Time to hit the streets! I wish we had enough time to drive all the way around the island, instead of just the southern coast. Motivation for a return visit?!
Eyjafjallajökull – A tiny little building right off the Ring Road tells the story of Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption. You know it- the one that stranded millions of European air travelers in April of 2010. At the foot of the volcano is the Þorvaldseyri family farm. The story of their perseverance, along with the strength of their neighbors and the entire country in the face of natural disaster was inspiring. This is a story that has been repeated for this nation numerous times over.
Professional picture at the Visitor Center, on the day of the erruption.
The farm and mountain today. Quiet, for the time being.
Jökulsárlón – Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull, is breaking apart and moving out to sea at this lagoon. It was really amazing to watch the icebergs turn over and move around in the current.
Underside of an iceberg that just tipped over, and two Puffins.
Amazing iceberg on a cloudy day.
The colors and striations of the formations were so interesting. A huge piece of this iceberg broke off and thundered into the lagoon right in front of us. It was surprisingly loud! Sadly, our reflexes weren’t fast enough to get it on film.
What's left of the iceberg, after a chunk fell off, and the glacier it came from.
Joe and his iceberg.
I'm not sure what we were doing either, but it was obviously hilarious.
Countless waterfalls – All along the Ring Road (main thoroughfare and only road to circle the island) there are numerous amazing waterfalls. Several times we had them all to ourselves.
Skógarfoss
Seljalandsfoss
Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar – For our last day in Iceland, we ventured south of the mainland to the Westman Islands. Only one of this cluster of 12 islands is inhabited: Heimaey. The mission was to find Iceland’s most iconic bird…the puffin! After 7 miles of hiking, we found most of them to be enjoying the summer sea.
Squint your eyes and search for the black dots. Those are puffins.
There were a few who chose not to brave the chilly water.
These were our hiking grounds for the day. Not too shabby!
I hate when I lose my tractor over the side of the cliff! There are actually four puffins in this pic too.