Approaching Svartifoss, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel, Waterfall  No Responses »
Dec 182012
 

This photo shows the view of Svartifoss, from a distance, as you approach this stunning waterfall. From this far it looks like a trickle of water falling upon dry rock, where the water just disappears. In actual fact, as can be seen in my other pictures, this water does crash down onto boulders, but forms a large crystal blue pool and a fast flowing stream through the gorge.

After slogging for over a half hour uphill in a light rain this was a great sight to see, letting us know we were getting close. It’s funny despite the bleak weather and days both mine and my travel buddy’s spirits were very high. It’s amazing how happy we were on a rain soaked path in the middle of the bright night with little idea of how far we had to walk to get here!

Photo of a waterfall, Svartifoss, in Iceland. A smooth surtain of water fans out in front of hexagonal columns of black basalt

Iceland’s Rugged Southern Coast

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  2 Responses »
Dec 172012
 

In Icelandic folk lore it’s believed that many of the strange towering rock formations in the country are actually trolls, petrified after failing to take cover before the sunrise. I’m not sure if this formation comes under that explanation, but I like to think two trolls went skinny dipping, got “distracted” and were turned into one single column of solid rock.

A petrified troll, rock column, on the rugged southern coast of iceland

 

Can you name this waterfall?

 Europe, Iceland, Travel, Waterfall  5 Responses »
Dec 152012
 

I’ve decided to have a bit of a contest to see who can be the first to post the name of this waterfall (I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because I can’t remember what it’s called).  It was an incredible site. The cliffs are arranged in a horseshoe shape and the water tumbles off in this semicircular surrounding way.

Waterfall near Lake Myvatn in northern Iceland where the cliffs are arranged in a horseshoe shape and the water tumbles off in a semicircular.

 

Godafoss from Below, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  No Responses »
Dec 122012
 

I would normally try to avoid posting two photos from Iceland in a row, but I’ve tried processing this photo more times than I can remember. It was pretty difficult, mainly because it was shot at midday facing directly into the sun. This is Godafoss, the incredible waterfall in Northern Iceland. On the other side of the river the landscape was swarmed by tour buses, but on this side, there was hardly anyone about. When I clambered my way down  the cliffs to this little beach I was alone. Until my travel buddy came careening down the steep path to join me. We spent a while sat here, watching the people on the other side come for a quick look then head back to their buses.

I could have cropped out the guy standing to the left of the falls, but I decided I liked having him there. It helps to put the scale of the falls in perspective.

View from below the mighty Godafoss waterfall in Northern Iceland under a blue sky where the river water looks turquoise.

On the Edge of Gullfoss, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  1 Response »
Dec 102012
 

Here’s another shot of Gullfoss, right on the edge where the water tumbles down into a giant chasm. I saw a picture from a similar view to this one today, but in winter. It looked incredible. I think I’ll have to brave the cold to experience Iceland in winter, with the aurora borealis and the ice caves accessible!

On the edge of Gullfoss waterfall in Iceland where the water tumbles down into a giant chasm.

Lupin Field, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  No Responses »
Dec 062012
 

We had a jeep that could take us to explore this trail that we found near the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. What an adventure this trail could have been. Unfortunately, it was behind a locked gate so I had to be content with snapping a shot of the flowers and moving on. We found a dirt track later where we could drive right through the fields. Half way down the road we stopped and took photos. Then, climbed up on top of our jeep, cuddled up and watched the clouds roll by… until another jeep rolled past and looked at us funny.

Trail through wildflower field of purple lupins (lupine) reaching to the mountains in Iceland

Turf Roofed Church in Hof, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  1 Response »
Dec 042012
 

This church in Hof was a happy find. I’d wanted to photograph turf roofed buildings the whole time I was there. We were on our way back to the Jockulsarlon Glacier lagoon, on the same day that we had to make it all the way to Reykjavik. We were pressed for time. But, before we left Hof, the tiny little town we’d spent the night in, we had to stop to photograph this church. I’ve posted other shots of the exterior and interior before.

A church with a roof made of turf grass in Hof, Iceland in front of a blue sky

Rickety Bridge, Myvatn Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  4 Responses »
Nov 292012
 

I liked this bridge a lot. So much so that when I saw it from the road I decided I had to photograph it, despite the fact that we had to continue on the road about a quarter-mile more before we could pull in. I began walking back to the bridge, thinking my travel partner would follow. Unfortunately, she didn’t. She took off in the other direction. Come to think of it I still don’t know what she’d spotted there.

The problem was that I’d taken the car keys with me. After setting up to take today’s photo I broke down my gear and debated whether to cross the bridge or not. In the end I did, very gingerly. I took two more pictures there before returning and making the walk back to the car, interrupted by a photo of a farm. When I returned I found my travel buddy huddled next to the car, shivering. I felt pretty bad. Amazingly, she didn’t complain, but from that point on she was in charge of the car key every time we got out. This typically resulted in me returning to the car to find it heated to the temperature of the surface of the sun.

An old, dilapidated, rickety, bridge spans a small river surrounded by barren landscape in Iceland.

Svartifoss and Boulders in the Rain, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  2 Responses »
Nov 272012
 

Featured by Suzy Guese

I found out, on Twitter, that a fellow traveler, Suzy Guese, has a weekly competition for travel bloggers. For a week, she views submissions from all over the world and then chooses five of them. I decided to give it a shot by providing a link to one of my earliest posts, from Zambia. Check it out, along with four other exciting travel stories and follow her for a weekly dose of travel writing:

Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of November 26, 2012

Today’s Photo: Svartifoss and Boulders in the Rain, Iceland

This is another photo of Svartifoss from the “nearly falling in the water” series. My travel partner and I clutched onto each other as we teetered on minimal boulder real estate. She held the umbrella, I worked the camera. There were a few errors resulting in half the umbrella breaking into the frame and the tripod inadvertently getting kicked after somebody slipped. I won’t say who. We were in this awkward position when two other photographers turned up with tripods in tow. They didn’t choose to balance themselves in the middle of the river while trying to operate an umbrella, camera, and prevent each-other from falling into the chilly current like we did. I think it was worth it. At the very least, it was good fun.

Svartifoss in the rain, under a grey sky, with the blurred stream flowing around a boulder

 

 

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