We were bound for Lake Lagarfljot which stretches long & thin below the town of Egilsstadir. The first place we wanted to visit alongside the lake, was the Forest of Halloomstadaskogur. This was Iceland's first National Forest & was initially planted in birch trees during the late 1800's. A Pastor of the local church was vital in having a law passed in 1899 to protect the forest from development, which is why we had this beautiful space to walk amidst today. It was so peaceful & we only encountered one other couple along the way. The birdsong was a constant sound track & made the experience all the more wonderful.
Eventually we came to a rocky outcrop that offered up the most wonderful view of the lake. The water was an unusual colour & trying to identify it resulted in a lot of discussion between the two of us. Jeff calls it creamy green olive & I call it clay! Regardless of the colour, this vantage point was an ideal place to look for the Lagarfljotsormurinn ( the Icelandic relation to the Lochness Monster!!). Alas, even with much concentrated scrutiny of the water surface, no monster was seen here today!!
From there, we drove down into a valley & then up a zigzagging road to the Icelandic Highlands. There was a special place I really wanted to experience, but I hadn't realised the fascinating scenery we'd encounter along the way.
ICE! Patches of it speckled large expanses of alpine grass. It was extraordinary to see.
And then there were ice capped mountains keeping us company along the way!
We were heading for Laugarfell Hostel, which also happened to be the home of two hot tubs sourced from geothermal water. It was the setting that I had been particularly enamoured with & I was SUPER KEEN to get in that hot tub & soak in the scenery. When we arrived, the main tub was being cleaned & the only one available was...ahem...42 degrees Celsius! Enthusiasm is a powerful energy source, so we donned our swimming gear & approached the pool. Jeff has lived in Japan & experienced the level of hot tub heat they are used to there. He gently got himself settled in the lobster pot & gazed out at icy mountains & highland splendour. I burnt my feet & couldn't even get past the ankles, so had to make do with sitting on the cold stones & splashing myself (anointing!!) with the hot water. Even though I was a bit disappointed, it was still an amazing experience!
This was the view along the driveway to the hot tub!! The ice melts below the surface first & becomes water. I kept exclaiming at how much ice there was. (I hadn't expected to see any!). Jeff reminded me that this was... ice-land!!
Spotted throughout the areas of alpine grass, we also saw Whooper Swans. They particularly like nesting in this area, which gave us a good opportunity to get a decent photograph of some. They look very goose like when on the land, but when they are paddling away on the water, their swan side comes out & they are so graceful.
It was time to head back towards the town of Egilsstadir, but first we had a stop to make. There was a waterfall to meet!!
Travelling in Iceland, even for only a few days, one becomes very quickly immune to the presence of waterfalls. There are waterfall ribbons tumbling down cliff faces & mountains everywhere. But some waterfalls are rated on a Top 10 list!! It was one of those that we wanted to visit today. To get to it, we had to walk up hill for 3 km! Having lungs that function poorly, this was not easy for me! In the picture above you can see a tiny white line at top right? That is the top of the waterfall & it took a lot of 'inner mountain goat' to get there!
Hengifoss has a 128 metre drop & then it tumbles down further falls. One of those falls is this one, where it spurts out from between basalt columns. It was stunning.
There were quite a number of us slowly making our way up towards Hengifoss. It occurred to me that it felt like a religious pilgrimage, as with heads bowed we made our way forward as if in penitence. It was also quiet, there was little chatter. Of course, that could have been because of the bird song on one side & the roar of the water as it cascaded over the rocks on the other. It could also have been because we were all puffed!!
There was such elation when we reached the end of the track & saw the power in this body of water as it plummeted to the rock surface below. It was also interesting to see a patch of ice, gripping to the rock face as if it feared to leave it. Getting here was a major achievement & we were so glad we had made the effort.
As a reward for that effort, the views heading back down into the valley were outstanding! It really felt like we were in Lord Of The Rings country!!
After filling the petrol tank, we indulged in some cake before taking the road to Seydisfjordur, where we will be based the next 2 nights. I hadn't expected that to get there we would go up another mountain range & encounter even MORE ice! It was quite something to see it in the sunlight so close to the road.
Another day of outstanding beauty & wonderful experiences. What will tomorrow bring!
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