Welcome to Iceland--say cheese!

HOW TO USE THIS SITE--click on pictures for bigger view. And at the bottom of the page, click on "OLDER POSTS" for continuation of the adventure!

Climbing the glacial tongue

July 4th, 2007. On Solheimajokull, a glacial tongue of the "mother" glacier, Myrdulsjokull (jokull = glacier). We strapped on crampons! And learned how to walk on a glacier, avoiding crevasses. The black stuff you see is volcanic ash. Jeff and Donna pose under an ice arch, in a photo that looks oddly photo-shopped for some reason.

Aw...

...ain't they cute?

Also July 4th, on the way back from the glacier walk, at Seljalandsfoss (foss = waterfall).

Where the old Things were

July 5th. We picked up our mighty Toyota Avensis wagon and headed out on the ringroad. First stop: Thingvellir, where the Althings were held--the parliamentary meetings, starting in 930 AD.
The valley is subsiding because it's where North American and European tectonic plates are moving apart. Hence these big rifts. The chieftans set up camp sites up here for the Althing, for two weeks each summer.

Geysir (the original)

July 5th. Onward we went to the eponymous Geysir, except the actual Geysir is pretty much asleep now, and Strokkur, his younger brother, spouts off every five minutes instead.
The whole area is covered with steaming sink-holes and hot springs. What a pong!

Tourists harrassing the locals

Half of the Icelanders believe in the "hidden people," including elves, trolls, and fairies. These are represented heavily in all sorts of art, especially big lawn ornaments.

Gullfoss--the Golden Falls

Gullfoss is often considered the most beautiful falls in Iceland because of the dual folding formation. There is a monument to Sigridur Tomasdottir, who prevented the falls from being "developed" for hydropower.