Iceland: THE TORTURED SOUTH

Leaving Vatnajokull behind we are making our way towards the rift that is slowly slicing Iceland in two - from SW all the way to NE.
As we travel west the sheer powers of fire and ice are clearly demonstrated by the tortured landscape.







Our first stop is at Skaftafell, a park tucked in the nooks of the countryside - as if hiding from the elements that surround it. But even here, the vegetation knows better - hiding from the elements - the trees and a myriad of other plants, lichens and mosses prefer to hug the ground rather than to expose their bodies to the wind and winter colds.


A short detour from Ring Road takes us away and up - to the famous Black Falls named after the dark basalt columns that host a 20 meter waterfall named Svartifoss,  (svarti = black, foss = waterfall).

Dark, hexagonal columns surrounding the falls are a sure reminder of the volcanic activity in the area.


These are the falls, and columns, that inspired the architect of Reykjavik's Hallgrímskirkja church.



Although the waterfall is beautiful and impressive, it is the rock that makes this place very special. These hexagonal basaltic columns only form when lava cools off at a very rapid pace. They are  brittle - the large chunks "often" break off but because they contain a lot of iron, they are very hard so water or other elements won't change their shapes any time soon.







The views from the hills above Svartifoss are anything but ordinary - the vast coastal flood plains, as dark as basalt columns at the falls, lead the eye all the way to the frigid sea..

...

Back on the highway and heading closer and closer to the tectonic rift valley, the countryside becomes more and more bizarre. Beautifully shaped bluffs with hundreds of well-fed waterfalls (the rain being their main source) demand to be admired, photographed, painted, recorded .... one could spend weeks and weeks in this part of Iceland alone.

The ocean also testifies to a constant change - a new island "sprouted" out not so long ago. Much to the delight of many birds that visit the area it is still rising, being slowly uplifted by the forces below.

Once in a while there is a farm; also tucked in and protected by the bluffs. 

Just a reminder that every group, anywhere, has its black sheep.

Close to the beautiful town of Vik a set of strange rock formations rises from the sea. 

Make no mistake: these are not your ordinary rocks!

There, a long, long time ago, was a ship that strayed into the wild waters near Vik. 

When the night fell, a group of mighty trolls waded in, and seizing the ship, tried to drag it to land.

They must have overestimated their strength (or maybe they had no watches) but at dawn they were still quite far from the beach. And when the sun rose and hit them with its rays, everything turned to stone.
People named them named Reynisdrangar.

There they are bravely resisting the never ceasing powers of erosion and providing homes for the nesting birds.

The sun is going down when we travel towards the "volcano" part of the south.
Surely there were more volcanoes hidden under the glaciers of Vatnajokull but now we are hoping to get a glimpse of the most famous ones.
It is too bad that we are (again) in a hurry to reach our destination of the day - a B&B in Reykholt.



I have no other choice but to shoot the photos from the back seat of our SUV.

Thanks to Photoshop I am later able to retrieve some of the recorded information.






Straight ahead is Eyjafjallajökull a glacier Eyjafjalla. Cool? Yes! It covers the top of a famous volcano that erupted in 2010 - the ashes from that eruption covered the skies all over Europe and beyond. Remember?

And another one is just further down the road: Hekla.
Hekla means "hell" a suitable name for the most active volcano of this land. It would be nice to explore it closer and visit a museum at its foothills.
Next time, we hope.

It is late when we arrive to Reykholt, our overnight stop.
We are far away and a ghostly glow is shining on the horizon - a strange welcome to us.



Only later will we discover that these are the lights of geothermal greenhouses.
Of course - we have nearly completed our loop; we are back at the western part of the continental drift.