Iceland: Geysers and Waterfalls

Silica Pools

Though Iceland has a lot of cloudy and stormy weather, si.ica-laden water glows a soft blue on even the darkest days.

Geyser country

We enjoy lunch at a country roadhouse that has its own stable of Icelandic horses, an iconic breed that is kept pure by law. No other horses may be imported into the country.

The vent of Strokkur geyser
Gullfoss, “Golden Falls” on the HvitĂĄ River, is famed for its large water volume as it flows down a triple ‘staircase.’
Seljalandsfoss has excavated a large area behind it which allows viewing the falls from the back
Waking round to the back of Seljalandsfoss…
Now I can look through it from behind.
The water for Skogafoss comes from the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, on the volcano that erupted spectacularly in 2011.
This trail goes to the top of Skogafoss. The sea level at the end of the last ice age was paradoxically at the top of the cliff, because of the weight of ice on the land. As the ice melted, the land rebounded faster than the sea level rose.

Traditional farmhouses

This nineteenth-century bridge leads to a museum of much older antiquities.

Ships’ nameplates
An old Icelandic fishing boat
Traditional village formal wear
Farm utensils and cordage
The old-style turf-roofed farmhouse, with a small entrance that kept out stormy weather. Turf on the roof was a form of insulation.
A dining room with spinet
A small church
Back in time for for dinner