snow is packed hard, and much of it has turned to ice. If that forms part of the children's playworld, they are lucky kids inded.

      Footnote to night skies: At the bottom Lucy's post, "Iceland, birding and icing (on the cake)" is a link to a webcam of the Tjornin which gives an accurate view of our area of Reykjavik at all times. (Our apartment was behind the church.)

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  3. A magical place, so memorable a visit and birthday for Lucy (who does look happy as a clam). Thanks for sharing, Tom. Happy New Year to you both.

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    1. Hi Marja-leena; Is it because clams have such wide "mouths" I wonder? It's an ongoing pleasure to share, and a Happy New Year from both of us.

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  4. Left to myself in such a region, I might decide the sun is really a large comet following the horizon. Wonderful photos!

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    1. Hullo Geo; Mmmmmm! Once again you have demonstrated your gift for seeing the world through different eyes. A precious gift!

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  5. A land of edges, clearly marked.

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    1. Hi Zhoen; Certainly a land of clarity.

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  6. wonderful. getting crusty juggler to fill in any gaps in your tale (she lived in iceland for over a year) and very much wishing i could go there soon!

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    1. Hullo Agnieszka; Lucky you for having 'crusty juggler' to share more experience of Iceland with you. I feel quite envious at her having lived for a whole year there.

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