Iceland, 2004

Sarah with the icebergs, driving the lonely highways




November 24, 2004

Godan dag,

We arrived back home from Iceland last night.

It was unseasonably cold there. Usually the temperature in November is in
the mid 30s to low 40s; for us it was below freezing from the day we landed
until the day we left. And snow, too. Usually the snows come later in the
year. This year there was a snow storm the day before we got there and we
had snow on the ground for our entire visit. Although just below the Arctic
Circle, Iceland's weather is moderated by the Gulf Stream, so its
temperature is usually closer to that of NYC than northern Norway.

Iceland has only one national road, #1; it encircles the island. It is
mostly two-lane blacktop, but for our visit it was largely two-lane white
top. We saw cars which had fallen (slid) off of the road (there are very few
guardrails or shoulders) and one which had veered across the road and
slammed head-on into the guardrail just a few minutes before we got there.
The reason that only the coastal road is needed is that 2/3 of the people
live in the greater Reykjavîk area and the rest are scattered along the
coast. The interior is rugged, mountainous wilderness even by Icelandic
standards.

Driving stresses aside, we had a great time. The snow enhanced the scenery
by giving sharp contrast to the dark volcanic rock. Since we were in
Iceland for only 7 days, we only had time to see Iceland's south from
Reykjavîk (the capital) east to Höfn, about 500 km.
Map.


On this route, Highway #1 passes several glaciers, one, Vatnajökull, is the
largest in Europe; we saw several of its big toes (one of which is 15 km
across). Glaciers cover more than 10% of Iceland. 'Jökull' means 'Glacier.' [Except for the
glaciers and the snow, Iceland is a lot like Hawai'i: A circular volcanic island with a road around the periphery.]

A small bay, Jökulsarion, had many icebergs floating in the water. (Two James Bond
movies were filmed here.) In the cold crisp air, with no one else around,
we could hear the sounds of the icebergs grinding against each other.
East Iceland



One of Vatnajökull's tongues.



Jökulsarion


We saw lots of sheep farms. This time of year sheep look like animated
stacks of wool. There are also Icelandic horses, a hearty breed of horse
about the size of a large pony. They are descended from stock brought by
the Vikings. Horseback riding is a popular activity, even in winter. As
for wild animals, we saw few. We did see a herd of caribou crossing the
road. The birds largely migrate south for the winter. Maybe there is
something good to be said for being 'bird-brained.'


Höfn Harbor


The fishing village of Höfn sits atop a peninsula that creates a harbor for
the fishing boats and gives a great view of Iceland's southeastern shore and
glaciers. This is as far east as we got. We had a very good fish dinner
(haddock) at a local restaurant. Cod is Iceland's main export, but
Icelanders prefer to eat haddock. [300,000 Icelanders can't be wrong.] We
stayed in the east near Skaftafell, one of the toes of Vatnajökull.


Our Icelandic cabin.




While there, we saw the Northern Lights which ran across the northern sky.
Green and red were the predominant colors.
http://www.east.is/zones/zone_page.asp?ZoneID=11

With all of the snow in the mountain, of course there are waterfalls. We
saw several. The cascades were enhanced by icicles

We took a day trip from Reykjavîk to see þingvellir, Iceland's first
national park. [ 'þ' is pronounced 'th.'] It was here, in the tenth century that Viking settlers
formed the first European republic and the council met annually for a week
or two each summer. Here also is the rift between the North American and
European tectonic plates. By driving across þingvellir, one literally
drives from North America to Europe.

Because the plates rub against each other, they generate a lot of heat.
Iceland uses the hot water produced by this geothermal activity to heat
their homes and provide hot water for the faucets (it smells faintly of
rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide))

This geothermal heat is also used to heat the numerous greenhouses that
produce Iceland's fruits and vegetables year-round in Hveragerdi


Volcanos are still active here. One is currently spewing forth, but it is
inaccessible by road, even in the summer.
We attempted to go into the higher elevations to see Iceland's most
picturesque waterfall and geyser, but after becoming mired in the snow
several times, we turned back. We would have needed four-wheel drive, not
our Nissan Micra (an up-grade from a size 14 roller-skate). We hope to try
that road again on a return trip.



Iceland Cascade


We did some shopping in Reykjavîk . Food and clothing are expensive. Most
things are imported. They raise sheep and do a lot of fishing, but even
these items are costly. The cost of living here is high except for heat and
hot water. Aside from the old shops in the downtown area near the harbor
where we did a lot of browsing, there are suburban malls which look like
their counterparts in the U.S. except that the signs are in Icelandic and
the prices are about double what we are used to.


Sarah, downtown Reykjavîk


Several people have told us that there are NO trees in Iceland; that the
Viking cut them ALL down. We found this to be untrue. There are lots of
trees. Mini forests can be seen in every niche where a micro climate allows
for tree growth. Most of these trees, we learned, were imported from Norway
and Alaska and must have spread; but two of the original forests still
exist. One, which we saw, is near Reykjavîk; the other is not.