Following in the footsteps of those who came in Viking ships, we have now launched into our Icelandic Saga. Our ship for the next two weeks is a 4WD Kia Sportage, and although it uses way more fuel than the Dacia we had in Ireland, (4.?/100kms) it is quieter, bigger and has all the assisted driving features I could hope for, except the occasional assistance I get from the passenger seat.
I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to capture in a photo, the jaw dropping magnificence of the geological features of this country. We are currently driving anticlockwise from Reykjavik around Iceland along the coast, and we are presently in the area of the Vatnajökull glacier, Europe's largest icecap, over 8,000 sqm in area and up to 1,000m thick.
In simple terms, the topography can be divided into high mountainous country surrounded by a coastal fringe of flat land. The hills end abruptly where they meet the flat land, forming almost sheer vertical cliffs, some 100s of metres high. These were once coastal cliffs formed when they were eroded by the sea at the end of the ice age. As the ice sheets that covered the high mountains melted and flowed to the sea, carving their distinctive smooth curving valleys, they carried with them, debris that was gradually deposited, creating the flat lands that now exist from the base of these cliff faces and the sea, in some case that we have seen so far, up to 20kms wide.
Then of course there are the obvious remnants of the eons of volcanic activity, the lava fields that also flowed to the sea creating their own unmistakable flat feature in the landscape.
Perhaps the most striking feature is the continual changing nature of the land here on the south-east coast. First there are the lava fields that stretch out toward the sea, some just black gravel and sand, others covered with medium size rocks with little vegetation, and still yet others where mosses and grasses are beginning to take hold. One plant in particular that does seem to thrive are lupins. At first glance they appear to be a blanket of green spreading across the land, with their stems of purple flowers coming into bloom. An introduced plant that has now spread uncontrollably, they are consisted an environmental disaster.
Then, between base of the cliffs and these “unproductive” lands, there are pockets of rich fertile farm land, with soil ranging from chocolate brown to jet black. Undulating fields of vibrant green pasture, supporting crops, sheep and interestingly, horses. Speaking with a farmer, he explained that Icelandic horses are highly prized and farmed to be shipped all across Europe. Some farms are breeding horses specifically for their blood. They are bleed regularly and the blood is sold to pharmaceutical companies who extract specific hormones for medicinal purposes.
To learn and understand the way in which this land has been formed and to see the tortured and no doubt violent formation of the landscape, it’s hard not to hear it speaking its story. Of course all of this is still a work in progress, the ongoing volcanic activity is continually changing the land and the increasing rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plate is splitting Iceland apart at the rate of 5cm/ year.
Thus far we have been saturated, one of us literally, in waterfalls, up close with glaciers and glacial lagoons filled with icebergs. The occasional light shower of rain, low clouds and at times, ferocious winds are all adding to our Icelandic adventure.
Tomorrow we head to our to the most eastern part of Iceland high mountains, fiords and no doubt, more surprises.
And we thought we were coming here for a holiday, and all of this visual overload, it’s only been 2 days!!!