26th
April 2016
Auks, Mud Pools,
and Waterfalls
Slept like a log
in my new house, and after a quick breakfast I headed off to Valahnukur on the
coast, where I found not only lava fields, but also dramatic cliffs and layers of
lava ending right at the water, with amazing shapes and patterns. There is also an island just off the coast
which has thousands of seabirds nesting on it, and then further offshore,
invisible in the misty rain that was falling, is the sialnd of Eldey, home to
the largest colony of gannets in the world.
Additionally the island is famous for being the scene of the death of
the last Auk in 1844. There is a statue
to this last Auk, among the stunning rock formations on the coast.
From there it was
a short drive over to a geothermal area with bubbling mud pools, incredibly
noisy steam vents, and myths about
ghosts who haunt the area. There
is also an enormous geothermal power station there, which normally conducts
tours for the public – Unfortunately from June onwards !
From there it was
on down to Seltun and more bubbling mud pools and steam, before heading on down
the coast past some beautiful Icelandic scenes in the afternoon sunshine and
blue skies (yes, the morning rain had cleared – This really is a 4 seasons in
one day country !), including my first Icelandic horses, which are very
distinctive (even to me with no horse knowledge) with their long manes and
shaggy thick coat. I had left the
geothermal area behind and was now heading into waterfall country !
The first
waterfall – Or rather, series of waterfalls – was Gljufrabui. I went there first because a camp site was
advertised – But since it was closed, I wandered up to the waterfall for a
look. This one is hidden behind a narrow
opening in the rocks – Through which you can enter if you want wet feet
etc. I decided to head further down the
road to the bigger falls and see what they were like – Much bigger ! There was a lot of spray and people were
coming back to their cars soaked, so I dressed appropriately and set off. As I got closer I could see that the wet
people were going right round behind the falls, and since I was dressed, off I
went. Bit of a slippery clamber down, and
very wet behind the falls, but a stunning walk round the back, and I thoroughly
enjoyed it.
After drying off,
I decided to go on down the coast in search of a camp site, and it is a very
scenic drive because the smaller Icelandic icefield Eyjafjallajokull is visible
up to the NE as you drive down the coast, and it is this that is feeding these
waterfalls. The coastal drive is as
scenic as everywhere else, with tall cliffs on the left, and an agricultural
plain between the cliffs and the sea. I
finally reached the falls at Skagafoss, and set off to explore.
A coachload of
schoolkids arrived just as I set off, and as they went to the foot of the
falls, I decided to climb the steep stairway up to the top of the falls – Whew,
that was quite a climb ! The views from
the top were good, and birds nest in the grassy cliffs as they do everywhere in
Iceland. Then I noticed the path
continued up further into the hills, so
off I went, following the valley, and there was waterfall after waterfall all
the way. It was quite cool out of the
sun, but still a very pleasant time for a walk, made more so when a young lad
from Tennessee, Matthew, asked if he could walk with me. He was a lot younger and more energetic than I,
but we had a pleasant walk chatting about all sorts of things. When I decided to turn around, he kept going
for a bit more, but
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/6278682596174994449?authkey=Gv1sRgCP-UiZLq9vXXJg
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