A&K Travels: Iceland 2018

Iceland has only one main road and a small population of ~334,000 people.

Kirsten's cousin and family invited us to join them. We rented campers and circumnavigated the country anti-clockwise starting from Reykjavik. Their luxury home is on the right and our little camper on the left.

Downside: very tight accommodation / positives: 4WD and allowed to drive highland tracks!

Lucky we were invited to dinners and social gatherings! Thanks for all the food and great company!

Icelandic landscapes are stunning when the sun is shining and the sky is blue.....

south coast

4WD track towards Landmannalaugar

coast near Egilsstaðir

Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, bordering Vatnajökull National Park

Dyrhólaey peninsula

Þingvellir National Park

... and not so much fun when the weather is miserable. We did consider riding our bicycles, until we discovered that the average summer temperature is 10–13 °C, mean percent of sunshine during the day in July is 30%, the average number of rainy days in July is 15 and the average wind speed is >18km/hour. Definitely not the ideal country for bicycle-touring and camping!

My first purchase in Iceland: a 100% waterproof over-sized jacket, which I used a lot!

From inside the car it still looks gorgeous, especially with the rainbows and cloud formations.

According to "Iceland Travel", there are over 10,000 waterfalls in Iceland, some of which are spectacular.

Seljalandsfoss

Svartifoss

Skógafoss

Gullfoss

Dettifoss

Iceland is sitting on the boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates and was created by the Iceland plume, which resulted in constant volcanic and geothermal activity. It is also home to one of the deadliest volcanoes in the world. The eruption of Laki in 1783 is estimated to have killed over six million people globally. The release of 120 million tons of sulphur compounds resulted in a drop in global temperatures, changes in weather patterns, pollution, crop failure and droughts as far away as Europe, Russia, North Africa, Japan and India. Some experts agree that persistent crop failure and hunger resulting from the eruption was the main cause of the French Revolution!

Ninety percent of Iceland is composed of igneous rock and ten percent is sedimentary. Much of the surface is covered in lava with little vegetation, except for the Woolly Fringe Moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum).

moss-covered lava along the south coast

Geological formations are omnipresent, unique and very interesting.

Grjótagjá cave with geothermal hot spring (featured in Game of Thrones)

volcanic landscape near Askja

Askja caldera

Víðgelmir lava tube cave

Hljóðaklettar canyon

Námafjall Geothermal Area

Mývatn Nature Baths

dark lava columns at Svartifoss

Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon

geothermal hot spring at Landmannalaugar in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve

Besides the natural features, Iceland has interesting architecture, cute fishing towns and scrumptious food (at exorbitant prices).

Downtown Reykjavik

Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik

Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik

Icelandic turf houses - new...

..... and original

Djúpivogur

Akureyri

Seyðisfjörður

my best meal in Iceland: Langoustine tails baked in cream (Pakkhús Restaurant in Höfn)

Staple food in Iceland includes seafood, lamb and dairy. Hence the most common terrestrial fauna are sheep and cows. Icelandic horses are famous for their longevity, hardiness and five gaits (versus the usual three), the additional two being called "tölt" and "flugskeið", i.e. flying pace (which looks very uncomfortable for the rider!).

Native fauna comprises aquatic species, birds and the arctic fox. Here are some photos of the flora and fauna regularly encountered in Iceland.

The Alaskan lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) was introduced intentionally in 1945 to re-vegetate soil eroded by introduced livestock.

Iceland offers many adventurous activities - not cheap, but heaps of fun! And the perfect uniform, i.e. wet/cold weather protection and safety gear, is always included!