Lazarow World-Hike-About

A very dangerous section. They charge to enter this area. In the USA, liability concerns would demand that chains be erected or the hike be closed, in our opinion. Meantime 'our hero' elects to stay grounded and have a smoke. The concept of relativity comes into play regarding the weather, in Iceland. One learns to change one's perspective. Living in Southern California means the norm is sunshine mostly, and little rain. Whereas this is not ideal in itself, one tends to think of it as typical. We learned quickly that when it was not raining and blowing in this part of the world, it was good weather. Should the sun trickle through then it's party time. We may be negative, but having a function like an outdoor wedding might be considered a trifle risky . Okay, just kidding. Positioned at the low but steep peak, although tricky to get there. Bleak but attractive, we think. A view of Mount Hildarfjall, many different landscapes in a small a...

A view of the first false peak after ascending towards the base. The actual peak is at rear although the route takes one over the prominent peak in the picture. A pond of water fed by streams, attracts plant life...and us. Arguably, it was one of our two or three best hikes and experiences in this country. There we go again, arguing. The town of Akureyri is in the north of the country, making it closer to the North Pole than Reykjavik. While we like both cities, the northern town is a delight. It is much smaller than the capital but the second largest, population wise. It is surrounded by mountains, all snowcapped. It lies on the water, an expanse of the most desirable blue liquid we have seen. The only people we met on the trail were locals. They are friendly, speak such good English that one forgets it’s not their mother tongue or father’s for that matter. Talking of fathers, it appears they don’t use surnames as other westerners do. They follow a system not exact...

Going with the flow at Dettifoss, apparently the most voluminous flow in Europe. Admiring the wide falls at Selfoss, nearly a mile upstream from Dettifoss. We were worried about round-the-clock light. Although the sun supposedly sets, in a fashion, it’s always light outside. It’s quite nice and certainly makes walking to the bathroom during the night easy. Reading in the tent is another plus. However, we don’t think we know too many people who live in tents so the advantage might be a trifle too specific. Although the saying Mom always used when we were living at home was something like: “Do you think you live in a tent?” That’s was when we forgot to close the door. We suppose we could provide a different answer these days. What is a little worrying is that our editor enjoys this type of lifestyle very much—it augurs well for our cost of living but it might prove to be a little uncomfortable. In the meantime, we’re thinking of asking anyone out there whether we cou...

A haunting Sunday afternoon on our own. The water keeps on flowing and flowing as we wend our way back to the trailhead. The Blue Lagoon, a distraction from this hike. The water is a geothermal mixture of liquid from 7,000 feet below together with ocean water, chemical reactions and a little help from man. What it means is that it's hot and beautifully blue. Clearly, we are in the height of summer although it rains a few times a day and the temperature never goes above the low 50’s, during a good moment. This latter couple of words were chosen specifically. The wind blows constantly. So why is it, from our perspective, a hot summer? Ice cream. The locals are always eating ice cream. We presume it must be in order to keep cool during this unseasonably warm period. It does matter where you stand. Sometimes on the trails, it's even more important where you sit. One to watch closely. This is the view, behind Jenni, when we commenced the hike. On our...

Destination viewed after 3 miles of ascending, as we get below peak. Jenni reaches target, Mount Hildarfjall—Myvatn in the background. (A lake of midges) We've passed through regions where the impact of volcanoes have left their marks. In one spot, the remnants of the 1996 eruption is still clearly visible. One explosion caused blocks of ice, weighing many tons, to fly through the air and destroy all and anything in their flight path. These beyond-comprehension-objects create enormous damage to the environment, even to people with the hardest of heads. An interesting aspect we've noticed is that it appears the recovery of the land takes less time than in other parts of the world. For instance, in Hawaii, the land appears to take a lot longer to regenerate growth and recovery. Bear in mind, we make this observation as untrained laymen. Obviously, everyone is aware of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicavolcanoconiosis , the danger from silica particles. We humbly a...