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 return, suddenly, the clouds begin to lift.
Voila! A town appears from the mist, sunshine on Seydisfjordjur.
The Icelanders speak such good English that it’s almost embarrassing that we can hardly pronounce
a word in their language. English seems to be the second official language—we make this judgment on the
basis that all signs are in the two languages. It makes life much easier for us although it hasn’t helped
us communicate any better with the French. Another interesting factoid is that many people travel the ring
road (1) and we bump into quite a few time-and-time again. Whilst we don’t see many hikers on the trails,
the tour buses are busy transporting people to and from the various points of interest. One can stay off the
beaten track, as we mostly do, or have a more formal tour. Whatever your choice, it is an amazing and
rugged country.
We included this one because it produces an amazing bonding. Unfortunately, the rocks were
wet on the day, probably are all the time. When a partner climbs and reaches down to clasp the
hand of the other, a tremendous energy and trust forms between them. The anchor has to be confident
of the position and for the grasper, confidence in the anchor is essential. The feelings are unique.
Intermission and the curtain comes down again.
Another distraction from a wonderful day in of itself. This area is the south-western corner
of Iceland.
Another flow of water, we think number 786,045, give or take a couple.
Doug Morton, an interesting man we met in Natal recently who is also an architect and photographer,
commented as follows: ‘When I see volumes of water like this (Iceland) I realize South Africa is an arid
country.’ In fact, wherever we travel, we continue to witness massive lakes, strongly flowing rivers and
an abundance of waterfalls. The occasional spot of rain is another daily source of water. Man, this place
is wet. We are diligently working on a plan to divert some of the water to the dry San Diego region.
Stay tuned. Doug also reminded us following mention of the Reagan/Gorbachev summit, not on a peak of course,
that Fischer/Spassky grandmasters dueled in this city, too. We can't see our contribution to the city, unfortunately.
One more with the full mountain backdrop behind the town of Seydisfjordjur.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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