Day 2: The Land of Fire of Ice !!
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The next morning the Boys rose in the ever-present daylight and decided to head east along the coast to check out the amazing glaciers and volcanoes that graced the central part of the island.
The lichen-covered Windscape of Hafnarfiordur!
They cruised through Reykjavik where they picked up two cups of coffee that tasted like it was filtered by a jockstrap (sadly, the cuisine never really improved the whole trip!), once on the open road, amazing vista opened up for the Boys especially as they passed through the quaint little town of Hafnarfiordur along the coast.
"Kopavogur, OK you pronounce it!"
The fog of the Glacier of Mosfellbaer!
As Mike and Bone drove along with their jaws agape and the amazing landscapes, All of a sudden, the Boys drove into an eerie fog. No, it wasn’t a Steve King Movie the “The Mist” but the melt from the Mydalsjokull Glacier!! So, for the rest of the trip, when the Boys saw, fog they were near a Glacier!’
The Sites of Sveitfelagio Olfus!
"We are all that and a Bag of Chips! ,,,, errrr, Maybe Not!"
Boogieing east down the road, Mike and Bone we passed by a caravan of these HUGE specially fitted Hummers with snorkels that six feet off of the ground, they turned off heading to the Glacier, Mike and Bone thought “lets follow them and get a free tour of the Glacier! So in their Jeep 4-wheel drive rental, Mike and Bone followed them down a dirt road, that got increasingly hilly and rocky, once the Boys started to bounce their fragile heads off the ceiling with each bigger rock they tried to drive over, they noticed that the Hummers had special suspensions, when Mike and Bone only had suspensions of belief that they could follow!
Sadly, once the Hummers crossed a raging river that now way in heck their vehicle could cross (too low to the ground and no snorkel!) they stopped took a few pictures and headed back to the main road to check out an amazing waterfall!
The Amazing Falls Rangarbing eystra!
The Seljalandsfoss Waterfall is one of the best-known waterfalls in Iceland. It is 120 feet high according to the National Land Survey of Iceland and it is breathtakingly beautiful.
The Boys were able to spot Seljalandsfoss from the ring-road long before they reached it and it is a beautiful sight watching it getting closer and closer.
Legends of the Falls ("Brad Who!?)
Parking the car, Mike and Bone headed down to the falls snapping amazing pictures within 15 yards of the raging torrent.
"The Path Less Traveled"
"Finally! Taking a Shower!"
Despite a lack of raincoats, the Boy went down a path leads behind the waterfall, which was wicked cool (literally and actually!), both emerged much “cleaner” or at least soaked as shown in these pictures!
"Go East Old Men!"
After words Mike and Bone, continued to drive east on the Ring Road, and a beautiful and somewhat familiar site, was that purple loostrife!?
The National Flower of Iceland ?!?
Purple loosestrife is an invasive perennial plant that was been spreading rapidly in North American wetlands, shorelines, and roadside ditches. Thick stands of purple loosestrife crowd out native plants and reduce food, shelter, and nesting sites. Mike and Bone see it all the time along the waterways of the Great Lakes. All along Ring Road on both sides, Mike and Bone drove through acres and acres of a picturesque purple meadows of these lavender flowers.
Later the Boys found out that the flower is not Purple Loostrife, but it was in fact similar in that it is an invasive species that is running rampant on the island!
Driving through Middle Earth!
The next couple of hours along the ring road that Mike and Bone drove through a movie set of amazingly unbelievable scenery, right out of a movie! Every turn provided a new amazing vista for the Boys to check out.
Glacier Climbing Without Gear on Mydalshreppur Glacier!
Finally, after driving around the Mydalshreppur Glacier for the past few hours the entrance to the park appeared and the Boys were about to have a cow, waiting to see the Glacier calve icebergs!
Just another awesome waterfall and view!
Finally, after driving around the Mydalshreppur Glacier for the past few hours the entrance to the park appeared and the Boys were about to have a cow, waiting to see the Glacier calve icebergs!
Meandering around Mydalshreppur
Mýrdalsjökull (pronounced [ˈmirtalsˌjœːkʏtl], Icelandic for "(the) mire dale glacier" or "(the) mire valley glacier").
The icecap of the glacier covers an active volcano called Katla. The caldera of the volcano has a diameter of 6 miles and the volcano erupts usually every 40–80 years. The last eruption took place in 1918. Scientists are actively monitoring the volcano, particularly after the eruption of nearby Eyjafjallajökull began in April 2010. Since the year 930, 16 eruptions have been documented.
Before the Hringvegur (the main ring road round the island) was built, people feared traversing the plains in front of the volcano because of the frequent jökulhlaups (glacial floods) and the deep rivers to be crossed, although the road is still vulnerable to major events. Especially dangerous was the glacial flood after the eruption of 1918 when the coastline was extended by 3.1 mi) by laharic flood deposits.
Parking the Boys started following fellow tourist toward the Glacier when they came upon the amazing miracle of birth, the calving of icebergs!
Calving Icebergs Part 1
The Simple Magic of Melting Glacial Ice !
Each of the icebergs were unique and beautiful, some big, some gossamer sized, as shown by the delicate, nature-carved piece of art above!
Now at this point in the Park the casual tourist turned back, and those with proper gear, dressed up and started hiking with their poles and crampons.
Other than the cramps from the crap breakfast the Boys had, the fearless heroes started climbing up sans cramponed sandals, and acappella poles!
Where Fire Met Ice!: Myrdals-Jokull
As they slipped and slided up the Glacier they were eventually rewarded with a layer of black gravel for traction, courtesy of the volcanic blast of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption!
Effects of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption!
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on 20 March 2010 affected the economic, political and cultural activities in Europe and across the world.
There was extensive air travel disruption caused by the closure of airspace over many countries affecting the travel arrangements of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and elsewhere. Sporting, entertainment and many other events were cancelled, delayed or disrupted when individuals or teams were unable to travel to their destination.
The state funeral of Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska on 18 April 2010 was affected as some national leaders were unable to attend, including Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, Angela Merkel, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the lowly Bone!
Boney was on business in London and ended staying three days longer than expected because the airport was in lockdown!
No Groveling in the Gravel!
Mike and Bone, On Volcanic gravel, on a Glacier !!!
Bone, Dancing on a Volcano! On a Glacier !
The Mike and Bone hiked in a better part of 3/4’s of a mile onto the part of the Glacier where they really did not really belong in tennis shoes, Much less dance on the Volcano!
After a few near misses and almost falls, the had had enough and slid (often literally!) and slided off of the Glacier on their way back to the car and headed to the little of Vik for lunch.
Massive Volcanic Cliffs along the shore!
A Click view of the Little Town of Vik!
The Famous Black Sand Beach of Vik, Renisdrangar!
Driving into Vik, Mike and Bone parked near a restaurant on the ocean, there, Boys immediately noticed the black sand beach of Reynisfjara!
Mike and Bone, Back in Black!
With its enormous basalt stacks, roaring Atlantic waves and stunning panoramas, Reynisfjara is widely considered to be the most beautiful example of Iceland’s black sand beaches. In 1991, National Geographic voted Reynisfjara as one of the Top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet.
The Famous Pillars of Renisdrangar!
Upon visiting the beach, Mike and Bone saw the rocky sea stacks sitting off the shoreline, known as Reynisdrangar. According to local Icelandic folklore, these large basalt columns were once trolls trying to pull ships from the ocean to shore. However, these trolls were dim and went out too late in the night; dawn broke on the horizon, turning the trolls into solid stone.
Another legend tells of a husband whose wife was kidnapped and killed by two trolls. The man followed the trolls down to Reynisfjara where he froze them, ensuring that they would never kill again. So mesmerizing are these features that they were featured in Season 7 of the HBO Series Game of Thrones; you can spot them in a few scenes shot ‘North of the Wall’.
The sea stacks themselves are home to thousands of nesting seabirds. Species that can be found here include puffins, fulmars and guillemots, making it a must-see location for all birdwatchers out there.
The Beach, the Pillars, and the mountains crashing down into the ocean was an amazing site, but now for food!
Rooting for Icelandic Football?
Walking into the restaurant (the only one in Town!) Mike and Bone immediately noticed that EVERYBODY was watching that peculiar institution of soccer or English football. Iceland was playing Belgium in the World Cup.
It even affected the help in that the cafeteria style service for a really expensive and bland fish and chips was slow and inattentive, at least the beers were good!
More Amazing Glacial Landscapes on their hoofing to Hofn
Bone, testing the Wind!
After an uninspiring lunch Mike and Bone continued east past unbelievably amazing vistas and mountains.
Yet another Glacial Stream!
They toured through picturesque little towns like Fagurholsmyri with natural wonders at every turn.
They intentionally passed the next glacier, Vatnajokull figuring they could stop on the way back.
Glacial Fog!
Glacial Time!
At the top of the world in the Summertime is more a concept than a reality! After driving a while, the Boys were hungry again, the bright daylight made it seem around 3:00 PM in Michigan in the summer, nope! It was 9:30 at night!
Hofn Hospitality at Kaffi Hornid
Just east of the Glacier is the little town of Höfn, which is an Icelandic fishing town of just over two thousand people in southeast Iceland. It is the most significant settlement on Route 1 between the village Just of Kirkjubæjarklaustur in the south and Egilsstaðir in the east.
Höfn means ‘harbor,’ as the town is located in one of the few natural harbors of Iceland’s South Coast; unlike the rest of the country, this stretch is beachy and flat, and thus there are hardly any small coastal villages when compared to places such as the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.
Stopping at a quaint restaurant called Kaffi Hornid with a view at the end of the peninsula of Mike and Bone finally had their first good meal of the day with great steaks and local very dark brown beers!
They dickered for an hour with the wait staff especially the new owner and had a great time. Leaving around 11:00 PM, the sun was still high in the air, simply bizarre!
Next Stop: Vik!
Mike and Bone had decided during the horrible lunch that they would stop for the night in Vik, positioning them for a strategic drive the next day to the western area of the Island.
On the drive back the Boys had an amazing view of Vatnajokul in the forever twilight of the North!
One Gorgeous, Gigantic Glacier!!!
Calving Icebergs, Part Deux!!
The site of a river flowing with hundreds of little icebergs into the open ocean was one of the coolest things the Boys saw all day!
The swift flowing river with melt right off of the Glacier cut a channel through the volcanic rock and into the open ocean.
Mike, Bone, Bergs!
Mike and Bone walked around the adjective-missing, unbelievable scene for a better part of an hour watching the creative and destructive power of nature.
Bergs as far as the Eye can see on the Sea!!
The Surreal Site of Never-Ending Twilight!
The Darkest Hour?!
A Magnificent Painting in the Sky!
Moon Rise in Twilight!
After watching the flow almost stunned by the beauty the Boys, headed back to Vik only to be amazed by a surreal site, the neverending twilight on one horizon and the moon rise on the other. After 30 minutes of watching it (and watching the thermometer dropping into the 30’s!)
The whole Damn Day in Once Picture!
After getting a picture of the purple plants with the Glacier in the background in the endless twilight, Mike and Bone resumed their drive back to Vik where they put in around 1:30, with the sun’s twilight still very much in the sky!
All-in-all, one amazing day!