ICELAND DAY 5 – ROCKS AND ICE AND SNOW AND JEDI

 

(readers note: I changed the format, so the pictures follow the relevant paragraphs.  Be sure to read all the way to the end.  Click on any picture to see all the pictures in full size)

It’s cold and windy when we wake up.  June be damned, they named this place ICEland, so we knew what we were getting into when we signed up.  But we’re here, Iceland is here and we have the gear for it, so out the door we go.  It’s just a short drive to Myrdalshreppur where we park and hike 45 minutes to the tongue of the Solheimajokull glacier.  We learn two things about glaciers. First, they are massive.  Academically, we knew this before, but when you see one in person, you’re still surprised.  The leading edge wall of ice here is 300 feet high, and our pictures just can’t capture the enormity of the thing.  Second, glaciers are really dirty.  Not litter or trash, but as the ice moves towards the sea, it picks up dirt and rocks and volcano ash so in some places there is a zebra stripe effect and others it’s just black.  When you look higher up, you see more of the snow-white-caps you expect.

As we get back into the car, the weather is getting worse, so we head to Vik.  Going over the mountain into town the snow starts to accumulate quickly.  Just after the peak there is a car tilting precipitously off the edge of the road and a wrecker is already there to pull him back.  Somehow swimming is a favorite sport in this frozen country and every town has a public pool of some sort, typically heated by the geothermal steam that is readily available here.  We finish the decent and head to the pool in Vik, which looks like a complex you can find in suburban towns across the States.  Except this one is open year round, and today’s snow is simply business as usual.    We sit outside in the warmest of the tubs, 40C, as the snow falls on our faces and cold wind blows our hair.  On the mountain between us and the North Atlantic, we see a pair of hikers fighting mightly against the elements to try to scale to the summit.  We discuss how our idea for today is better than theirs.  A dip in the cool pool and a few minutes in the natural steam room and it’s time for lunch.  Smidjan Brugghus for some local brews and good burgers.  We strike up a conversation with the Americans at the next table and tell them about the pool.  We get a good laugh when we realize they were the people we saw trying to hike the mountain.

Heading back east, the weather clears just enough for us to stop at Hjorleifshofdi.  This place is now commonly referred to as the Yoda Cave, as the opening to the cave resembles the Jedi master so much that part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was filmed there.  The cave is a tall quarter sphere that’s fun to explore while doing your best Yoda impression for a few minutes and the pix are very social worthy.  On the west side of the same mountain, we find the Hjorleifur hike, a UNESCO site which take you to the mountaintop grave of Iceland’s first settler.  The path is easily identifiable, but only 9” wide in most places and very steep.  The most challenging here for us so far, but fun and with great views.

Our last stop in the area is the Black Sand Beach.  Mandy has been all about this one, but I’ve been skeptical.  She was right.  Even in a country with great geology, this site is a standout.  As you walk closer to the sea, the ground changes from fist size smooth black rocks to smaller smooth black stones to course black diamonds to silky fine black sand that your feet sink into with every step.  Surrounding the beach are the basalt columns, tall sheer cliffs of deep black stone that resemble some over-exaggerated Dr. Seuss rendition of a pipe organ.  Two final columns jut into the sky just past the breakers.  We’re amazed how much fun rocks can be and spend almost an hour exploring and walking.