2017 Iceland...Photos

Lysi and I, along with some friends from Ohio, recently traveled to Iceland. We were there for nine nights, staying in a different location each night and traveled about 1200 miles or 2000 kilometers. We traveled Iceland's Ring Road which, as the name implies, circles the entire island.

While we were there the weather was mostly cloudy and rainy with a couple of days of sunshine. The rain was never heavy and armed with rain jackets and umbrellas we didn't miss a beat. We hiked to waterfalls, walked on beaches and strolled the streets of quaint little villages and larger, modern cities.

The temperature typically ranged from the mid 40's to the mid 50's with very little variation from night to day. We did have a couple of shirt sleeve days where the temp was in the mid 60's.

We were struck by the absolute beauty of Iceland. Because of the weather, the sky was never boring from a photographers point of view. The pastel hills and mountains were always bathed in the most beautiful light imaginable. There is a phenomenon known to all photographers as the "golden hour", a period of time in the early morning and late afternoon when sunlight takes on a beautiful golden hue providing wonderful light for photography. Because the sun never rose more than 20 degrees above the horizon, this "golden hour" persisted throughout the day.

Our first night's accommodation in a suburb of Reykjavik.

Lake Þingvallavatn along the Golden Circle, our first day's destination.

First lunch.

Gullfoss (foss=waterfall in Icelandic), a major attraction along the Golden Circle.

Second night near Hella. The old, original farmhouse on a working farm. Came complete with shelves of books, antique furniture and old family photos (spooky).

Cozy.

View from our second night's accommodation.

Sunset, hoping for some Northern Lights.

We saw them but only faintly and never had the chance again due to cloud cover.

One of the countless waterfalls along the southern coast. Not even sure it had a name.

Typical scene along the southern coast. Beautiful pastels punctuated with the bright whites and reds of farmhouses and churches. If you look closely you can see the glacier that is visible along the upper right horizon.

A moment of still air allowed the capture of this reflection along the southern coast.

Skogafoss which descends from the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. This glacier covers the volcano that erupted in 2010 disrupting air traffic over much of Europe.

Skogafoss in all its glory.

Reynisfjara black sand beach, southern coast.

Reynisdrangar basaltic sea stacks, southern coast.

Fossar Cabin, the most beautiful setting of any of our accommodations.

The nippled hills...The story, not independently verified by me, is that in the treeless landscape, birds alight on the highest point to survey their surroundings. Over the years, their droppings form these uniquely shaped points on the hill tops.

Winds picked up to the point where none of this waterfall was reaching the ground.

Svartifoss, known for the basalt columns that forms the precipice.

Dan and the two glaciers, our last location before turning back due to the Ring Road being closed by flooding.

Late on the fourth day we found out the Ring Road was closed between us and our next over night spot due to flooding. There was no detour save the 800 mile trip all the way around the island in the opposite direction. We hurriedly found a hotel about four hours BEHIND us and lite out over roads only recently traveled knowing that with another four hour drive the next day we could pick up our fifth day accommodations and resume our trip. This did cause us to miss the eastern part of the island but what are you gonna do?

Skagafjörður, one of the northern fjords.

Part of our mad dash backwards around the island to reach our fifth night's accommodation. These colors have not been enhanced.

Farms in the northern part of Iceland.

The original geysir...first to be described in a printed source. It has given the generic "geyser" name to all such phenomena. It has been nearly dormant for some time.

Strokkur, a geyser near Geysir. It erupts every few minutes and goes up to about 30 meters.

Godafoss or Waterfall of the Gods. Legend has it that in 1000 AD, Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði cast his statues of the Norse gods into the falls when Iceland adopted Christianity.

Sunset from the porch of our fifth night's cabin.

Two Brothers Farmhouse about 10 miles from Godafoss. This was where we spent the fifth night.

Based on a very small sample, Icelanders seem very friendly and helpful but a bit stern in their demeanor. They don't volunteer much but if asked they are anxious to be helpful. Their speed warning signs belie a subtle sense of humor. This, approaching Husavik. (vik=bay)

Ahh, that's better.

Husavik, in the northern fjords, shining in the morning light.

Lysi, Lynn and Dan north shore of Iceland.

Dettifoss, red jacketed person for scale.

Lysi photographs Dettifoss.

Lysi at Selfoss. We hiked .7 km to get here and there was no one else there.

Hverir geothermal area near Lake Myvatin.

Northern fjord reflection.

Roadside creek with fall colors.

Ólafsfjörður, Icleand.

Ólafsfjörður is known locally as "Old Troll Town". This is on the village swim center. Icelanders love to swim and every little town has a heated swimming pool.

Old Troll Town, check out the wife.

Colorful old roofs in Siglufjörður, a little town on the Northern Fjords. This town is connected to Ólafsfjörður by a couple of tunnels that are about 7 miles long.

Town of Grundarfjörður with Kirkjufell Mountain in the background.

Waterfall near Grundarfjörður.

Along the Greenland Sea.

Hellissandur, where we spent our eighth night. You can see Snæfellsjökull glacier on the horizon to the left of the house.

Red cones on Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis).

The sand on this beach caught our eye. It was as golden as it appears in this photo. Most beaches in Iceland are black sand. It's just west of Hellissandur.

Another section of the same beach. Sand was gold with flecks of black and then there was a very clear line where the sand changed to black with flecks of gold. Most beautiful beach sand I've seen. Brought some home.