Mai adventures and pictures

Fairytale place Gjáin and Háifoss waterfall

Publiziert am September 14, 2020 von jesmai76

First of all, I had a quite adventurous and challenging drive the last 4 km to Gjáin as only on the way back I found out that this is a road for a 4×4… I was sweating (although only driving 15-20 km/h, I was nearly overtaken by a cyclist) and hoping that no car is coming from the opposite direction, but once I stepped away from the parking lot and climbed down the steps to the Gjáin valley, I immediately felt like being in a fairytale… I would have loved a little bench there and I could have spent hours there…

Gjáin is a tiny valley with small picturesque waterfalls, clear, tranquil ponds and amazing volcanic structures – it is like a sample of the Icelandic nature. Getting there, it is almost surprising as this tiny valleyappears like from nowhere and is only visible as you approach the edge of the tiny valley. Even the lava in this area takes on beautiful forms in Gjáin. You can find lava caves and a lot of basalt column as well as volcanic tuft.

And for the TV show nerds, episode 5 of season 4 of Game of Thrones was filmed here when Arya Stark and her traveling „companion“ Sandor Clegane (The Hound) come to a resting place and continue their ongoing dispute. This resting place was Gjáin.

Háifoss (The high waterfall) is the 3rd highest and also one of the most striking waterfalls in Iceland. Placed in a magnificent but relatively narrow gorge leading into the Icelandic Highland from the valley Þjórsárdalur it is one of the major waterfall attractions in Iceland. It is part of the river Fossá or Waterfall River. The height is impressive as it falls the 122 m down the two million years old cliff. It is a beautiful sight from top to bottom including the geologically rich background in the cliffs. It is not a lonely waterfall as it lives in the bottom of the gorge with its dear friend and companion for thousands of years, the waterfall Granni or Neighbour.

The drive to Háifoss was less challenging as it was on a „normal“ gravel road, but it was quite a challenge standing at the edge of the cliff trying to take pictures as quite a hefty wind was blowing that day. But I think I managed quite well.

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | 2 Kommentare

Reynisfjara_Skógafoss_Seljalandsfoss_Gljúfrabúi

Publiziert am September 12, 2020 von jesmai76

Yesterday was the day of the Black Beach „Reynisfjara“ and the 3 waterfalls „Skógafoss“, „Seljalandsfoss“ and „Gljúfrabúi“ and the weather was also well enough.

The Reynisfjara (Reynisdrangar) are basalt sea stacks near the village Vik í Mýrdal in southern Iceland which are framed by a black sand beach which was ranked under the top 10 non-tropical beaches in 1991. There are warnings because of the sneaker waves and I totally got why. The waves were so powerful and approaching closer and closer to the beach where I was standing, accompanied by a very mysterious noise – it sounded like a big whale is gonna eating me soon… (pictures 1-3)

Skógafoss is a waterfall also in the south of Iceland and belongs to the biggest ones in the country. It is 25 m wide and 60 m high. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow which is normally visible on sunny days. I was getting as close as possible to the bottom of Skógafoss and was simply in awe of nature’s power… It is unbelievable how much water is constantly dropping and I’m wondering if this is unlimited possible…

According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. (pictures 4-9)

Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall also in the south of Iceland with a drop of 60 m. It has a small cave, so that one can walk behind the waterfall. (pictures 10-15)

Not far away from Seljalandsfoss is the Gljúfrabúi (or Gljúfrafoss) which translates into „One who lives in the canyon“. The falls are partially obscured by a cliff rock, but one can follow a trail to enter the narrow canyon where the water plummets to a small pool. Either you need longer legs, less water running or being more brave… I didn’t enter. (pictures 16-18)

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | Schreib einen Kommentar

Fjaðrárgljúfur

Publiziert am September 12, 2020 von jesmai76

On Thursday I had a long drive from Höfn till Hella, all along the road 1 in the south, 375 km in constant pouring rain – it felt like driving in one big rain cloud all the way.

But I had a bit of luck, because the woman from my guesthouse in Höfn told me to stop at Fjaðrárgljúfur and I did so. 50% of my time there it was more or less not raining but it suddenly started again and I got totally wet and my pictures are also a bit off. But it was worth to get off the road 1 and stop there.

Fjaðrárgljúfur is a canyon in south-east Iceland. This canyon has steep walls and winding water and is up to 100 m deep and 2 km long. Its origins dates back to the cold periods of the Ice Age, about 2 million years ago.

In May 2019 this canyon became „famous“, authorities closed the canyon to visitors after it appeared in a music video by Justin Bieber. The resulting stream of visitors threatened to damage the canyon’s environment, but nowadays it can be visited again after small fences and marked paths have been installed.

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | Schreib einen Kommentar

Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón

Publiziert am September 9, 2020 von jesmai76

Yesterday I’ve been to two amazing glacier lagoons – Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón. I already knew Jökulsárlón from 5 years ago but this time I discovered Fjallsárlón which I liked even more. Both places were holding such an amazing atmosphere, if not mysticism, and especially at the Fjallsárlón I found it incredible sitting vis à vis of this massive glacier tongue…

Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake or lagoon in the southern part of the Vatnajökull National Park. Situated at the head of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, it developed into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake has grown since then at varying rates because of melting of the glaciers. It is now only 1.5 km away from the ocean’s edge and covers an area of about 18 km². In 2009 it was reported to be the deepest lake in Iceland, at over 284 m and it is considered as one of the natural wonders of Iceland. Jökulsárlón has even been a setting for four Hollywood movies.

Fjallsárlón is not far away from Jökulsárlón, only a 10 minutes drives, but for me it is an hidden treasure and I have been the only visitor there… Fjallsárlón is also a glacier lake or lagoon at the south end of the glacier Vatnajökull. The glacier calving into the lagoon is part of the Vatnajökull National Park, too. Here at the Fjallsárlón you are much closer to the glacier and you can breathe a lot of peace and tranquility – at least this is what I was „feeling“.

There will be a lot of photos as I had difficulties to decide… 😉

Jökullsárlón

Fjallsárlón

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | 3 Kommentare

End of quarantine, finally, and in the South now

Publiziert am September 8, 2020 von jesmai76

Sunday, as a birthday present, I had my 2nd Iceland COVID-19 test done (the 4th swab in total within 15 days). And just in time, when I reached Höfn yesterday, I got my negative result and am „free“ again! 🙂 Hence, I had two celebrations yesterday at the restaurant Pakkhúsid where I treated myself with an Icelandic lobster menu.

I’ve left the East fjords and am now in the South. All my East fjords pictures are posted and tomorrow I’ll put up the ones from today. Some kind of magical places, at least for me, were on my list today… Stay tuned!

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | Schreib einen Kommentar

Stuðlagil Canyon

Publiziert am September 8, 2020 von jesmai76

In the valley Jökuldalur (Glacier Valley) in East Iceland there is a marvelous natural site that almost nobody knew about until recently. For a long time it was hidden underwater or until the hydroelectric plant Kárahnjúkavirkjun was built and the water flow in the glacier river Jökla was remarkably reduced. This marvel is the part of Jökla’s canyon, which is called Stuðlagil Canyon. Stuðlagil Canyon has one of the most significant and most beautiful basalt columns formations in Iceland. The color of the water changes in autumn, so it’s now brownish instead of clear blue.

I cannot remember how I took a note of it as it is not listed in any of my travel books or maps. I may have seen it on Instagram and this must be the reason that I saw more (youngish) people during my stop at Stuðlagil than at all other places together in East Iceland. All of them browsing around for THE Instagram shot…

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | 3 Kommentare

Hallormsstaðaskógur and Hengifoss

Publiziert am September 8, 2020 von jesmai76

Hallormsstaðaskógur is one of the larger „real“ forests in Iceland, not far from Egilsstadir, it’s a National forest. Originally is has been a birch forest which was protected beginning of the 20th century and since then the area has nearly doubleb and 85 different tree species can be found now.

Hallormsstaðaskógur is next to the big lake Lögurinn, with a 25 x 2.5 kilometer surface the river Lagarflót flows through.

Not far from this forest and lake the 3rd highest waterfall in Iceland can be found, the Hengifoss. It is 128 m high and surrounded by basaltic strata with thin, red layers of clay between the basaltic layers. Further down the Hengifossá river is the waterfall Litlanesfoss, 30 m high and notable for the columnar jointed volcanics around it.

Hiking up to the Hengifoss showed me that I’m definitely not a mountain goat, nor an Icelandic sheep… 😉

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | Schreib einen Kommentar

Eskifjörður

Publiziert am September 4, 2020 von jesmai76

Eskifjörður is a town and harbor in east Iceland with a large fishing industry – and the first place I’m staying and counting the days of my quarantine…

As there was an orange weather alert for the region today and travelling/driving shouldn’t be done if not necessary, I decided to go for a „photo walk“ before lunch – and I was lucky to catch only hefty winds but no rain at this time. I was walking around the shore and the harbor area and was looking for colorful objects.

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | 2 Kommentare

Gufufoss

Publiziert am September 4, 2020 von jesmai76

The Gufufoss is a waterfall in the east of Iceland, close to Seyðisfjörður. In Icelandic Gufufoss means „Steam waterfall“. The river Fjarðará falls 27 m down as Gufufoss.

It was a miserable day yesterday, constantly raining and with strong winds. At the Gufufoss I was lucky and caught a 10-15 minutes rain pause, but everything else I wanted to visit on my way back did „fall into water (and wind)“…

01 Gufufoss

02 Gufufoss

03 Gufufoss

Veröffentlicht unter Iceland 2020 | 2 Kommentare

Neskaupstaður

Publiziert am September 2, 2020 von jesmai76

Yay, I’m alive today and did my first little tour not far from here to Neskaupstaður. This town is located on the neighbour fjord „Norðfjörður“ of Eskifjördur and I reached it via an 8 km long tunnel.

In the Neskaupstaður Nature Reserve I did hike to the Páskahellir (which translates into Easter cave). As I am quite short legged it involed some proper climbing down the rocks and as it was quite windy I didn’t go completely down – safety first.

It is said that one can watch the sun dance on Easter morning in Páskahellir – that’s the origin of its name.

The small cave was carved out by waves after the Ice Age ended some 10,000 years ago. Inside the cave smaller holes left by trees are visible which were covered by lava about 12 million years ago. And on the outside you see pillow lava and a dike.