The photos in this article cover a huge distance, from Isafjordur, in the northern Westfjords, across the north of Iceland to the Godafoss and Dettifoss waterfalls. After spending the night in the northern port town of Isafjordur, which means something like ice fjord town, we headed south again, along a road which followed the zigzagging contours of one fjord after another. It was cool and cloudy, but no rain.
We were happy to see that the Arctic Fox Center was still open. It usually closes at the end of August, but it was Sep 4 and they were still open. The "Center" is actually a small house with a couple of nice exhibits, a beautifully done documentary, and a fenced yard in the back with two arctic foxes. The foxes were rescued after being shot by farmers who fear foxes kill lambs.
Continuing south, the views of the fjords were wonderful. We stopped to take a look at this sturdy little shed. It looked abandoned. Many areas in Iceland have this rich, thick, thigh-high green grass.
The shed from the photo above is actually in the photo below, taken after driving twenty more minutes. The shed is along the coastline just to the right of the central peak and the inlet. You'd need to look at this on your big TV to be able to see it. The wind was blowing pretty hard, which you can sort of see on the surface of the water.
The wind was some of the strongest we encountered during the trip here. The water is covered in whitecaps. The rental car companies warn everyone to hold onto car doors when opening them, as the wind can catch it and bend it backwards. When I went to get back into the car here, I held onto the door as I opened it and the door pulled me along with it. Almost pulled me over.
On our way down the coast, these guys were hanging out on the road. The other sheep had already run off the sides of the road by the time we approached. These two were bold and curious. Yet again, sheep in Iceland looking freshly primped and blow-dried. When driving around Iceland, do keep an eye out for sheep. There are a lot of barbed wire fences, so I'm not sure why so many sheep are running loose. Our hosts the night before told us there is a big roundup in late fall, where all the sheep are tracked down and sorted out so their owners can house and feed them over the winter.
This was later that day as we approached the
Malarhorn Guesthouse. Iceland's stormy weather makes for beautiful skies.
After we checked into the guesthouse, we walked down the shore, past faded blue plastic fishing nets, rusting boat engine parts, and abandoned white fiberglass hulls. Around the bend and up a hill, we found this lovely cove of crystal clear water. Oddly, there were a lot of desiccated frog bodies strewn along the trail and lying in the tall grass. My guess was that seabirds were catching them and eating them, but we never really found out. There's a bright orange lighthouse on top of the far island in the photo - just a tiny speck you won't be able to see on a phone.
After dinner, we drove back to a great vantage point along the coast to check out the sunset. While the wind howled around the car, we ate our dessert and watched the clouds shift and the sunlight change shades. We were all alone there. I loved all the layers of clouds, from the dark ones practically touching the hills to the ones way up in the stratosphere catching the last rays of the sun.
The next day, we continued our drive across the top of Iceland to reach the second largest Icelandic city - Akureyri. We saw this island, and more great clouds, along the way. I couldn't see any part of the edge of this island that is NOT a cliff. I wonder if you can even get onto it.
With just another hour to go before arriving into Akureyri, a bit north of the town called Dalvik, we stopped off to take a look from the top of a tall cliff with a small waterfall tumbling into midair and down to the water. We ended up doing an impromptu, death-defying hike along a steep hillside to get to the top of that waterfall. This is the view looking back toward where we started. It was beautiful and we were the only people there. There are three seagulls soaring in front of the cliffs.
Unfortunately, after risking death to get to the waterfall, we couldn't see it at all - it was below us, over the edge of a 150' cliff. Out of desperation, I lay on my stomach and reached out to try to see over the edge.
This is what it looked like lying on my stomach and holding the camera facing downwards at the edge of the small waterfall we came to see. Years and years of moisture and cold allowed a thick carpet of moss to grow on the boulder just over the edge.
The next day, it was raining from the moment we got up. We were on our way to see two of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, Godafoss and Dettifoss. As you may have guessed, "foss" means waterfall in Icelandic. It was cold and rainy and windy as we walked the paths around Godafoss. I was impressed by the number of people out braving the weather. You have to expect some bad weather when visiting Iceland. In the black and white photo below, you can see a couple of people in the upper left, which helps with scale.
Next, we drove up to Dettifoss, which is a thundering waterfall in a canyon, surrounded by nearly barren rocky flats. The falls throw spray high into the air, almost hiding themselves.
In the photo below, you can see the river fed by the falls, flowing out of the canyon on the left.
Here's a short video that gives some idea of the power of the falls.
That's the end of the second leg of the trip. More coming soon.
Click here to see photos from the third leg of the trip, including Studlagil, Hengifoss, Litlanesfoss, and Heineberg Glacier Lagoon.
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