Go West “Young” Man

Day 4.  Wow, almost seems longer than that, but I’m not ready to come home quite yet – more places to visit and photos to take! 

That said, Hӧfn was my farthest east planned destination, so it was time to head back west towards Reykjavik and then up to the Snaefellsnes peninsula (say that name three times fast).  But first, I wanted to go back to Vestrahorn to shoot it again during better lighting.  The weather…especially the clouds above the mountain…were nearly perfect, and I think I captured some pretty decent images of this magnificent mountain.

I wanted to get as far west as I could but I had a couple destinations along the way that I wanted to hit.  One of these was another waterfall, Svartifoss (sounds like a candy, doesn’t it?).  Waterfalls are so ubiquitous in Iceland.  In fact, it is estimated that Iceland has over 10,000 waterfalls, most of them unnamed.  You can frequently see them in the mountains, one right after another, as you drive along the main ring road.  The net result is that people often ignore the lesser waterfalls, which anywhere else would be pretty significant.  Svartifoss is one such example since it feeds at least two other decent sized waterfalls that folks just seemed to walk by.

Getting to Svartifoss is no easy chore.  It is a 1.4 km (~1 mile) hike, mostly uphill with grades of 10% or better.  Add my camera backpack and tripod and you get a nice workout.  I was definitely sweating by the time I got there, but it was worth the effort.  Svartifoss is spectacular.  One reason for this is because it is surrounded by dark, basalt columns that make it not only unusual, but pretty cool looking.  It took a while to get the shot I wanted because people were climbing the rocks so they could get their picture taken.  One girl in particular (I think she was French), took off her jacket and was up there for a considerable time doing all kinds of “cute” poses.  Annoying!  (Don’t they realize I am waiting to take an award-winning photograph!)

I made it back to Vik and checked in the same campground I had stayed at the first night.  The skies turned cloudy by the time I arrived and rain is predicted.  In fact, it is raining as of this writing (since it is actually morning of Day 5).  I am not quite sure yet what I am going to do o Day 5.  I could drive on, but there a couple places in the area I want to visit, and I hoping the rain will at lest lighten a bit.  I heard say it was supposed to.  And, if you can trust the forecasts, I still have some decent shooting weather ahead me.  Either way, resilience, fortitude, and gratefulness, right?

Till next time, peace to all!

Vestrahorn from the black sand dunes.  Aren’t the clouds, which characteristically encircle the peaks, amazing!?

Vestrahorn again, this time in black & white and from the dried up lake at its base.  Oddly, there are these large rocks randomly located on the lake bed, making for some interesting foregrounds.

I found the hand-made signs at the Viking Café, where you had to pay the entrance fee for Vestrahorn, to be pretty amusing.  The proprietors claim this is private property and charge an exorbitant 800 Krona (~$8) to enter, which they say is used for conservancy of the ecologically sensitive dunes.  I found this to be highly dubious since there were no signs of this effort (in fact, just the reverse), and I read that this is actually public property, evidenced in part by the existence of an Icelandic coast guard radar station there.  But, it wasn’t worth arguing about!

Some iconic Icelandic horses.  These horses, which were actually imported from Scandinavia centuries ago, are characterized by their long, sweeping manes and climate hardiness.  The guy on the left (who oddly didn’t have a long mane) never moved the entire time I was there and just stared at me while the other guy intently munched on grass.  Funny.

There are many abandoned farm buildings throughout Iceland, and many are adorned with graffiti, and not just ordinary graffiti.  Some of the graffiti are actually works of art, as in the example of the face on the upper level (which may be difficult to see in this picture).

A panorama of Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon (which I stopped at quickly on my way back so I could capture this; unsure how this will display on a small screen -- sorry!).  This gives you an idea of the size of the lagoon and some of the icebergs. 

While at the lagoon, I saw this wedding (or engaged) couple getting pictures taken by a professional photographer.  This is a big thing in Iceland despite the travel time to the locations. It was a bit chilly, so I’m sure the bride (or bride-to-be) was pretty cold!

Mossy lava field, which extends as far as the eye can see.  The moss, which hasn’t yet turned its characteristic bright green, takes centuries to grow and is ecologically sensitive (despite the music video that Justin Bieber did here some years ago).

Hofskirkja turf church (“kirkja” is Icelandic for church), which is one of the last 6 remaining such churches in Iceland.  It was built in 1883, but records indicate there has been a church on this spot since 1343.  It is still in use as a Parish church but is also managed as a historical site.  The “mounds” in the foreground and around the church are actually graves.  I don’t know why they are mounded.

And finally, Svartifoss in black & white!  You can the basalt columns on either side of the waterfall itself.