So, this is going to be an odd post. Probably. I've finally decided this is the right time to put down some my experiences from my trip to Iceland. It's only been five and a half odd years :).
To be completely honest, I didn't actually realize up until quite recently that I'd never gotten around to doing this!! When a friend recently asked me if I'd ever been to Iceland (and if so, what experiences I would recommend), I did what I always do and proceeded to dig up my blog post about our trip from August 2015. Only, there was no post! Just a couple of extremely short, gushing pieces posted from Iceland during said trip!
Now, I suppose it's not that big a deal really. I can easily guess what must have happened. There were too many photos to look through, life moved on too quickly once the break was over, no time to sit down and sift through my thoughts to actually put them down in a sensible way that could do justice to that amazing trip...
So why now? I guess it was just such an awesome week or so that the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to revisit it. Eventually, the only thing left to do was to go through the couple of thousand odd photos from the trip and try and recapture some of the magic :).
The plan had been a while in the making. A few of my friends and I had heard a lot about the natural majesty of Iceland. I'd also in the (then) recent past flown between Norway and the US via Reykjavik several times and seen first hand, albeit from a rather great elevation, some of said beauty. The general thing to do, however, seemed to be to rent a car and drive around the island, making short stops along the way.
The first and last days of the trip were spent meandering around Reykjavik to some extent, first waiting for the bus that would take us to our fist overnight halt at Hveragerði, and finally waiting for the flight to take us back to Oslo. Beautiful and uniquely characterful though the city was, it would really only serve as a footnote to what came between!
The first day ended with us exploring the hot-springs littered landscape around Hveragerði, giving us an early hint of the scenic beauty that we were to find. I also remember the outdoor hot tub, fed directly by water from one of the nearby hot springs! An amazing way to unwind, and, as it turned out, a good memory to hold on to for the next couple of days :D.
Early the next morning, we took the bus to Skógar. We did get a brief glimpse of several waterfalls on the way, including Seljalandsfoss, but Skógafoss itself was a sight to behold! A vast curtain of water and a constant thundering roar! There was even the sunshine to create the picturesque rainbow :).
We soon climbed up to the top and started following the Skógá river back up into the icy heights where it was born. It was also here that we first saw up close the black sand, covered in bright green moss and a thin covering of vegetation, that remains to me the indelible image of Iceland. And of course, the sheep :D.
The early part of the trail felt quite busy, from memory. We even met a newly wed couple at one of the many waterfalls that are part of the Skógá river, posing for what I imagine would have been a memorable set of wedding photos :). But as the hours went by, the people became few and far between, until we neared the upper reaches of the pass between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdallsjökull, its much larger neighbouring ice cap.
Soon we were into the clouds and climbing up along a mix of snow and that black sand I mentioned. I have to say, with no amazing views to detract from the strenuous climb and the oppressive closeness and dampness of the clouds made that last stretch one of the hardest parts of the trip. One can only imagine then, our joy, at finally making it to the small, cramped, but blissfully warm cabin at the top of the pass!!
Magically, almost, the clouds briefly parted to give us some astounding views of the lake and frozen landscape that the Fimmvörðuháls cabin is set amidst! Being an un-serviced cabin with no running water, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable stay, but the warmth and protection from the elements was the only thing that mattered really, and we were off again early the next morning. This time, with better visibility. Only just :). But even visibility of a few hundred meters can do wonders for one's mood. Not to mention a good night's sleep!
The trail was marked with stakes a couple of metres tall, but several of them were still buried under deep drifts of snow. (Remember, this was August :D.) The confusion of previous hikers had also not helped matters, but eventually we managed to find our way out of the thickest of the snow and clouds and were treated to the fantastic first views of Þórsmörk!
We were to spend the next few days traversing some of the many many trails that criss-cross this amazing bit of Icelandic landscape, and I have to say, looking back at the photos today, it never stops amazing me! Still, in many ways, crossing the Fimmvörðuháls pass was probably the most memorable part of the whole trip!
Entering Þórsmörk was in some ways like entering a different world! Wide riverbeds with meandering many-streamed rivers gleaming against the black sands. Verdant green mountain sides where you can see that the vegetation is practically just skin deep, the black underneath showing frequently. Steep-walled, hemmed in on three sides by glaciers, it is truly a wonder to behold!
After the long descent, it felt like having to make our way over the last ridge to Volcano Huts was unnecessary given there were a couple of other camps on the southern side of the valley. Except, neither of those camps had cabins or a restaurant! So I think in the end, it was a great call :D. They even had a pretty nice collection of board games for us to enjoy between walks and hikes :).
Each day for the next four days we explored the area around us. There were the trips over the Valahnúkur mountain with the fantastic views of the river valleys and mountains all around. There were several trips through the woods around Langidalur and Húsadalur, including some hikes into the foothills of the Tindfjöll mountains. The two trips that I think rate special mentions were the walk along the Stakkholtsgja canyon and the hike all the way to the top of Rjúpnafell!
The canyon wasn't far from where we were staying, but there happened to be a convenient bus route that would pick us up from Volcano Huts and drop us off at the mouth of the canyon. It also gave us first hand experience of the local modes of transport that needed high ground-clearance and high travel suspensions. It was off-roading heaven :). Can you imagine an off-road bus? Well, seeing how the roads tended to disappear under moving rivers, that's exactly what is necessary.
The canyon itself was a beautiful example of water and wind doing their thing. In between all the other hikes, this one stands out for the feeling of being tucked away from the rest of the world :). We decided to walk back instead of waiting for the bus. Something that involved fording a few rivers ourselves, and also watching a train of horses do the same!
The longest of our hikes in Þórsmörk took us to Rjúpnafell, the second tallest top in our vicinity, providing the best view available of the ice caps and glaciers surrounding Þórsmörk. The day was probably one of the best in terms of clear skies and sunshine the whole week! Which was helpful in a way. Unlike a lot of hikes in Norway, on this one, you could see the destination from absolutely miles away! Given the steep nature of said destination, the closer we got, the more nervous I got :).
Given the loose nature of the trail underfoot, the climb up the steep mountainside felt a bit precarious, even though the views from the top were mind-blowing, and definitely worth the effort :). But then there was the trip down. One of our group had suffered a twisted ankle the day before, so it was only the three of us that made it to the summit to enjoy the panoramic views. But there we also found a French lady who'd hiked up there on her own. Having made it to the top, she was somewhat unsure how she was going to make it back down when we appeared! I do wonder from time to time what she would have done if we hadn't :).
To be fair, the trip down was significantly easier than I'd imagined. We just had to make sure all cameras and other equipment was safely stowed away leaving both hands free, and once we started down a straight stretch, we didn't try to stop till we got the the turn. Plus no looking anywhere other than straight down at where I was putting my foot next :). Exhilarating would probably be one way of putting it!
As if the hikes and natural splendour weren't enough, we even got to see some pretty spectacular northern lights a couple of times during our stay in Þórsmörk :). Truly a week of highlights!!
In the end when it was time to return we took one of the off-road busses back to more civilized roads, at which point we transferred onto a more regular bus back to Reykjavik. But not before a quick stop at Seljalandsfoss :).
I wish I could say the return trip went off like a charm :D. Hiking around for a week with all your belongings fitting in a 25l backpack tends to result in a less than ideal state of being when it comes to nice restaurants letting one in for dinner :P. However, there was this amazing seafood place, appropriately called Fish & More where we enjoyed great food, judgement-free :).
Then it was a long wait at the Harpa Concert Hall enjoying the interesting architecture and reflecting on the truly wonderful week that had been. It was a rather late night flight, and just when we had gone through check-in, we found out that there was some uncertainty as to whether it would depart that night at all! Several hours of waiting at the airport to find out what was going on, followed by not enough hours of sleep at one of the small hotels around the corner from the airport later, we were finally on our way back :).
So there we have it! The long lost Iceland post :). Two of our party have left Norway since, but there's always been a feeling that we want to go back. Maybe explore another part, the north, west, maybe even a roadtrip. For a rather small country, there's truly a lot to experience in Iceland.
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As for the here and now, it's was quite a nice few weeks of skiing up until about a week or so ago. But since then the Mercury has shot upwards to consistently above 0 :(. The snow is still in evidence, but much reduced. I'm still holding out hope that a forecasted downturn in temperature will result in an upturn in cross-country skiing, but we shall see.
In the mean time, the days are getting longer and with it, life is getting brighter. Variant B.1.1.7 notwithstanding...
