May 31 - Wind and Weather in Iceland

Our next stop was Vik. We found a neat spot to park down by the black sandy beach. I was surprised at the sand – not by the colour because we had read about that in our guidebook – but rather by the texture. I had expected hard flat sand worn down by wind and waves. Instead, the sand was soft and loosely packed and its give underfoot made walking a little more difficult. On other parts of the beach, the surface was more like crumbled black pebbles of lava.

Vik was a neat spot with excellent views of the shoreline and the sound of hundreds and thousands of birds nesting in the face of the cliff behind us. Their chirping, cooing, whistling, trilling, was a constant buzz during the day, especially at dawn and dusk.

However, I think that what I will remember most about Vik was the wind. That night as we tried to sleep in our little motor home, the wind blew so violently that I thought we might tip over. Of course, this was the night that our propane ran out and Lyle needed to go outside to change the tanks over. He was surprised to find that at three in the morning he had no need of a flashlight. It was already light enough to see perfectly well. We were far enough north to enjoy many hours of daylight and only a very short few hours of dark at night. Also interesting was the fact that even though the rain was pelting down, Lyle didn’t really get wet while he was outside. The wind and rain were both sleeting in sideways from the ocean and the propane tank was on the landside of the RV. It was the RV that offered Lyle protection from the elements as he crouched to set the full propane tank to work.

There are two pictures with this post. In both, I am standing on the black sandy pebbly beach. The first shows the shoreline looking to the east and the second picture shows the shore looking back to the west. In the background of this one there is a rock formation of three tall rocks. We recognized this same formation in a visual presentation at the Harpa Entertainment Centre on our last day in Reykjavik. 

Sue on the black sandy pebbly beach

Sue on the beach with three tall rock formation in the background

May 29 - Natural Attractions in Iceland

Two of Iceland’s best known natural attractions lie within fairly easy driving distance from the capital city of Reykjavik. Most tours would feature a stop at both the Strokkur Geysir (that is the Icelandic spelling of geyser) and the Gullfoss Falls. We were able to see both as a day trip from Hverageroi.

I liked the Strokkur Geyser for a couple of reasons. First, it erupted regularly and frequently at intervals of only seven or eight minutes. Secondly, the fenced off area was quite close to the geyser itself. In fact, if you happened to stand downwind at the time of the eruption, you might find yourself being drenched with a spray of hot water. This was quite different from our visit to Yellowstone last summer. There, the crowds were kept well away from the eruptions of Old Faithful – so far in fact that I was barely able to see it at all.

I also liked the Gullfoss Waterfall, which was just five minutes drive up the road from Strokkur Geyser. At the Falls, we walked to both the upper and lower viewing points. I’m not sure just which vantage point I liked better although I think that the closer view was from the lower platform.

There are two pictures with this post. The first shows me standing in the foreground with Strokkur erupting in the background. The landscape looks quite bleak and barren.

Sue in front of Strokkur

The second picture was taken at the upper viewing platform at Gullfos Falls. I am wearing a yellow raincoat and an orange toque. Both items of clothing were necessary that day because it was quite cold. In fact, I was wishing that I had worn my woolen mitts before we set out on our walk to the falls. It was spitting rain and the wind was blowing.

Sue in front of Gullfos Falls