Three Words: A-Maz-Ing

I'm actually writing this on Day 3 because Day 2 was an extremely long one (15+ hours), but these "three words" really sum up the day. 

First off, the weather turned around.  The wind and the rain stopped (for the most part) and the sun even came out.  If anything, it was a bit too sunny for picture purposes, but hey, I'm not complaining!  Second, I saw a lot of incredible scenery.  I can't even begin to list, let alone accurately describe everything I saw, but suffice to say, Iceland is truly a diverse and beautiful place.

But, there were some downs as well.  Number one, my hiking boots became filled with water while taking pictures on the black sand beach near Vik.  While I was safely away from the dangerous big waves, films of water and foam would flow up the beach after a wave would crash.  On two occasions, the film came further than expected and I was unable to retreat in time.  The good news is that I had a pair of rubber boats (yes, I know, I should have been wearing them at the time), and my hiking boots are now dry thanks to the heater vent in the sleeping area of the van.

Number two, when I went to fill the van up with gas, the pump indicated the PIN for my Visa card was invalid.  This is strange because it worked fine the day before.  Fortunately, my debit card worked (which is also a Visa), and I will try the card again today.  Perhaps I just put the number in wrong.

Number three (and the biggest downer), my primary camera stopped working.  I have no idea what the problem is, but I put it in a plastic bag with some desiccant thinking it may have gotten a bit of moisture in it.  I'll check it out later but honestly I'm not optimistic.  Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring a back-up camera body, so I was able to keep shooting.  But now that body HAS to survive!

I drove further east and managed to make it to a nice campground near Hof, which is less than 2 hours from my east-most loction, Hofn and the majestic Vestrahorn mountain.  So, I'm making good progress geographically.  I'm getting a late start this morning because (a) I slept in, (b) I needed to edit some photos and write this blog post, and (c) it is raining again.  However, it is supposed to taper off by the time I get to Hofn, where I will stay for a good day to day and a half.

So, that's about it for today.  I will leave you with some pictures.

Some very cool basalt rock formations on the black sand beach

 

Water flowing around rock on the black sand beach (where my hiking boots filled with water, twice)

A quaint little church (there are a lot like this one in Iceland)

The black sand beach looking from Dyrhólaey with the
Reynisdrangar sea stacks off in the distance

The black sand beach in the opposite (westerly) direction, this time in color.  This shot gives you idea of the scale of things in Iceland.

A general view of the mountains and rock formations north of Dyrhólaey.

The mighty Skogafoss again, this time up close and personal (and in black & white)

Kvernufoss waterfall.  Many say that this relatively unknown and less frequented waterfall is perhaps the most beautiful in all of Iceland, and so far I would have to agree.  And, you can walk behind it, just like the more well known and touristy Seljalandfoss waterfall.

A close up of Kvernufoss's water hitting the rocks, which is quite thunderous

A black & white time exposure of an ice chunk on the black sand beach near the famous Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, where icebergs are born from the great Vatnajökull glacier, the largest in Europe.  This is just 40 minutes east from where I camped, and light conditions were  not the best (it was after 10 pm), so I will go back!  This was one of my 5-star (must see) locatons.

Hey, a place named after me!

No, not really.  I have no idea what this place is, but Kerlin (actually Kerling with a "g") shows up in several places, including in the name of a mountain.