greenland

From the plane. Click on the images for larger views.

gullfoss

Gullfoss, or golden waterfall.

the rift valley

Raven's Gorge, the edge of the European continent.


















A fissure in the rift valley, between North America and Europe. Iceland adds about 2cm a year as the plates pull apart, and loses about that much yearly to erosion at the sea shore. As we were looking around, other tourists were suiting up to snorkel in the fissures. The water was crystal clear.





























From the rift valley, you can see the wall of the North American continent rising above the Law Rock on the Parliament Plains, where the Icelandic Commonwealth was formed by Vikings in 930. The white flag pole marks the spot.

From the top, looking back over the rift valley and the Law Rock. Lava flows formed the swirling pattern of the rock.

geysir

Here it is, Geysir, the oldest known and now dormant geyser that lends its name to all the rest ("geysir" means "to erupt"). This one can still go if treated with soap.

The geothermal area is full of hot springs.

They smell strongly of sulfur, some more strongly than others.





























Strokkur was very active while we were there, going off every 3 or 4 minutes in a quick, impressive burst.

mýrdalsjökull

This is Mýrdalsjökull, a glacier in the south of the island.

Looking back from the top, you can see how much the glacier has retreated since 2004, when it was possible to step onto it from the parking lot where the buses are parked.

In 1994, it covered the visible area of this photograph, extending out to a small building near the ringroad.





An ice cave, created by wind, water and sediment. The black you see in these photos is ash from the eruption of nearby Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Long rows of ash line the rivers near here. Dredging the rivers and cleaning up the farmland has been a project according to our guides, who hope that Hekla--also nearby, swelling and overdue--waits to erupt in the late fall or winter, after the summer harvests and before the lambs, calves and ponies are born in the spring.

hear the good news of salvation

To Ted's delight, wi-fi access brought news not only of Peyton Manning signing with the Broncos but also, and more important, of Tim Tebow's trade. Now Tebow is New York's problem. As far as Ted's concerned, we return to a golden age of Bronco's fandom in which the faithful can bring themselves to follow the team again. These have been long, dark days of suffering.

reykjavik

Here's the view from the fourth floor of the Hilton Nordica, where we stayed. Click on the image for a larger view. According to rumor, someone spotted Yoko Ono at the hotel while we were there (we did not). She was (allegedly) in town for the lighting of the John Lennon Peace Tower, either for the spring solstice or their anniversary or both. The Peace Tower uses geothermal energy to project a shaft of light skyward, an addition to the Reykjavik skyline that the Icelanders we met described without affection.

Below, an image of a shopping street in Reykjavik, Laugavegur:









Hallgrimskirja, the largest church in the country. The inscription on the statue reads: "Leifr Eiricsson, son of Iceland, discoverer of Vinland, the United States of America, to the people of Iceland on the 1000 anniversary of the Althing, ad 1930." The Alþingi is the first convening of the Viking parliament and the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. They sent a member back to Sweden to research Swedish law and then adapt it to the Icelandic situation before setting down the laws of the country--in 930.











A view down Skolavordustigur, from the top of the church:








And the harbor. We learned that Reykjavik means "smokey bay" (vik is bay), what Ingólfur Arnarson made of the geothermal steam rising up off the coast before establishing a settlement there around 870. About 1/3 of Iceland's 320,000 people live in the city, another third in the greater Reykjavik area and the rest along the coast of the island in smaller cities and villages. The interior is uninhabitable.