Sunday, December 4, 2016

Rock, Petra, Sheep

The smallest of plants, growing out of a pile of stones on a saltwater beach.

This next day was to be one of our longest drives, but conditions couldn't have been lovelier.  We were lucky to enjoy yet another sunny, cloudless day - not what I pictured Iceland to be like, even in the summer. We had a lot of distance to get through if we were going to make it back to Reykjavik in less than a week.  My stick-shift driving skills were pretty rusty at the beginning of our travels, but thanks to Daniel's patience and nerves of steel on the first day, I got over my jitters and got along okay.

This route equated to about a 5 hour drive, but we took much longer because of all of our stops.

We obviously were driving a lot, and that might seem boring, but it was one of the most incredible parts of the trip.  The roads, especially on this side of the island, were pretty empty.  They weaved along cliffsides and port-towns. There was always something magnificent to look at, whether it was sheep on the roadside or the larger than life sky. 
There were sheep everywhere, and they always seemed to be out on the road, and not in the fenced in areas.
Our first major stop of the day was in Stöðvarfjörður for Petra's Stone & Mineral Collection.  Daniel described it to me from our guidebook as an interesting place to stop. It was along the coast, would add to our drive, and we had to take a long gravel road to get there. I won't deny that I was dubious it would be worth it.  A rock collection museum, in a rock filled country?  How interesting is that?  Well, I was certainly wrong.  It was such a cool stop.


Just a small corner of Petra's Stone & Mineral Collection.


It is an outdoor rock garden, with incredible stones covering every single surface. Throughout her life Petra collected stones from all over the nearby mountains.  Where someone would see a pile of unremarkable rubble, she would be able to pick out a lovely and interesting rock easily.   Even as she was getting on in years, her favourite thing to do would be to climb up a mountain, fill a backpack with rocks and bring them back to her garden.  There were a few geodes that she would roll down the hill, or hide away and come back later with friends and a sledge to help her bring the rock back.


This particular specimen was about the size of a medicine ball, and was Petra's favourite stone.
Now, this was just her own personal garden, with her own collection - and yet people would come over from all over to marvel over it.  For years she never charged anything, because she knew these rocks belonged to the country and not to her personally.  Eventually, the number of tourists, and their use of her washroom, convinced her to start charging a nominal fee.  Since her passing, her family runs the garden so all that pass by can see it. Stop by if you ever get a chance - or read about Petra and her life if you want to smile.  She also collected pens and matchboxes, but they were kept safe indoors.

Also in that little town we found a beautiful wool and craft market, and a yard sale in a warehouse (trust me to find wooly goods shop or a yard sale, wherever we are).  I picked up a few random post cards at the yard sale, and at the craft market, instead of buying a knitted item, I purchased some Lopi yarn for a sweater.


Now, pretty much everything in Iceland is expensive, and for good reason.  It's a remote island and any town that isn't Reykjavik is exponentially more remote. The further away you are from the capital, the more expensive everything is. The only exception to this rule is wool. Istex purchases raw wool from Icelandic farmers, and it is milled and spun in a town called Blönduós. It's about as local as you can get, and I got this sweater quantity of wool for a steal of a deal.  I have a pattern in mind, and once I knit it up, I have no doubt it will be one of the warmest things I'll ever own. 

Back on the road! Onward to Seyðisfjörður!  We had to drive up and over a mountain range to get to the charming town, and it was worth it. 
I forgot to take any pictures of the town itself, which was a shame - but I did remember to take  a picture of the wool in the grocery store.  Also a steal of a deal here.


There was a pond in the middle of the town, likely fed by the waterfalls that flowed down the mountain we drove down.  There was a little island in the middle of the pond that one kid had got to, and there were a group of 4-5 others who were trying to make it there as well.  The water was clearly frigid, and the shrieks and screams of joy and discomfort as others tried to cross to the island were hilarious and endearing.


So. Many. Waterfalls.

Again, we enjoyed our time there so much that we forgot to take any pictures.

Onward again, for a few more hours to our final campsite in Mývatn, Just a half hour away from  our final destination for the night, we  stopped at Hverir to check out some of the amazing geothermal activity in the area.  The smell of sulfur was intense, though it bothered me much more than it did Daniel.  All across this field of red-brown dirt there were large bubbling blue mud-pits, marked off with bits of string.  All across Iceland, even at the most dangerous and precarious stops, you are responsible for your own safety.  If you decide to stand on slippery rocks next to a waterfall, or step over the 4 inch high string boundary keeping you from hot bubbling sulfuric mud - that's on you. There is no one to rescue you from yourself.


Mars-like landscape



While the smell of sulfur did turn my stomach, it was a remarkable sight to see in person.  The landscape did make me think of Mars, with the red-brown rocks and strangely shaped mountains in the background.  This geyser was covered in a small  tower of rocks, and it made the most amazing whooshing and hissing sounds along with quite a bit of heat. I had never seen anything like it.



At this point, the sun was on its way down, which meant it was pretty late.  We'd soon be settled into our bed for the night, bellies full of delicious pizza (served in a small outbuilding next to the campground)  ready for the next day of adventures.

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