After a soaking rain, the thick blanket of moss which covers the impossibly rugged lava fields turns a brilliant green. There are lava fields like this over much of Iceland. Now cooled and hardened, the black lava beds now hide caves, deep crevices and dangerous ankle-turning loose rocks. There are little, narrow roads which precariously wind through, up & down its sudden abrupt surfaces but they are risky to take your car on. Some have no place to turn around, or have steep blind hills to highbottom or bottom out on. But the view is irresistably beautiful, stark, desolate, and one I long to see again.
6 comments:
Looks so rich and lush. I imagine the air is pristine and that each breath refreshes the soul and renews the spirit. Beautiful photo Terry.
Bicycles.
Thanks T - you would love it. The air IS pristine, and fabulously delicious to breathe. When the moss is dry, it turns a lighter, almost gray shade of green... and is sort of dormant until the next drenching.
Jeanne - lots of folks DO use bicycles, however it is not only hard on the bike tires, but hazardous to the riders. The roads are quite uneven, composed of sharp, black lava gravel, and rough all the way around. Besides - for me, my legs would give out after 1/4 mile over such steep hills and dales... LOL
more on bikes... I've seen a lot of cyclists these past few weeks doing the ring road, and the weather is bad often enough that I'd imagine they never quite get dry. Furthermore, there are some long stretches in the south where the road crosses through vast treeless glacial sands. In the wind (almost always here), it could be incredibly painful. Not to mention that a lot of these roads have no shoulder for a bike to share the road with a car, and since the roads tend to be elevated for better drainage, a mis-step could end painfully.
I prefer hiking away from the roads altogether :-D
Horse(pony)back? With padded horseshoes, of course.
We send that moss abroad actually. It is so expensive in Germnay for example.
And, oh yes, these green lava fields is where our trolls live. You knew that, right? :)
Post a Comment