Sunday 7 September 2008

room with a view






















































Hi everyone. Sorry Ive been out of touch but its all been very busy recently. I went on an excursion yesterday, from 8 am to 2 am, so a pretty long day, but well worth it. I recommend to anyone going to Iceland to have an excursion budget, as it's well worth investing some money to get a good guide in a good vehicle who knows where he's going. Renting a car and going around yourself is also a good option and cheaper, but if time is of the essence, you just can't beat local knowledge. In one day therefore, we (there were four of us) went to Akureyi (where I spotted a whale), then to godafoss (a waterfall of about 18 meters), to lake Myvatn, and all the way to the Askja volcano, where you can see a warm lake inside a crater. In between we stopped to see hot spots smoking away and smelling of rotten eggs, and a whole field of rising lava which once used to be a lake until there was an eruption in the heart of it. To get to Akjva you must drive for hours through miles and miles of just lava, and this is where the guide gets handy as you sometimes have to drive through a river to continue. This is where the Americans sent their astronauts to train for their time on the moon, to get used to the lunar landscape. So yes, it was all absolutely mind blowingly beautiful trip and well worthe very penny! Akjva is 450 kilometres from Skagastrond, so thats a LOT of travelling in one day. I had only just woken up today when the other people on my residency suggested climbing a nearby mountain. We set out at 2pm and got back at 7.30pm, and thats all walking time! This mountain is a nightmare to climb as its all rocks and moss pretty much, and because there was no beaten path as of yet, just the stakes to mark it out. It was pretty treacherous on the way up but the top, as we had been promised, is completely flat. It was so beautiful and weird, because the top is only moss, its like someone has carpeted it. Green and white moss all over, completely flat, with stunning views. I layed on it, it was really like a mattress. Sorry for the photo overload, but im getting my paints tomorrow (hopefully) so that will keep me away from the camera! see you later x

4 comments:

HISTORIAS DE ESTA VIDA X JMEC............... said...

Y EL HIELO DONDE ESTA,SUERTE.......

Unknown said...

Spectaculaire! Une belle palette de couleurs a travailler!Certainement , une journee inoubliable, X

Clement said...

Clairement un bon plan de payer pour l'excursion! Les photos donnent super bien!

mer-merlina said...

Hello Aglae, it's Ivetta.
I was searching the web for the name of the waterfall that falls into the ocean between Skagastrond and Kalfhamarsvik - and found your blog, though no name of the waterfall!
I've also got a blog, but it's in Russian - at http://mer-merlina.livejournal.com