In Iceland we saw lots of people, in every town, wearing traditional super-warm woollen jumpers, usually with their distinctive diamond motif around the neckline. I was determined to come home with one of my own – but not at the full "brand new" price of £120-ish! Thankfully there are second hand/vintage shops in Reykjavik, and I spent ages trying different jumpers on before opting for this one (it's fashionable there, honest ;) I should probably also mention that this photo was taken in Cumbria in December, not Iceland in July! |
Hi all, and welcome along to the next (very late) instalment of my travel blog – kind of a "panoramic view" scanning the surface of a land that's home to giant waterfalls, dramatic geysers, creaking glaciers, myriad volcanoes, other-worldly hiking trails, gentle-natured horses, the dairy product "skyr" and traditional hand-knitted woollens... Iceland. We had the luxury of time in this amazing country: twenty-five days! However, we hadn't managed to secure a volunteer placement – not for lack of trying. So in order to keep our food and accommodation costs down we took every opportunity to take ourselves away from Reykjavik. We camped quite a lot ;) Early on in our visit we enjoyed a "Golden Circle" tour, where we saw a blue lake-crater surrounded by red ash; geothermal geysers and steaming sulphurous pools; deafening waterfalls; Icelandic horses galloping in fields not far away. We did a couple of long treks – again aiming to get out of the city! The classic 55km-version of the "Laugavegur trek" was the first (see the complex landscape in the first pic below...), and later came a 90km trek down a central section of the country, between two huge glaciers and dozens of volcanoes (second photo, below). During a road trip around the north-western fjords we were fantastically fortunate to be "just passing" the huge Dynjanji Falls. We first glimpsed this landmark – unknown to us – from a point about five miles away on the road... a strange white patch on a faraway cliff. We spent a good half an hour staring at it as we drove onward, trying to figure out what it was (a gigantic bird-nesting cliff?! Why would such a huge area be so dazzling white?), and eventually we could make out that it was moving... flowing... that it was water. At about this point we took the first photo below, and then leapt back in the car to drive closer! This is mighty Mother Nature at her most spectacular. On an ecological note, we were told that Iceland has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world; the figure is 1.67 cars per person holding a driving licence. We're sure this car (below) isn't making a statement in response to the statistic, but it did make us giggle! There are no trains, but lots of buses and, for tourists, passes that offer flexibility for your return journey from the middle of nowhere, and a tour guide commentary en route. We took a fair few photos through bus windows... such as this one. See the purple flowers? In the 1940s there was an initiative to plant this vibrant purple flower, the Alaskan Lupine, across large swathes of Icelandic lowlands. The intention was that the plant would add nitrogen to the soil and act as an anchor to help organic matter take hold, ultimately improving the fertility of the volcanic soil. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the plant has made itself right at home, spread like wildfire and is now all but impossible to contain; apparently each flower leaves behind it a million seeds. Critics of the initiative now view the Lupine as a threat to various native plants that cannot compete with it for space and resources... even though, ironically, the Lupine usurper has probably delivered a beautifully fertile soil, perfect to support and nourish the native plants it is busily strangling... That's it from me for now, but I'll be back soon with short posts about Iceland's whaling/whale-watching conflict, its abundant geothermal energy and the capital's very eco-friendly campsite! For now, I'll leave you with this excellent article about the Mid-Atlantic ridge: http://www.livescience.com/31566-iceland-tectonic-plates-meet.html. Iceland is the only place on earth where this ridge rises clear of the ocean... meaning you can stand at the edge of it without getting your feet wet :) More on the effects of this in a later post... bye for now and thank you for reading!
4 Comments
Kathy Whalen
9/12/2016 22:43:08
In New Zealand the Lupin is also an introduced plant turned noxious weed, choking the braided rivers and badly damaging wetlands and choking out wetland flora and fauna. Absolutely gorgeous to see in pink and purple waves, but proving almost impossible to control. Enjoyed reading about your Iceland adventures.
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Jenny
10/12/2016 15:39:18
Thanks for your comment, Karen - glad you enjoyed this piece. Yes, it's hard to know what would be the best approach to curb the flowers' rampant growth, especially as they're making the soil more and more fertile, which must only make the plants stronger and healthier. The time may come when there are so many Lupines that they compete too much with one another for space and nourishment, and all suffer as a result... but by then every weaker plant species will be long gone, so a solution needs to be found sooner! Whereabouts in NZ are you?
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Margaret Hayhurst
10/12/2016 18:56:40
Brilliant. Reykjevik was very expensive when I was there years ago. Slice of cake and a coffee was £6.50 but, of course, nearly everything imported. As I mentioned I think, my trip was lead by geologists so we learned a lot. I bathed in geothermal springs and was shown a forest- trees were under a foot high. Brings it all back.
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Jenny
13/1/2017 21:54:45
Hi Margaret, and thanks for your comment! I loved hearing about all you learned at the edge of volcanoes (?!) and other amazing experiences in Iceland... if I ever go back it'd be great to have a local guide. It's great that you managed to visit so many places during your time there!
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AuthorJennifer Lyon is a self-employed translator (French to English) and proofreader (English) trading as "Lioness Translation". Primarily based in north west England but on the move at the moment. Business meets pleasure as I combine global travel and sightseeing with in-depth exploration of the subjects I'm most passionate about working on, translating and writing about: our future in energy, living less wastefully, combating pollution and giving nature and other species the respect they deserve. Much of what I'm about to encounter on my travels is likely to be familiar to experts but new territory to me! I'll convey it as best I can, and am always open to questions, suggestions and kindly-intended criticism :) ArchivesAugust 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 CategoriesAll ECoffee Finland Italy Japan Malaysia New Zealand North Island Rhodes South Island Sweden Wild Food |