|
|
|||||||||
| The adventure started at Heathrow on 27th
July 2002, Iceland air flight number FI451 to Reykjavik. |
|
|
Sunday 28th JulyWeather: Sunny Arrived safely in Reykjavik and met up with our tour leader, Gunnar and driver, Beaky, who will be showing us around the country for the next two weeks. Accompanying our leader for the first part of our trip was Prostur, a trainee tour guide. The bus a rugged Mercedes 29 seater which can go any where apparently! Anyway when all the group had arrived we started heading towards the campsite. We stopped on the way at Krisuvik a geothermal area with boiling and bubbling mud and water. This was our introduction to the Icelandic geothermal smell. Believe me it stunk, BAD! We reached the campsite and set up camp, our home for the next two weeks a very spatial two man ridge tent. Dinner was pasta cooked by Gunner and Pruster. As it was my birthday I felt the need for beer (as you do!). I found a Spar type shop near the campsite so a couple of us rushed over to get some tinnies. Disaster of disasters the beer sold in shops has only got a alcohol content of 2.5%! Well it had to do until tomorrow where we were going to stop at an off-licence for some real beer. Later on our leaders had another little surprise for us, a visit to the pub! We arrived at about 23:00, but that was okay as the pubs don't close until 24:00, even on Sundays, take heed Britain! Sat down for a couple of pints and a chat with the group. Beer verdict, hey it was 5% that's good enough for me! |
Monday 29th JulyWeather: Overcast Firstly I can't get used to how light it is in this place! The return from the pub after 24:00 it was still light enough for some kids to be playing basket ball without floodlights! Today the bus took us into the mountains from our campsite. At the top we were dropped off and we began a walk back down through another geothermal area. The smell of sulphur was not apparent here but the clouds of steam coming from the ground told us we were in another geothermal hot bed. We followed a path down the valley passing waterfalls and steam vents on the way. Eventually we reached a stream of hot water fed from this geothermal activity. It was a bit to hot to bathe there so we had to head down a bit further to where the hot stream met a cold stream. After that point the stream was a comfortable temperature to bathe in! So we all stripped down to our swim costumes and jumped in! Believe me it was damn cold outside but in the stream in was really hot, surreal! This was a popular place as another group of people did the same soon after we got out! After our bathe we headed further down the valley to our pick up point, fording streams and rivers on our way (this was eventful for people without waterproof boots). It was back to campsite for lunch and pack. Then we headed onto our next camp site at Porsmork. On the way we stopped pick up beer, 24 cans of Becks and 6 cans of Viking Gold our supplies for the holiday! We also stopped at Seljalandsfoss a high wispy waterfall which we could walk behind. We finally arrived at the campsite where we were going to be staying for the next two nights in a very picturesque area called Godaland. We were surrounded by rivers, glaciers and mountains. Again our leaders cooked and tonight we had a meal of cod with a ginger sauce. After lunch most of the group stayed around drank their recently acquired beer and chatted. |
|
|
Tuesday 30th JulyWeather: Sunny spells After breakfast we headed across the valley to the Tungnakvislajokull Glacier. We were able to walk onto the glacier, easy going up but very slippery on the way back down even though the top surface of the glacier was black from rubble! We spent awhile sitting around the glacier taking in the sight before heading back to the campsite for lunch. After lunch we crossed the river via a little foot bridge, and walked over Mount Valahnukur (458m or 1503ft) to go for a sauna! On top of the mountain the views were breathtaking with mountains and glaciers in all directions. We sat down for a bit at the summit to regain our breath before descending down the valley and to the now well earned sauna. The sauna was built for a maximum of six very friendly people. We managed to get ten people in! The sauna was not a natural one which apparently we will be visiting later. After the sauna a dive into the shower which was freezing cold! Dress then head back to the river this time via the valley so we didn't get all hot and sweaty again! On our way we passed a curious cave which was about 20ft above the ground, the cave is said to be the home to a sheep rustler in days gone by! We arrived back to the river and our little footbridge crossing, to the bus and back to camp. Another tasty dinner was served up tonight again prepared by our leaders. The speciality was a lamb and vegetable stew with rice, not that different from Welsh Broth. Tonight the tour leaders had another little surprise up their sleeves. It was Heidi's birthday and the tour leaders came up with a little birthday cake with candles. But little did one of the leaders know that the other notified us of another forthcoming birthday on Monday 5th August!!! (To be continued further down this page!) Well as it was Heidi's birthday it would have been rude not to drink beer and chat into the night! So we did! |
Wednesday 31st JulyWeather: Sunny The day started off after packing the camp, with a walk up a gorge not that far from our campsite. At the end of the walk we scrambled up through a cave to a spectacular waterfall coming through the roof. After the cave we headed back to the bus and carried on to the next camp site at Skaftafell, the furthest point east of Iceland that we will be visiting. We stopped off for the obligatory look at the sights on the way. The stops this time included Skogafoss, Dyrholaey and Vik I Myrdal. Skogafoss is only 60m high but nevertheless it was still a very spectacular waterfall. We took a path up the right flank of the waterfall to a viewing ledge, here is where I took the photograph opposite. Legend says that an early settler named Prasi hid a chest of gold here, but it has never been found. So there may really be a chest of treasure at the end of the rainbow! Dyrholaey is a 120m spur of rock cut into a natural arch by Atlantic breakers which stands in water deep enough to allow boats to pass through, hence the name "door hill island". This area is also a prominent nesting site for Arctic Terns and Puffins, but there will be more about them later! At the headland there stands a light house which warns passing ships of the offshore sea stacks called Haidrangur. The next stop was Vik I Myrdal a little tourist village which had a famous wool shop where you could get these outrageously patterned Icelandic woollen jumpers. Apparently, according to the Lonely Planet only tourists buy and wear them. Well some one should tell Gunnar our tour leader as he bought one and wore it around the camp! Whilst in the shop Heidi bought some wool and spent the next two days making a beanie hat whilst travelling on the bus or in camp. I soon got bored at looking at wool, jumpers and other tourist rubbish and I went in search of something else, well food to be exact. Next to the wool shop was a petrol station which also sold ice-cream, I needn't look any further. I headed over and bought myself a large cornet which was then dipped in chocolate sauce. Well that was me happy! Finally we arrived at Skaftafell and to our massive campsite along side the information centre. Again the tour leaders prepared the meal and we sat down to a meal of Chilli, of course done in the traditional Icelandic way, which really was no different to how any one else done it! The other thing I forgot to mention is that Icelanders have their evening meal always at 19:00hrs. They are so determined about this you can normally set your watch to it! I did one day and I was 2 hours late the next day, strange! |
|
|
Thursday 1st AugustWeather: Sunny Today we explored the Skaftafell National Park area by foot with Gunnar, sadly we had to say goodbye to Prostur as he was heading to a party on Vestmannaeyjar. On the loop walk we visited the waterfalls of Hunderfoss and Svartifoss and summited Skerholl, Fremrihnaukur, Nyrdrihnaukur and Kristinartinder. The first waterfall we came across on our walk was Hunderfoss or "Dog Waterfall" apparently many an Icelandic pooch met its fate due to this waterfall! The next waterfall we came across was the very impressive Svartifoss with its unusual basalt rock formations, see the picture opposite. Further along we reached Sjonarsker with its view disc and views across the Skeidararsandur. We carried on towards our goal summit Kristinartinder, climbing over Skerholl (526m / 1726ft), Fremrihnaukur (610m / 2001ft) and Nyrdrihnaukur (706m / 2316ft) on the way. We stopped for lunch just before the last uphill jaunt to Kristinartinder in a lovely little valley with a stream. Here Gunnar opened his rucksack and produced a number of Thermos flasks with hot water for soup, tea and the likes. I asked him if he was mad carrying all that up, his reply was short and simple. "No not really, you are mad for carrying all that cold water when there is enough of it around here!" With that he got up with his cup, walked to the stream and took a drink! We reached the base of Kristinartinder (907m / 2976) where we had the option of scrambling to the summit (1126m / 3694ft). The majority of the group headed up to be greeted with a brief glimpse of the surrounding views before the mist started to roll in. We all agreed that it was still worth it though. After a rest on the summit and the possibility of the mist lifting, we eventually headed back down and continued along the loop back towards the campsite, stopping off at various areas to take in the views of the mountains and the glaciers. We arrived back in the campsite absolutely cream crackered! It was at this point Gunnar asked if any one wanted to go for a swim in a local swimming pool with Jacuzzi which was heated by burning rubbish! So we all grabbed our costumes and jumped on the bus to be taken to the pool. The pool might as well not been there as we all jumped in to the kettles (Jacuzzi), the bubbles were off but the heated water was doing just a good job on our aching muscles! After a hour or so we reluctantly headed back to camp and for a supper of haddock in a cheese sauce. The customary couple of beers then to bed. |
Friday 2nd AugustWeather: Start off cloudy with rain later The day started with a tractor ride out to Ingolfshofoi. A headland which stands 76m above a sandy barrier island. This is the place where Ingolfur Arnarson, Iceland's first settler stayed. The place is rife with birds, in particular, Puffins and Great Skewers. On our walk around we came across some very young Great Skewers, their parents were a peed off and started to dive bomb us! Apparently if they made contact they could easily knock you out. From Ingolfshofoi we headed to Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon. A 100m deep lagoon where the Breidamwekurjokull glacier deposits icebergs. A quite spectacular scene and not only I think that as this place was the host of a number of scenes filmed in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill. While we there we took a boat trip onto the lagoon on a specially adapted boat. Apparently the water temperature of the lagoon is about 1° and the glaciers which were clean and bright blue in colour had just turned over. From the glacier lagoon we headed back to the camp, again via the swimming pools and the hot kettles. Finally back at the campsite for a dinner of pasta with ham and pepperoni, again another excellent meal cooked by our tour leader. The night ended with a couple of beers before turning in for the night. |
|
|
Saturday 3rd AugustWeather: Dry at first then rain Today we went for a walk on a glacier. We got kited up with crampons and an ice axe (lethal in the wrong hands) and headed up on the glacier. Before we got to far we had some basic instruction on how to walk on the glacier, believe me it is quite difficult when you have spikes on the bottom off your boots! Eventually we started walking up the glacier with our leader pointing out bits of interest like glacier rivers and crevices that seem not to have a bottom! All too soon our time was up and we had to head off the glacier and back to our campsite for lunch. After lunch it was pack up and on the road again. This time our end destination was a campsite at Holaskol. On the way we visited Nupstadir the oldest turf church and Dverghamrar a strange Basalt formation otherwise known as Dwarves Church. We arrived at the campsite, the weather had finally turned and it was raining quite steady. We quickly erected all the tents. That night we sat down to a meal of salted cod. |
Sunday 4th AugustWeather: Rain Today we did two walks, one in the morning and the second after lunch, which was optional. For the first walk we headed down to Eldgja, "the Fire Gorge"and on to the Ofaerufoss waterfall. We were going to carry on to the summit of Gjatindur but the weather was too bad and also there was no point as the views would be hampered due to the low cloud. Anyhow the waterfall was spectacular enough and well worth braving the elements for. After lunch we had the choice of staying in the bus and catching a lift back to the campsite or trekking down the valley. Well the rain wasn't really that bad so we hiked! We finally arrived back in the campsite rather soggy and sad looking. Anyway we all soon cheered up when the traditional Icelandic Christmas meal of lamb got served up. To put us in the mood Gunnar sang an Icelandic Christmas Carol. For our bit we 'sang' a British one. The evening turned somewhat eventful when we got raided by a group of young Islanders looking for a party. They came and sat with us for a while but when they realised that alcohol supplies were virtually non existent they soon left! |
|
|
Monday 5th AugustWeather: Rain then clearing Packed up the now soggy camp, it had been raining most of the night, as we were on to our next camp at Landmannalaugar. After packing up we headed out for another little walk to one of Gunnars favourite spots, Alfabatnakrokr and to yet another waterfall! We soon realised why it was a favourite as the place was so peacefully and unspoilt, we felt privileged to be here. We headed back to the bus and stopped off at a curious looking hut in the middle of no where. The hut was similar to the British bothie with a cooking and sleeping area inside. Back on the bus we then headed towards Landmannalaugar. We arrived there and had to put up the tents on gravel and stone. After bending twenty million tent pegs we finally got the tents up! The best thing about this camp site was the geothermal heated natural pool, which we all jumped into after erecting the tents. Gunnar joined us in the pool and was telling us about the times he sat in this pool on New Years Eve -20° on the outside +40° in the pool and watching the northern lights. Note to myself must come back here in the winter. Eventually we had to leave the pool (kicking and screaming) for dinner at seven! Tonight's dinner was Tuna Pasta, not my favourite fish but again it was really tasty! As I mentioned above, Gunnar's birthday was today and we arranged a little surprise of balloons, cake and a beanie hat, hand made by Heidi. He was little surprised but I think that was because we sang happy birthday in tune! |
Tuesday 6th AugustWeather: Sunny showers We had two walks to do today, the first up mount Blahnukur (943m / 3094ft) and the second was along the lava fields to an area of geothermal activity. Blahnukur is the name of the big blue peak which is south of the campsite. In fact the name Blahnukur means blue peak! After the tough climb to the top we were rewarded with spectacular views around this colourful mountainous area. The return journey back to the campsite took us through Laugahraun a lava field. We also passed by Brennisteinsalda, a rainbow streaked mountain with geothermal activity of steaming vents. The afternoon walk took us again into the lava fields but in the opposite direction. We walked over the lava fields into a valley with geothermal vents and mini geysers. At the end we climbed up to a high point which gave us a spectacular view over the valley. We headed back to camp and again the thermal pool before a dinner of Arctic char which was caught fresh from one of the surrounding lakes this morning. The night was a similar event of relaxing drinking beer and chatting, but by this point the majority of the group had run out of real beer and was now drinking the 2.25% local stuff. As the sun was setting it lit up the surrounding mountains with a eerie red glow, quite spectacular. I managed to catch the last of it before the sun sank away. |
|
|
Wednesday 7th AugustWeather: Sunny Packed up camp again as we were heading to our next campsite on the edge of lake Pingvallavatan. On the way out from Landmannalaugar we stopped off at Ljotipollur or 'ugly pond'! This is where our Arctic Char was apparently caught. I don't know where the name ugly pond came from as it was so far from the truth. Our next stop was at Hekla, as usual it was shrouded in a bank of cloud. Hekla is one of Iceland's biggest active volcano and it is also well over due for its next eruption. So moving on quickly! to Gulfoss, maybe the most famous waterfall in Iceland. Again there was no photographic trickery, the rainbow was there! This scene may not have existed today if it was not for the campaigning of Tomas Tomasson and his daughter, Sigridur Tomasdottir, as the waterfalls' energy was going to be harnessed for hydroelectric power. On top of the falls there is a monument in honour of Sigridur Tomasdottir. We then arrived at probably Iceland's most famous tourist attraction, the Great Geysir. Great Geysir spouts water up to a height of 60m once a day at the moment. Whilst we were there, it sat quietly, but its little baby brother Strokkur erupts every 7 to 10mins. To be quite honest it scared the sh!t out of me when it went off and I ran in the opposite direction! Anyway after the initial surprise I managed to stay put and take a photo. Just down the road from Geysir was Laugarvatn where there was a geothermal heated sauna and Jacuzzi situated on the edge of the lake. The idea as stated by Gunnar was to sit in the sauna for 3mins then run into the lake and repeat until heart attack or boredom, which ever comes first, then relax in the Jacuzzi. After 3mins in a very hot sulphur stinking steam room the last thing I was going to do is jump into a lake, instead I sat in the Jacuzzi and watched the idiots actually doing the steam room lake thing! After the sauna we headed to the campsite which was situated in the area of Iceland's first parliament Pingvellir. Again the scenery around the campsite was just stunning. That night we sat down for a meal of smoked salmon, rice and soya vegetables. |
Thursday 8th AugustWeather: Overcast but dry The morning started with exploring the Pingvellir area, as I said earlier the place of the first parliaments in Iceland known as Alping. Here the leaders of Iceland gathered and discussed new laws, judged and passed sentence on criminals, settled disputes and arranged marriages. Apparently one of the worst crimes in old day Iceland was to steel a man's rope, if caught the sentence would evidently be death! The striking thing about this area is the geography as it sits between the two major plates which Iceland is on, European and North American. After Pingvellir we headed to the highest waterfall in Iceland, our itinerary said that we will be visiting the second highest waterfall but as Gunnar said what is the point of visiting the second highest when you can go to the highest! The bus dropped us off and we started our walk towards the waterfall. After walking and scrambling for over 1 hour we finally arrived at our destination. Sitting on top of a 200m cliff overlooking the waterfall. It was spectacular! The waterfall was called and was 201m high. The tents were packed away for the last time this morning as the last two nights were spent in Hostels in Reykjavik The first hostel was just on the outskirts of the city with easy access in by bus or walk if you were feeling energetic. We made the most of the location of our first hostel by arranging a night out with the tour leaders Gunnar and Prostur. The night started off in a bar then we headed to a fish restaurant for a eat as much as you can fish buffet. After the meal we headed into the city square to do a silly dance about bottom shoe, not our idea at all! The night ended up in another bar for the people who had enough energy for a couple of beers. |
|
|
Friday 9th AugustWeather: Overcast Up early with a hangover, hmmmmm. The day was spent exploring Reykjavik. We walked around the shops visited the church with a spectacular view of the city. In the afternoon we visited the Blaa Lonid or Blue Lagoon, a must for all visitors to Iceland. The lagoon is heated by the effluent from the Svartsengi power plant which in turn is fuelled by sea water that has been heated after seeping beneath the lava. Believe me it is not as disgusting as it sounds! One of the attractions to the Blue Lagoon is the silica mud which is supposed to have healing properties. It is a must to sit in this place with a silica mud pack on your face! The bus back from the lagoon took us back to our next hostel where our bags will be hopefully waiting for us. That night we headed down to a local bar and restaurant for our meal and a couple of beers before turning in early. This was our last day and night in Iceland as we were flying back to Heathrow on the 7:40am flight. |
A big thanks to Gunnar and Prostur, (pictured to the
right) our tour leaders for showing us around their home country! Ultima Thule Exodus Discovery & Adventure All content and pictures © Dorian Thomas 2002
|
|
 |
|||
