This is the road which leads to a large isthmus off the western coast of Iceland called the Snaefellsness peninsula. The scenery just knocks you out (as sure as the wind blows you over!).
Everything is so remote - sometimes it feels like you are the only ones on the planet. You rarely meet cars on the empty road as you travel for hours. The stark beauty leaves me wordless, as my eyes feast.
These are some rocks, deeply eroded by wind and water near Trollagilskaekur creek.
A dear friend asked me today "How do you like Iceland?" I responded "I adore it." He continued "Okay, so you see some lava, some cindercones, a few glaciers... then what?" I smiled and tried to come up with the words to describe how the place just got under my skin. Everything is genuine there. What you see is exactly what you get. The people are practical, friendly, welcoming and hardy. I admire them, and the land that formed them.
Soon I shall be there again :-)
28 comments:
That does look like a very beautiful place.
Omagosh, just when I thought you couldn't possibly outdo the pictures you have shown us thus far! Well, maybe not outdo, but certainly astound all over again. Those top two especially are amazing - its quite evident my anyone of your Iceland posts why there is plenty reason to have been so enthralled by the place (and the people).
20 days and counting, I'm sooooo excited for you!! :-D
Sometimes there are no words to describe something like that. Every adjective is an understatement.
I can just imagine traveling down the road and I really wish I could reach out and touch the smooth black rocks in the picture.
Terry I love these photos, they are so representative of Iceland.
I am looking forward to my trip....wish we were going to be there at the same time....perhaps next time :)
such stunning images!
and nothing man made
cluttering it up and detracting
from its natural beauty...
as i looked and read thru,
i thought, in a way it was kind of scary,
and then realized its because
we are so desensitized
with all the crap we have built up
around us in big crowded
dehumanized cities...
and this they call civilization?
so that when we get to these
most magnificent places in nature
it isnt surprising that they might
make us feel as naked or vulnerable
or exposed as they are....
with nothing else to hide behind
there is only it...and us.
its pretty real.
i had a friend years ago, in my 20's
a guitarist from a small town north
of Toronto, and he used to get scared
coming to the city, and i used to get
scared going to where he lived,
out in the country,
cuz it was all wide open spaces and
i didnt know where i was,
and he felt all claustrophobic
in amongst the wall to wall buildings here
and stuff crowded into our big cities...
and i felt like there was nowhere
to hide in such openness there.
interesting perspectives based on
what we each were accustomed to....
when you get an opportunity
to just have Nature speak to you
so openly and clearly and beautifully,
no wonder you embrace this place
like an old friend you knew
in another time...
i dont think i have ever seen
anything quite like it.
i love being able to see the images
you have shown here Terry!
thank you for this opportunity!
xo
Hi Fuzz - always cool to see you here. Iceland is gorgeous, no two ways about it.
Autumn, perhaps you should make your way over to Island some time. You won't be disappointed :-) Yes, I'm getting excited too (the countdown time is zooming by) but I suppose I need to begin packing!
Julie - the road is as amazing (even more so) in person as in the photo. It is just fabulous. The clean beauty of this place astounds me. When I went to Geysir, we saw a very small version of Yellowstone's Old Faithful. There weren't any boardwalks - in fact just a small rope alongside the trail... just the wonderful earth open for all to see. Of course, there are probably some dumb tourists who don't use common sense and maybe put a toe in the boiling water... but hey, you live and you learn heh heh heh.
Greetings Mo'a - Your icon is always so cute to see :-) Yes, it really would be great if we were in Island at the same time. Not to worry - as I'm sure there will be a next time :-) Your son's wedding is coming up soon, is it not?
The wedding is July 29th,he and his future bride and inlaws are coming here in the end of June and we are having a party here the 2nd of July. Did you receive the translation from me?
Hmmm - no translation as of yet. I'll look for something in the mail?
How wonderful that the wedding is getting closer. Are you feeling up to dancing yet? Your Hawaiian picture looked great - you go girl!
What are the temperatures like this time of year there?
Aren't geysers amazing??? I get so upset at the people who stick things (including themselves) into the water. But you're right...live and LEARN! bwahahaha!
About new boots...It's true that you should try to break them in before attempting big hikes. I wore mine on my short NC hike and I have been wearing them around the house since I bought them. Also I plan to break them in more on some of the shorter trails before taking them on a long hike. If they don't feel just right by then, I will wear my old boots. (Just like a good Outdoorsy Girl, I will have them with me, also! :)
Actually, I believe there's less crap in the "air" there, which is what makes it feel so "empty". Things still are what they are. The atmosphere in the states is so solid you could cut it with a knife. I can elaborate if you like, but I mainly wonder if you know what I mean.
I'm assuming that Island is like Sweden, although even more so.
Oops, I mean Iceland. That was the swedish spelling.
Yes, that is my country! Very good pictures indeed. I recently drove teh road up to Snæfellness.
I love the way you describe your love and admiration for this country. I feel very similar, but am always uncapable to put it into words!
Just stunning. The tourist board couldn't make Iceland more appealing. Since you live somewhere in this state, have you ever visited the White Mountains, east of Bishop? The scenery might look familiar, although most of the basalt is red instead of black.
Autumn, if you look at the top of my blog you will see a temperature reading for Iceland - click on it and you will get lots of details. Right now the temp is hanging around in the mid 40's F. I'll bring my coat and rain hat. :-)
LISA - HI! I tried to get some comments up earlier today but Blogger hates me and ate up everything I put in. sigh. I think I am much like your guitarist friend - I get a bit wierded out if I am in the city too much. I prefer the outside places with dirt, trees, water - sky... no noise pollution (leaf blowers ought to be banned - grrrr).
Julie - you are wise to bring both pairs. Last time I went to Iceland, I had bought no boots, and they gave me very sore feet. I ended up using my old, holes-in-the-bottom boots. It made for a lot of extra weight in my pack. I don't want a repeat so I've got to quit procrastinating and buy some pronto, to wear them in before the trip.
Jeanne - I do know what you mean about the air! Interesting but I believe you are right. As much as I'd like to hope my lungs aren't filled with toxic waste from the air here in the US, I'm not holding my breath.. yuk yuk... I think Island (I first learned of this spelling when I met Bjarni at 14 yrs of age.. he told me all about it then :-) is as clean and pure as a country could possibly be.
Monika, I'm always happy to see you stop in. Tee hee - you can't take a "bad" picture over there, because the subject matter is all so spectacular! You have a wonderful homeland.
Doug - When I was growing up we went camping extensively in the Bishop, Mono Lake, Bodie, Bridgeport regions and areas beyond. I always saw the White Mountains from a distance, and wondered what they were like up close. That weird lunar landscape has always fascinated me. I have to say that Iceland is even a few steps beyond my beautiful much-beloved California Sierra mountain range... although I wouldn't have thought it possible before actually seeing Iceland.
oh good,
you dont hate me...
i was getting a little paranoid there.
usually i'm invisible.
leaf blowers,
maaaaan, dont get me started!
the last 2 times i mowed my
lawn and swept every single tiny
leaf and blade of grass up,
my neighbours gardeners came
and mowed their lawns and blew
all their little dusty leafy crap
alll over my sidewalk and back onto
my lawn...
holy &#@! - i almost
flipped out, menopause style...
i cant believe how rude some
neighbours are...
mindless too...
okay, lisa, breathe....
i'll just look at those beautiful photos
and that should help...!
Come on Lisa - yeah right - you, invisible? HA HA HA HA :-D I've come to love seeing your rambling thoughts gracing my place with humor and down to earth little truths. Come for a ride with me on the bike - let that beautiful cascade of wavey hair stream out (no, on second thought tie the hair back or it will turn into Medusa's hair)... My pipes are the only form of noise pollution that I'm somehow able to endure *scratches head in puzzlement*
At first I thought it was called "Snuffaluffagus." LOL.
Beautiful pictures. Absolutely breathtaking.
why thank you Terry!
i do believe that just made my day!
i think i might be terrified
on a motorcycle, wimp that i am....
Medusa's hair, ha!
i think mine already looks like
Medusas hair even before the ride...
this long wavy 50 year old hair
is better looked at from a distance!
so you prefer the sound of your pipes
over that of the leafblower, i assume?
why not!! i think its part of
the freeing experience...
probably wouldnt be half as much fun
without the accompanying sounds!!
Every picture amazes me. I just cannot believe a place so amazing really exists. It all looks so wild and free and yet calm at the same time. Like looking at a legend.
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