The Uncapturable Beauty

I keep trying to take the perfect photo. It eludes me, as I drive through the painfully exquisite beauty of Iceland. There are no turns to stop when my eye catches sight of a rainbow arching over a field of nibbling sheep, rustic red roof building set before a snow capped mountain. Every 5 minutes I weep because there is something new and beautiful. Unending waterfalls and mountains and colorful moss and flowers covering rolling lava fields. And when I do stop, finally pulling breathless into a farmers lane and seizing my camera, the picture doesn't quite capture what my eye sees.

 So, this blog is my attempt to surmise my experience in Iceland. Where I went, would go again, and wish I could have gone. And of course the imperfect journey continues. After about a week in Reykjavik it was time to get out to the country. We first started with the plan to drive the Ring Road, also known as Highway 1, but could find no cheap places on the east side of the island. Driving, and just driving, would take about 3 days. We had 7 days before we were booked to leave for Ireland, so we modified our plan. Do the Golden Circle, a popular route taken that hits many interesting and beautiful stops, and then that same day drive south to our Airbnb a little past Selfoss. After 2 nights in the south we would then retrace our tire tracks back west and north to the Snæfellness Peninsula, and spend the night in Ólafsvik. The next day would be a long 5 hour drive north to the second biggest city of Iceland Aukureri, where we would spend 3 nights. On the 27th, drive back south to Rekjavik and stay one night, in preparation for our all-nighter at the airport on the 28th before flying off. 

Simple, right? So we acquired our car, a white Nissan mini about the size of a roller skate that we named Sheepish, and headed off to the Golden Circle. The three main stops to do are Thingvellier National Park ( the th looks like a modified p in Icelandic), Gullfoss, and the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. There are other places to stop off along the way, but these are the most spectacular. Since the National Park in itself can take at least 2 hours, possibly 3, to walk around, give yourself plenty of time for the circle. 

  The Golden Circle
 It is a very special area, and I think it really is a must see in Iceland. I'm not sure what a tour bus would be like, but with a car it was easier to leisurely view it. The Thingvellier park was filled with pretty walks, a waterfall, and many points of information on signs of the founding of Icelandic parliament. Details of history from the law rock to places of execution. Parking was 500 krona, but no entrance fees.  
 When we got to the geysers we discovered that Geysir was no longer going, but Strokkur was, about every 5 min. And it gave quite a good show! The park surrounding the geysers had many walks and eerily steaming geo pools. We could have stayed much longer, but needed to get on our way before the light was gone.   Gulfoss was amazing experience! After you park you walk up this wooden pathway to a gorgeous view point, getting the whole majesty of the pounding water and mist rising up. Then we took a long staircase down to a lower viewing level, and from there a path takes you right to the waterfall.  By this time it was dark, and after getting lost we finally found our Airbnb somewhere between Selfoss and Hella.
That night we got lucky and on some good advice went outside at midnight found the Northern Lights right on the doorstep. Slithering and undulating like ghost snakes, they appeared and disappeared after a short 10 min. And even though I had heard so much of their beauty, I was still awe inspired. 

  The South
 We awoke to a day more cloudy than sunny, but decided to brave it anyway. Our destination was Vík, a harbor town about 2 hours drive East along the 1. Along the way was several stops, such as the waterfall in Skógar, plus many interesting stops right off the road. One of the coolest was a natural cave with a wooden gate that seemed  very closed, but was open. Once inside we discovered a medium sized cave overgrown with ferns. This was once used by farmers to hold their sheep in when the weather was stormy. One waterfall that was pretty amazing to walk around was Seljalandsfoss, and is a short way off the road. Another stop that I highly recommend is old grass houses on the way to Vík on the side of the one, and a house built into a giant rock. It's very unusual, and will be pretty easy to see. Vík itself was ok in the rainy downpour, I'm sure much prettier in nice weather, but we didn't stay long. We did, however, walk along the very dark sands of the beach, and admire the rugged beauty of the area. Cold and wet and tired, we headed back to our home, ready to face the trip back West and North.

  The West- the Snæfellness Peninsula
To the west we drove, and unfortunately came up against a toll as we passed Reykjavik. Be warned, it's 1000 krona, which is about $10. But soon after we stopped off in Borgarnes, and over there is a cafe/bakery that was the filming location for Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. In the movie it's a Papa Johns and Ben Stiller stands on the pier in the parking lot. It's pretty cool, and the pasteries are to die for. Check out the Kaffihús.  Onward we drove, our goal being Ólafsvik, the location of our next Airbnb. The drive was fantastic, gorgeous, one spectacular view after the next. We ended up coming over a mountain road, entirely made up of gravel for miles. Sheepish was not pleased. Be warned, the 54 coming into Ólafsvik can be scary. If you pass through Grundarfjördur, which is not spelled completely right, on the 54, there is a much better road I think. Anyway. Ólafsvik! What a cute little village. We arrived in rain, but when it finally abetted in the evening we went for a walk. A couple of beach access points, and farther into the town center we discovered a lit waterfall and a path up the side of the local mountain, which gives a lovely view of the city. Magical at night. The next day our Airbnb hosts put us onto a nice drive to take along the edge of the peninsula, the 574, which also passes through a national park. This park had many old volcanoes to stop off and explore. Another stop we made was Djúpalónssandur, a beach that has remains from a tragic British shipwreck from the 1950's, as well as information about Viking tests of strength. Lifting certain size rocks would see if you were ready to be an oarsman. Just past that is a road up to a mountains peak where you can go touch a glacier.
Unfortunately, Sheepish could not make such a drive. 4 wheel would be necessary to get to the edge of Snæfellsjökull, along the 570 Jökulhálsleid. Since we couldn't go see a glacier, we opted to do a cliff walk between Arnarstapi and Hellnar. It's a fantastic walk with unbelievable cliffs, bird life, and a mountain deity sculpture.   
  The entire drive was beyond belief in terms of photogenic views. Rainbows around every turn, with towering mountains to one side and sparkling ocean to the other. This was the place I wanted to stop every 5 min. At one point I was brought to tears when a full rainbow appeared above a bucolic scene with sheep and a rough red and white farmhouse. I was powerless to capture it to digital memory, so could only store in in my little grey cells.  But there was a long drive ahead of us, 5 hours of twisting roads to the North. To Aukureri!

The North- Aukureri and the Diamond Circle
  A gorgeous place to go and see, but perhaps not in winter. We heard tales from a Airbnb roommate that houses would disappear under snow drifts up in the far North. There are two options for our 3 full days in this area. One direction takes us to some picturesque towns and to a possible sheep or horse round up. We found online information informing us that during the summer the farmers let their livestock roam free, grazing to their heart's content. By fall it's time to round them all up, a lot of hard work but with a great deal of festivities. We head toward Dalvík with hope in our hearts. We don't end up experiencing a round up, but do have coffee in a lovely cafe in the town. Dalkvík is also home to Hvoll- Dalvík Folk Museum, dedicated to the tallest man in Iceland, who stood at 7'7".  The next day the weather is too bad to go out into, so we take a day off. Watch some Steven Universe and drink some wine. The next day is better, so we head out on the North's version of the Golden Circle- beautifully named the Diamond Circle.  This is such a gorgeous area, filled with the beautiful and the unusual. I would say the Diamond Circle has more sights than the Golden circle, and it takes longer to drive too, at least twice as long. Our first stop was Godafoss, a very lovely waterfall that legand has it was the sight where a chieftain deciding for the Icelandic people whether to stay with their Norsegods or accept the new Christian religion, made the choice for change and tossed the idols of their gods into the water. Thus the falls are known as the god falls. Continuing along the Ring Road we took a slight turn off towards Lake Myvatn. We did a 30 min walk at the South tip of this lake, surrounded by extinct volcanoes and sheep and piercing blue water. Going farther along the way is the Myvatn Nature Baths, the slightly less expensive version of the Blue Lagoon. We opted not to spend money and went exploring for a cave near the baths. Maps.me had put us onto it, and so we went for a short hike down into a canyon and found Stóragjá, a cave with a pool of geo thermal water. It is recommended not to swim there since there is reported to be E. coli in the water, but we still found evidence of abandoned underwear. Another walk near that took us 30 min through a grove of metallic looking trees, and to a fantastic view. A sea of silver bark and flaming golden leaves set before a sunset of orange and dark cloud. Beyond that was a stretch of lava rock, and a cave entrance beneath a long stretch of earth ripped apart, and here we found Grjótagjá. A larger underground cave with thermal waters, it was quite impressive. Another 30 min walk would take you to the foot of a massive cinder one the size of a small city. Since the light was dwindling we opted to walk back and drive to Viti, an extinct volcano with a lake in the center. Along the way we stumbled onto Hverir, a large steam vent in a thermal park right off the road. Then a short drive off the road we got to Viti, and watched the sun go down. This is such a gorgeous area, with even more to see, such as Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

  It's has been impossible to capture the perfect moment, in a land of perfect gorgeous moments. And it was a hard thing to realize that we wouldn't be able to see everything. So, in Iceland I had to learn to relax my grip, on my camera and on my expectations for myself.  What I have left are memory moments of wonder; the glittering trees, mountains cuddling against oceans, red-roofed houses standing in the middle of raw beauty. The sound of the wind whistling against the car. Imperfectly and spontaneously found, and mine.