Day 5 - On the Ring Road to Vatnajokull

(This is part of a series of posts about our 2011 trip to Iceland. Here are the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth posts.)

 

Skaftafell National Park campground

We awoke the next day in Vik to the sounds of bird colonies calling from the massive cliffs behind our campsite. A quick stop for groceriesⁱ and gas, and we headed back out toward Dyrholaey to see the Solheimajokull glacier, an offshoot of the Mýrdalsjökull ice capⁱⁱ, that we had missed seeing the day before. It was impressive to stand on the end of such a massive fusion of force and matter, even though the business end of a glacier is not exactly the most picturesque of locationsⁱⁱⁱ. We got up onto the very edge of the glacier as it terminated in a valley, and watched much better equipped tour groups make their way farther up. It wasn't much, but still, your first glacier is your first glacier.

Solheimajokull GlacierEdge, Glacier approach, Melt pools, Glacial melt, Glacial abstract, Glacial melt channel

We headed back west, leaving Vik and heading out toward Skaftafel National Park along the Ring Road. Most of our trip around the Ring had been pretty similar scenery; massive coastal cliffs, verdant farmscapes, dramatic waterfalls, and more Icelandic horses. As we made our way west from Vik, we entered the Sandar^iv. Technically, it's A sandur, (not THE Sandur) which wikipedia defines as “A sandur (plural sandar) is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.” While that doesn't capture the immensity of the place, it certainly captures its vast otherworldly emptiness. The lush scenery suddenly gave way to a lunar surface. The natural force it took to create such a place is an almost incomprehensible abstract, or would be if we didn’t drive past the ruins of a giant metal bridge that had washed out some time earlier. Its frame was twisted like it was made of fragile twigs, and it had been dislocates several hundreds of feet from the road by the sheer force of the water. There were a few green intermissions as we traversed between the Myrdasjokull and Vatnajokull outwashes, but for the most part it was a seemingly endless array of volcanic landscapes, from graveled outwash to odd lava-bubble fields and pimpled mounds. We stopped for lunch along the road, in which I sampled my first Icelandic beer, “Viking”^v.

Odd Vik road sign- Bacon man?, Odd Vik road sign – Beatle crossing?, Bridge destroyed by glacial wash, Farm buildings, Viking Beer in its natural environment, Stream and Glacier, Sandur landscape, Life and Death in the Sandur, Lava flows, Waterfall and farm, Icelandic horses and waterfall, Old farm buildings.

When we first came around a turn and the vista of Vatnajokul opened up before us, it filled the sky from one side of the arc of our sight to the other. In the open space of the glacial plain, its full extent^vi staggered the viewer in its immensity. We made our way into the park headquarters, which was nestled at the base of a great green finger of land reaching from the ice cap down to the coastal plain between massive glacial valleys. We set up camp in a large meadow, and decided to book a glacier hike for the next day from the uber-hip guide company entrenched in a turf-roofed shack near the entrance.

Southern edge of Vatnajokull, Skaftafell/Vatnajokulthjodgardur Park sign, Arm of Vatnajokull ice cap.

It was later in the day, but we still had time to get in a short hike, so we set out for Svartifoss, a well-known landmark waterfall. The hike up was pleasant; the slow climb up the slope was accented with wildflowers, remarkable views, and waterfalls. Svartifoss is a small waterfall, nothing spectacular in and of itself. It’s fame comes from the array of basaltic columns that flank it on all sides, making it particularly photogenic^vii. Sadly, even in this land of endless sun, we reached Svartifoss after its vlley had already fallen into shadow, limiting photographic opportunities. Even so, Seth and I stayed a while while the womenfolk headed back to get dinner going^viii. The evening light was fantastic on our way back, lighting up the ice-covered peaks, and putting the landscape of overlapping ridges and valleys in the distance into a red, glowing haze of silhouettes. I was getting pretty excited for hiking the next day as we walked past ancient stone walls and fields of angelica and bursts of harebell and crane’s bill wildflowers.

Svartifoss landscape, Small waterfall on the way, Svartifoss landscape, Svartifoss, Svartifoss, Sunset vista, Outwash Vista, Skaftafell Vista at last light, Svartifoss abstract, Walls of Stone and Ice, Skaftafell vista

Nina and Kate had a wonderful Indian curry dinner ready for us, and we retired on a full belly in anticipation of the next day.

NOTES

i When we were in Spain in 2001, we developed a taste, mostly through repetition for the soft drink Fanta Limon (lemon), which is not available in the US. This is not a huge loss, honestly. So I was surprised to find it in the grocery store in a small town in Iceland. Its taste has not improved over time, as it turns out.

iiVik is a quaint-ish little town until you realize that the massive cloud bank that stretches across the horizon is actually afantastically large ice cap. And then even less so, when you realize there is an active, particularly mean volcano directly beneath it. The whole tike we were there, they kept remarking about how long it had been since it had blown its top and how devastating the resulting cataclysmic flood would be. So, drinks on the beach anyone?

iiiGlaciers push a lot of dirt and stone and stone-soon-to-be-ground-into-dirt in front of them. We uninitiated think of glaciers as pristine icy things, but they're pretty dirty, it turns out.

ivIcelandic place names are just inherently epic. I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but one can't help but feel a bit epic (in the traditional/literal Viking sense of the word) when you can casually say, “I am making my way from Vik, under the looming shadow of Myrdalsjokull, across the vast wastes of the Sandarr, up the treacherous Skaftafelshaedi, into the very heart of mighty Vatnajokull). Just discussing trip itineraries almost requires a sweeping Peter Jackson musical score in the background. I half expected every Icelander we met on the way to summon us to carry the One Ring.

vI do not recommend it.

vi And to be honest, we were only seeing the southern extent of the ice cap, as the full thing stretches far to the north, covering an appreciable portion of the island’s land mass.

vii It also has mineral streaking along its side similar to things we’d seen in Zion’s waterfalls.

viii In our defense, we took dish duty after the meal, which involved icy water and sharing space with some truly outstandingly large orb-weaver spider species, so were not completely living off the largesse of our ladies’ efforts. 

Day 4: In which we hit the Beach

(This is part of a series of posts about our 2011 trip to Iceland. Here are the first, second, third and fourth posts.)

Vik Landscape

Day 4

Seth and I woke up a bit earlier than the womenfolk, and drove out to where we had hiked the day before to take some pictures in the morning light. When we returned, we broke camp and reluctantly left the idyllic glacial bowl of the Pakgil campground and headed back into the town of Vik for the day.

Pakgil Cabins, Morning Reflection, Glacial Landscape with Wildflowers, Glacial Landscape

After a brief stop at a mirror-still pond to watch sheep on the mountainside, we had brunch in a small cafe/tourist info centerⁱ, and then headed down to the beaches. Vik is known for its dramatic coastal scenery, with sea arches, sea stacks, and miles of black sand beachⁱⁱ. Atlantic Puffins are supposed to be here in large numbers, but apparently we just missed the main puffin season. There were plenty of seabirds, however, giving me first views of Great Skua, Black-legged Kittiwakes, etc. We bummed around the each and dunes near Vik for a while, then headed for the nearby sea arch at Dyrholaey.

Black Sand Beach at Vik, Reflecting Pond with Sheep, Vik Streetscape, I have no idea what's going on here but it's colorfull, Black Sand Beach, Basaltic Columns, Basaltic Forms, Black Sand Beachscape, Great Skua, Vik Panoramic

Along the way to the sea arch at Dyrholaey, we stopped at an overlook that gave amazing vistas of the Vik coastline, and saw our first puffin and some Arctic Terns. There were beautiful heath highlands all around, and bird sanctuary I would have liked to explore if we had had more time.

Coastal Landscape near Dyrholaey, Farm Building, Tidal Flats Abstract, Basaltic Rocks, Atlantic Puffin, Basaltic Arch, Coastal Landscape

One of the more famous aspects of the area is the massive sea arch at Dyrholaey. The scale is almost unimaginable, even looking back at the pictures. We hiked out on the long winding trail to the end of the arch and were surrounded on all sides by the sea. Tremendous seabird colonies clung to the sides of the arch, and skuas and kittiwakes constantly swooped past us. A squat little lighthouse perched on top of the formation, along with a picturesque lighthouse keeper's homeⁱⁱⁱ. Given where we ended up spending a lot of time later, I would have rather stayed here for a while longer.

House at Dyrholaey, House at Dyrholaey landscape, Coastal Cliffs near Vik, Sea Arch at Dyrholaey, Dyrholaey cliffs, Seascape with Cairn, Dyrholaey landscape.

Our next stop was a beach east of Dyrholaey, near the Reynisdrangar ^iv sea stacks. All around the area we had seen basaltic columns here and there, but this ara was a nexus for them. The whole cliff face was rigid geometrical columns and shapes. We ended up being delayed here a bit longer than we should have because by the time we left it was too late to visit the nearby glacier that had been on our itinerary.

Reynisdrangar, Basaltic Columns, Cave at Dyrholaey, Basaltic Cave, Cave vista, Basalt Columns, Basalt Columns at Dyrholaey, Me at Dyrholaey, Reynisdrangar Sea Stack, Shatter!

Given that it was so late by the time we got back to Vik, we elected to stay in the crowded-and-less-than-ideal-campground in town. It was passable, but after our night in Pakgil previously, it was a bit disappointing. The next day, however, would definitely make up for it...

Notes

iMuch to our surprise, given our previous experience with food at tourist locations. I had a lamb sandwich that was one of the most amazing things I ate there, and a really good cup of coffee.

iiIt's also known for being in the direct path of what would be cataclysmic torrents of water should the volcano underneath the Myrdasjokull ice cap/glacier that perches over Vik ever erupt in earnest. And it's likely a when, not an if. The town residents actually have eruption drills in which they head for the church on the highlands.

iiiWhich immediately got added to my “top 100 places I'd want to live” list.

ivThe myth is that the stacks are from an episode in which two trolls captured a ship and tried to drag it to shore. When they took too long, the morning light of the sun turned them into pillars of stone. I know the geological explanation, but I like the trolls story far more.