Revisiting Iceland

When I left Iceland last summer, after a wonderful family trip, I never expected to be returning so soon.  But, I had the opportunity to cruise southern Greenland with Lindblad National Geographic Expeditions, this summer – and that trip began and ended in Reykjavik, capital of Iceland.  I thus found myself back in Reykjavik barely a year later, at the height of the tourist season, with plans to explore the southeast coast (whereas last year we focused on the Golden Circle and the Westfjords).  In a series of posts, I’ll share highlights from a brief exploration of Reykjavik prior to our Greenland cruise; a cruise stop at Kirkufellfoss in western Iceland; and my drive around the Ring Road as far as the Glacier Lagoon (380km), and back past more than a dozen incredible waterfalls.   This first post is a bit of an introduction. Photography was the focus of my trip, so I’ll share many photos. Read on for more!

Prior to our cruise for Greenland, my father and I arrived in Reykjavik with about a day to spare.   We wandered the streets, enjoyed a casual lunch at the quirky Café Babalú, and a fabulous dinner at the highly-rated Brút seafood restaurant.  We particularly enjoyed the architecture of the Harpa concert hall and the creative murals painted on some houses.  Check out the photo gallery!

After returning from Greenland, I was fortunate to experience good weather and incredible light during several long drives along the Ring Road, crossing vast, open countryside.  Although the terrain is always treeless – offering expansive views – it varied dramatically from the rolling grasslands just outside Reykjavik, to moss-covered lava fields, to seemingly endless, flat gravel plains left by glacier-fed rivers.  (Some of these plains required an hour of driving, at highway speed, to get across!)  There were stunning views, too many to stop and capture.  Indeed, it was often impossible to stop; most of the Ring Road is a two-lane road with no shoulder, and only occasional pull-outs or picnic spots.  As a result, some of my favorite scenes are recorded only in my memory. Nonetheless, I’m able to share a few beautiful shots in a photo gallery.

The pastoral landscape lent itself to other opportunities – such as the odd roadside fence below.  Around the world I’ve seen fences (most often, on a bridge over a canal) festooned with padlocks clipped to the fence by tourists and lovers. But this is the first time I’ve seen a fence draped with, um, bras. Hundreds of bras. One is left to wonder what inspired this practice!

While driving one day along a gravel backroad, I came up to a small traffic jam, with horns honking and people yelling.  It appears a couple dozen horses had escaped their pasture and were running down the road – people stopped to help shepherd them back into a pasture.  See the video!

Finally, on my last day in Iceland, I visited Dyrhólaey, an oceanside nature preserve.  A historic lighthouse perches on its rocky promontory, while arched seastacks erode slowly in the pounding surf along the beach below.  From here one can see the famous Reynisdrangar sea stacks, to the east, although I found the closer seastacks to be an interesting mix of monoliths and arches.  The terrain here is comprised of layered basalt and tuff, so the cliffs are constantly disintegrating.  Indeed, several warning signs blocked visitors from the beach due to the instability of the cliffs above, and due to “sneaker waves” that can sweep away unsuspecting beachgoers.  [My guidebook referred to this beach as one of the most dangerous places to photograph in Iceland! so I was happy to skip the beach.]  I had hoped to see Puffins – apparently they nest here in July and August – but unfortunately (it being August 31) I had just missed them. Check out the photo gallery, which includes a video of the surf pounding a hole into the cliffs.

Coming soon

As I said, photography was the focus of my extended stay in Iceland, after returning from Greenland.  My favorite photos come from the Diamond Beach and the eleven waterfalls I visited:

• Fjaörárgljufur
• Kirjufellfoss
• Svartifoss
• Stjórnarfoss
• Seljalandsfoss (and also at sunset)
• Gljúfrabúi
• Nauthúsagil
• Gluggafoss
• Skógafoss
  • Kvernufoss
  • Brúarárfoss

Reference: above I refer to a guidebook: Photographing Iceland, by Einar Guðmann and Gyða Henningsdóttir; translated by Abigail Charlotte Cooper. JTV útgáfa 2019.