Þórsmörk

I can’t think of any words superlative enough to describe the things I saw today. I can talk about where we went, the names of the places, and such. And I can post pictures (check out my Iceland album starting with the picture above), but they are just not an adequate representation.

There were six of us (besides me, a woman from Port Angeles, Washington, and one from the Czech Republic, and guys from Belgium, France, and New Zealand), plus the driver/guide, who is originally from Germany, in a monster van (like a monster truck, but it was a van with seats for 22 passengers). We drove about 2 hours south and east from Reykjavik, and then we turned onto a gravel road that meandered for maybe twenty miles through a glacial river bed. As we drove, the driver/guide pointed out the various volcanoes and glaciers we passed, including Eyjafjallajokull (the one that erupted in 2010). 

First we stopped at a spot where a glacier comes down near the river bed. Then we went to the basecamp for several hikes at Þórsmörk (Icelandic for Thor’s forest), ate lunch, and did a hike up to a rock. After that we drove to a canyon and did a hike to a secret cave. We did that again at another canyon, but I wasn’t up to the challenge of that hike, so instead I climbed a hill and looked at the view. Then we stopped at a waterfall and walked behind it. Then we drove to a lava beach. And finally we made it back to Reykjavik. The whole trip took about 10 hours. When we got back I went out for a beer with the French and Belgian guys. Then I had dinner.

That’s a very dry description of the day. I could spice it up with adjectives, but I don’t think I’m up to the challenge. Certainly not now. I’m dead tired.