William and I went back to the ice beach at 7.30am. I didn't want to go but felt it was my last chance. The temperature was only -2 but felt much colder. We discovered huge pieces of blue ice further down the west beach and had them to ourselves for about 45 minutes but eventually other photogs discovered us. I enjoyed shooting and hopefully have a better collection that I might be able to do something with.
After a quick shower and pack up we headed north east and drove back up to Höfn (pronounced Hup). There was no specific reason to go northwards other than to fill up with petrol and take some photos that we'd seen when we passed that way with the tour group. We were booked in Vik (Veek) for the night which is part way between Hali and Reykjavik. So it was an up and back journey with lots of stops.
We met some Icelandic horses. I think I've mentioned these before - they are small, hardy, strong & very bright. They are highly prized and specially bred to keep their bloodlines pure. They have a unique gait called holt which is a prancing step that reminds me of the Spanish dancing horses; apparently it makes for a very smooth ride without the bounce of a trotting gait. They love a good scratch and missing Diesel I took time to have a smooch.
The roads out in the country are often very straight (imagine the Himitangi straits for about 100km). Apart from the scenery its boring as hell when driving, but you have to concentrate all the time because the beast is wider than we are used to, the roads narrow and we are on the wrong side. We drove past a black lava sand field that stretched to the hills on the right hand side and to the horizon on the seaward side. Notable because it was so big and because we could see it - it was covered in snow before.
There are some strange green landscapes on the drive to Jökulsárlón. It seems to be some species of moss that covers the rocks. So over the years this has come to resemble a fantastical landscape that you can easily imagine trolls living in. The folk lore here is big on trolls, they seem to be mostly benevolent and are turned to stone if they get caught in daylight. I could definitely see lots of faces on the green landscape and also in the mountains.
The guest house in Vik was better than the one at Hali but it's still back packer accommodation at hotel prices, so it'll be a relief to get back to a proper hotel in Reykjavik.
After a quick shower and pack up we headed north east and drove back up to Höfn (pronounced Hup). There was no specific reason to go northwards other than to fill up with petrol and take some photos that we'd seen when we passed that way with the tour group. We were booked in Vik (Veek) for the night which is part way between Hali and Reykjavik. So it was an up and back journey with lots of stops.
We met some Icelandic horses. I think I've mentioned these before - they are small, hardy, strong & very bright. They are highly prized and specially bred to keep their bloodlines pure. They have a unique gait called holt which is a prancing step that reminds me of the Spanish dancing horses; apparently it makes for a very smooth ride without the bounce of a trotting gait. They love a good scratch and missing Diesel I took time to have a smooch.
The roads out in the country are often very straight (imagine the Himitangi straits for about 100km). Apart from the scenery its boring as hell when driving, but you have to concentrate all the time because the beast is wider than we are used to, the roads narrow and we are on the wrong side. We drove past a black lava sand field that stretched to the hills on the right hand side and to the horizon on the seaward side. Notable because it was so big and because we could see it - it was covered in snow before.
There are some strange green landscapes on the drive to Jökulsárlón. It seems to be some species of moss that covers the rocks. So over the years this has come to resemble a fantastical landscape that you can easily imagine trolls living in. The folk lore here is big on trolls, they seem to be mostly benevolent and are turned to stone if they get caught in daylight. I could definitely see lots of faces on the green landscape and also in the mountains.
The guest house in Vik was better than the one at Hali but it's still back packer accommodation at hotel prices, so it'll be a relief to get back to a proper hotel in Reykjavik.
  |   I wasn't prepared to scratch that end so she used the gate |
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