5 Sept 2026
A Summer Cruise to Iceland and the Faroes, Part 2: Iceland
After a stopover at the Faroe Islands, the cruise continued with a tour around Iceland, including stops in various harbours and bus tours to interesting sites (there were always several to pick among; the cruise could have been double the time to cover everything) – not included in the tours was the central plateau where you can only go with four wheel drive vehicles, but I got to see plenty of amazing scenery.
Gullfoss waterfall in Iceland
No, this is not an AI-generated photo for some travel catalogue; the weather was like that on some days. Overall, it was mostly on the dry and sometimes sunny side, except for the last day when Iceland showed off what it can do with icy winds and horizontal rain. But the summits of mountains had a habit of veiling themselves in mist, and the air in the fjords was hazy at times, making distance photographing a bit tricky.
Eskifjörður, eastern Iceland
The first harbour stop was Eskifjörður at the east coast. In case you wonder about the trees on the photo, yes, Iceland is the same as the Faroes: The original 'forest' consisted oc arctic birches, woolly willows and other low growing trees (shrubs, rather) that were cut down during the Middle Ages. In the last decennies, successful attempts are made to grow some trees – mostly coniferous forest – in places where the conditions are favourable for the use of timber, as avalanche protection, and because forests are nice.
Reiðarfjörður valley, eastern Iceland (photo taken from the bus)
I used the times at anchor to participate in excursions to the spectacular Icelandic landscape and did not visit the towns (a reason to come back, right? *grin*). That means I spent a lot of time sitting in busses. Unfortunately, photographing out of a bus is tricky due to the movement and the reflections in the windows, so I've seen much more than I can share. But I managed to get some good shots. The excursions (some of them a full day) also offered sufficient time to explore certain sites.
Fáskrúðsfjörður, the former hospital
One of them led to Fáskrúðsfjörður, a firth and a village of the same name south of Eskifjörður with an interesting history. Fishermen from France and Belgium spent the winter season there to catch cod since the 18th century; from 1880 to past WW1 there were about 5.000 fishermen active in the surroundings, living on their boats. A hospital was built for them in 1904. When it was no longer needed, the buildings were used for other purposes and even left empty for a time, until they were restored in 2011-2014 and reopened as hotel and museum. Until today, street names in Fáskrúðsfjörður are bilingual, Icelandic and French.
Petra's Rock Museum in Stöðvarfjörður
Also included in that tour was a visit of Petra's Rock Museum in Stöðvarfjörður. Petra Sveinsdóttir (1922-2012) spent most of her life hiking in eastern Iceland, collecting interesting and pretty stones. The little rocks eventually took over her house and then the garden. After the premature death of her husband in 1974, she openend the house for visitors. Today, it is a popular museum. I took some photos of the rocks in the garden that shone brighly in the sunshine.
Lava formations at Hólmanes
On the way back, there was another stop at Hólmanes, a peninsula on the north shore of the Reyðarfjörður with some interesting lava formations – there is no shortage of those in Iceland, but I never got tired of them – and a rich bird life. The area has a Protected status since 1973.
Hazy Eyjafjallajökull
The next day we passed the (in)famous Eyjafjallajökull that caused so much trouble to air transport in 2010. It is an 800,000 year old stratovolcano covered by a glacier. Stratocvolcanoes are conical volcanoes consisting of many alternate layers of lava and tephra (= any material produced in a volcanic eruption from tiny fragments to boulders) with a conical profile and often a crater. Their eruptions are explosive, like the Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii. Eyjafjallajökull is part of a chain of volcanoes across Iceland, including Katla and Eldfell on Heimaey.
Cliffs at the entrance to the harbour of Heimaey
Said Eldfell has caused problems on the island of Heimaey. It is the largest island (13.4 square kilometres) in the Vestmannaeyar archipelago, about 7 km off the south coast of Iceland. The archipelago is geologically very young, only 10,000-12,000 years old, and consistes of 78-80 volcanoes, some of them below the sea. Heimaey is the only populated island with a population of appr. 4.500.
Nevertheless, it has one of the biggest parties in Iceland, the Þjoðhátíð festival at the beginning of August. Right when we were there. *grin* It lasts four days and attracts people from all over Iceland. The weather was warm and sunny to boot, so I actually partied a bit, Viking style (involving drinking and singing).
Eldfell volcano on Heimaey
The volcano erupted in January 1973 and destroyed 400 houses, a fish factory and a power plant. The inhabitants – except some volunteers who remained to save whatever possible – had been evacuated by boat and helicopters within a few hours. A lava flow threatened to block the harbour which would have made fishing, the main source of income for the people, impossible. Firefighters tried to cool the lava by pumping sea water onto it for days, until the flow was indeed stopped. The entrance to the harbour is narrower than before, but our ship could get in.
In the end, a 40-100 metres thick layer of lava and ash covered part of the island. Today, one can climb the 200 metres high Eldfell. Not all evacuated people returned, but by 1975 Heimaey was more or less back to normal.
Stave church on Heimaey
The stave church is a modern copy of a Medieval church in Norway, the 14th century church in Haltdalen. It was constructed in Norway and transported to Heimaey in 2000, a gift for the 1000 year anniversary of the Christianisation of Iceland. After it was put together, a gallery was added around the outside to protect the building from the stormy weather of the Vestmannaeyar.
Lava fields outside Reykjavik (photo taken from the bus)
Next morning we arrived at Hafnarfjörður/Reykjavík. It was the starting point for the tour of the Golden Circle with some of Iceland's most scenic landscapes. No photos of Reykjavik, I'm afraid; I prefered waterfalls and cliffs.
The Golden Circle unfortunately has become rather touristy with well laid paths and all, but well, I'm a tourist myself.
Strokkur geysir
First stop was the geothermal area in Haukadalur, first mentioned in sources about 1294. It developed on the ryholitic dome of the Laugarfjall. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock based on silica-rich magma that is very fine grained and viscous and leads to explosive eruptions rather than lava flows. There is a geothermally active field on ist eastern slope with several geysirs, fumaroles, and hot springs. Once, the Great Geysir was the most impressive one, but it has gone quiet for years now. But ist neighbour Strokkur erupts reliably every 6-10 minutes.
The water at the surface of the shaft is about 85-90°C hot, while deeper down it's 125°C, kept from boiling by pressure by the water above. Yet the heat is rising, and once the surface reaches boiling temperature, the pressure on the water down the shaft is lessened and the mix of hot water and steam erupts.
Gullfoss waterfall, the gorge
The Gullfoss waterfall (also shown in the first photo of the post) is part of the Hvitá river. It runs southward from the inner Iceland high plateau and, about a kilometre above the falls, it turns sharply to the west, flowing down a curved incline, and then plunges into the gorge. The fall has two steps of 11 and 21 metres (36 and 69 feet); the crevice runs perpendicular to the fall. The amount of water in the fall averages to 140 cubic metres per second in summer and 80 in winter. Plans to dam the fall and use it for hydroelectic power were fortunately abandoned.
Þingvellir, view over the vale and the Öxará river
One could easily spend an entire day in the Þingvellir National Park, but even 1½ hours make for some pretty photo spam. *grin* For one, the site is historically important. The Icelandic Althing met near the Almanngja Gorge every year since 930, a gathering of all free men to discuss law and deliver justice. It was disbanded by the Danish government in 1798, but in 1944, the Republic of Iceland was proclaimed there (though the parliament has its seat in Reykjavik now). There will be a detailed post about the history of Iceland.
Walking between continents (sort of): Þingvellir, part of the Almannagjá Gorge
Thingvellir (I'll spare you that funny letter) is situated in a rift valley that is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates drift apart. The view above is from the Almannagjá gorge on the American side eastwards to the Eurasian side and the Heiðargjá fault; the vale in the middle is sort of a geologial no-man's land.
The Öxará river did not originally run through the valley. It was diverted to provide sufficient water for the Althing meetings. It now runs down from the western plateau in a waterfall and several bassins to the valley where it empties into the Þingvallavatn.
Peningagjá fissure
During the last 10,000 years, the continents drifted apart for 70 metres. The tectonic activity has left the landscape with dozens of fissures, cracks, and gorges, some of them filled with water. The area is also prone to earthquakes.
One of the cracks that is filled with water is the Peningagjá, the Money Fissure. There are both dry and water-filled fissures and cracks, and more run under the layer of volcanic basalt that covers the landscape. Sometimes and earthquake will lead to a break in the layer and open a fissure, like it happened with this one. The water is clear and cold. For years, it was a habit to throw a coin into the water to bring good luck, but that is no longer allowed.
Thingvellir, basalt cliff at the Almannagjá cleft
The Thingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 (the anniversary of the first Althing), was later expanded to include more geological formations, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The visit was defintely one of the high points of the cruise.
Across the mountain range on Snæfellsnes (photo taken from the bus)
Another stop was at Grundarfjördur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula (known from Jules Verne's novel Voyage au centre de la terre. The mountain itself kept hiding in the mists, but the peninsula has some interesting places to visit besides.
Snæfellsjökull (1,446 metres high) was an active volcano 7 million years ago, creating the peninsula. Today is is dormant, having moved away from the active hot spot, and its top is covered by a glacier. But frequent volcanic activity continued on the peninusla, mostly in the centre along the Ljósufjöll system, even als late as the time of settlement (9th century). Those outbreaks left behind a number of interesting geological formations; the reason Snæfellsnes was designated a National Park.
Búðir Church
Búðir was a village that once played a role as local trade centre, but today, only the church and a hotel are left. The first church dated back to 1703, but the present one was built in 1848 which still makes it one of the oldest timber churches in Iceland. Unfortunately, it was closed (there are some old paintings to see).
Búðahraun lavafield
Búðahraun is a large lava field of about 1,000 hectares at Búðir. The lava is mostly covered by moss and lichen, but some plants managed to take hold as well. The eruption took place 8,000 years ago; it was a crater eruption, but the latter is nothing big, only 88 metres high, so it was more an outflow of basalt lava in all directions. There are plenty of fields like that in Iceland; and the activity is going on in places, like on the Reykjanes peninsula in 2025.
Rock formations between Arnastapi and Hellnar
Basaltic lava is typical for volcanic activity. Contrary to rhyolite (see above), it has a low viscosity and tends to outflows with the odd lava fountain – like fe. In Hawaii – rather than big eruptions, sometimes covering vast stretches of land. Basalt is formed by melting of the Earth's mantel material, for example along the mid-ocean ridges; it is therefore the most common rock. It is composed of various minerals, predominantly quartz, but also silicates like pyroxene and olivine.
Another formation on that coastal path
Arnastapi and Hellnar are fishing villages dating back to the Middle Ages. Fishing has become less important locally after most of the fishing industry moved to the larger towns like Reykjavík, but today, tourism plays an increasing role, and the natural harbours that once attracted the fishermen have been turned into marinas (with some fishing boats still active als well).
Arnastapi was favoured by the Danish crown during the time Iceland was under Danish supremacy (1380-1944) and Denmark had a trading monopoly (since 1565). Hellnar, which relied not only on fishing but also had farms, lost its importance at that time. Today, many houses are used as summer houses. Both villages are connected by a scenic trail along the coastal cliffs. As you see, I had a chance to walk that one.
Rocks and black sands at Djúpalónssandur
More interesting lava formations can be seen at Djúpalónssandur. Lava from the Snæfells ran down to the sea where it solidified into bizarre forms. The beach is covered with miniature lava 'pearls' instead of sand, tiny black pebbles smoothed by the surf.
There had been a seasonal fishing settlement, Dritvík's Cove, from the 16th to 19th century with up to 400 inhabitants and 60 boats during seasons. But change in fishing technology and permanent coastal harbour towns made the old ways unprofitable; the site was abandoned. Today, the houses have been swept into the sea.
Ísafjörður, the marina
Off to the most remote area in Icleand, the Westfjords and the town of Ísafjörður. With a whopping 2,600 inhabitants, Ísafjörður is the largest settlement in the Westfjords and their administration centre, dating back to the 16th century at least. It is located in the Skutulsfjörður, surrounded by mountains and so close to the Polar Circle that it experiences permanent darkness in winter, since the mountains cut off what little sun may appear at the horizon.
View to Ísafjörður from the surrounding mountains
The mountains in the Westfjords are prone to avalanches. They are flat topped due to the Ice Age glaciers, with steep slopes. When there is little wind and heavy snowfall, the snow will accumulate on the summits and, once the wind returns, loads of packed snow may get loose and crash down the slopes. After an avalanche killed fourteen people in Súðavík in 1995, Iceland got serious about avalanche protection. We could see some of the measures.
There a rows of grilles to break up an avalanche, and protective embankments that will divert an avalanche off any inhabited area. Those consist of stones and reinforced earth (earth walls with steel elements). Those embankments have already prevented damage and death.
White beach at Holtsfjara
A charming place is the dune and beach landscape at Holtsfjara, along the Önundarfjörður. The sand here is white, not a black volcanic beach like in many parts of Iceland. The unusual colour is due to mussels and other small calcineous critters that have been grinded down by the surf during thousands of years. Despite the southern look, the water is cold, but it doesn't keep some Icelanders from taking a wee swim (I wish I had the time to do the same).
Turf house at Grenjaðarstaður
The ship then turned north-east, to Húsavík, for a shorter stop. I picked a tour to an open air museum, the turf house at Grenjaðarstaður. Until the 19th century, Icelanders used whatever was avaliable to build their houses: stones, lava, driftwood, timber from Norwas (if they could afford it) and turf. The house at Grenjaðarstaður was a parish house and one of the richest in the area, with more stones and timber used in ist construction than turf. Nevertheless, it was dark and rather humid inside. One can imagine what the cottages of poorer people were like.
Grenjaðarstaður, the main kitchen
The house – yes that is one building – follows the gable house pattern that was common in Iceland. It was built in 1865 and renovated at the end of the 19th century. The combination of several roofs works best if you don't have much large timber and shingles, but have to rely on turf. There are not only the rooms in front, but more in the background, also each covered by its own roof; they are connected by a dark and damp tunnel. Add to this the smoke from the kitchen and fireplaces – well, the air was not exactly healthy. The turf roofs and the lava barriers between the 'houses' – working as drainage system – had to be repaired constantly.
Skjálfandafljót river, northern Iceland
When we reached Akureyri, our final destination, the weather began to turn from warm and sunny or typical Icelandic (if you don't like it, wait ten minutes) to downright bad, with horizontal rain and icy blasts. I didn't mind, except for the hassle when photographing. Click, wish, click, wish … and there are still photos with drops on the lens. It also was difficult to properly see the camera display though the plastic cover.
I picked another day-long tour despite the rain. And since we're in Iceland, there will be more geological sites inlcuded that are a result of volcanic activites (see below).
Godafoss waterfall
The Skjálfandafljót is a 178 km long river that originates from the ice of the Vatnajökull and flows north to the sea. On ist way, it creates the Godafoss waterfall, cascading from a height of 12 metres over a width of 30 metres.
Legend has it that lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði who was instrumental in Christianity becoming the official religion in Icleand in 1000 AD, cast his idols into the fall. But the main source for the events, the Íslandingabók (a 12th century text) only mentions Þorgeir's speech at the Allthing, not any idols getting thrown into a waterfall. The story probably came up in Denmark in the 19th century.
Sulphur fields at Hveranrönd
An active volcanic system in northern Iceland ist the Krafla with an 800 metres high central volcano and a row of smaller ones. The system is most active in the region around the Mývatn lake. Eruptions 2,300 years ago formed the lava rocks at Dimmuborgir, the pseudocraters at Skútustaðir, and the sulphur fields at Hveranrönd/Námafjall.
The sulphur fields are an active and constantly changing area of thermal springs, boiling mud pools, fumaroles and solfataras. The air smells quite sulphuric and was warm in some spots even on a day with cold winds.
Lava formations at Dimmuborgir
The Dimmuborgir formation was caused by a huge, collapsed lava tube. Those form when lava with low viscosity (basalt lava) develops a hard crust on top under which the lava flow continues. This took place some 2,300 years ago, originating in side-craters to the Krafla. The lava pooled over a small lake where it caused the marsh water to boil; the vapors rose though the molten lava and formed pillars of various sizes – steam is still a lot colder than 1000-800°C hot lava which solidified around the steam bubbles. The lava continued to flow down all the way to the Mývatn, and the tube crust eventually collapsed, leaving behind the bizarre pillars of solidified lava.
A local legend blames the trolls. A lonely she-troll invited all the trolls of the neighbourhood to a party in hope to find a husband among the bachelors. The party was so much fun that the trolls forgot to check their watches; the sun came up and – boom, they all turned to stone.
Pseudocrater at Skútustaðir, Mývatn lake (with raindrops)
They Mývatn lake was created by a volcanic fissure eruption from the Krafla. The lava flowed down the Laxárdalur all the way to the northern Atlantic 50 km away. There had been a larger lake surrounded by marshlands prior to the event. When the lava ran over the water-logged sediment, it generated steam explosions much like at Dimmuborgir, only there was no lava dome, so the process led to rootless cones or pseudocraters. Those resemble volcanic craters, but there is no magma chamber beneath, nor any conduit. They are also smaller thn your average magma crater.
Eyjafjörður in the rain
As counterpoint to the sunny Gullfoss in the first picture, we'll end with a rainy one. The Eyjafjörður is one of the longest fjords in Iceland (about 60 km) and usually very scenic with high mountain sloping down to the water – when the scenery isn't hiding in fog and rain. At its endpoint lies Akureyri.
We left Akureyri to continue – not directly to Cuxhaven as planned – but to Stavanger in Norway. The reason was a nasty storm coming in from the west, so the captain decided to skip the stop at Grimsey (which offered no guided excursions anyway) to keep ahead of that storm. Instead we would have an extra stop in Norway. I will cover that one in a new post, though; this one is long enough already.
After a stopover at the Faroe Islands, the cruise continued with a tour around Iceland, including stops in various harbours and bus tours to interesting sites (there were always several to pick among; the cruise could have been double the time to cover everything) – not included in the tours was the central plateau where you can only go with four wheel drive vehicles, but I got to see plenty of amazing scenery.
No, this is not an AI-generated photo for some travel catalogue; the weather was like that on some days. Overall, it was mostly on the dry and sometimes sunny side, except for the last day when Iceland showed off what it can do with icy winds and horizontal rain. But the summits of mountains had a habit of veiling themselves in mist, and the air in the fjords was hazy at times, making distance photographing a bit tricky.
The first harbour stop was Eskifjörður at the east coast. In case you wonder about the trees on the photo, yes, Iceland is the same as the Faroes: The original 'forest' consisted oc arctic birches, woolly willows and other low growing trees (shrubs, rather) that were cut down during the Middle Ages. In the last decennies, successful attempts are made to grow some trees – mostly coniferous forest – in places where the conditions are favourable for the use of timber, as avalanche protection, and because forests are nice.
I used the times at anchor to participate in excursions to the spectacular Icelandic landscape and did not visit the towns (a reason to come back, right? *grin*). That means I spent a lot of time sitting in busses. Unfortunately, photographing out of a bus is tricky due to the movement and the reflections in the windows, so I've seen much more than I can share. But I managed to get some good shots. The excursions (some of them a full day) also offered sufficient time to explore certain sites.
One of them led to Fáskrúðsfjörður, a firth and a village of the same name south of Eskifjörður with an interesting history. Fishermen from France and Belgium spent the winter season there to catch cod since the 18th century; from 1880 to past WW1 there were about 5.000 fishermen active in the surroundings, living on their boats. A hospital was built for them in 1904. When it was no longer needed, the buildings were used for other purposes and even left empty for a time, until they were restored in 2011-2014 and reopened as hotel and museum. Until today, street names in Fáskrúðsfjörður are bilingual, Icelandic and French.
Also included in that tour was a visit of Petra's Rock Museum in Stöðvarfjörður. Petra Sveinsdóttir (1922-2012) spent most of her life hiking in eastern Iceland, collecting interesting and pretty stones. The little rocks eventually took over her house and then the garden. After the premature death of her husband in 1974, she openend the house for visitors. Today, it is a popular museum. I took some photos of the rocks in the garden that shone brighly in the sunshine.
On the way back, there was another stop at Hólmanes, a peninsula on the north shore of the Reyðarfjörður with some interesting lava formations – there is no shortage of those in Iceland, but I never got tired of them – and a rich bird life. The area has a Protected status since 1973.
The next day we passed the (in)famous Eyjafjallajökull that caused so much trouble to air transport in 2010. It is an 800,000 year old stratovolcano covered by a glacier. Stratocvolcanoes are conical volcanoes consisting of many alternate layers of lava and tephra (= any material produced in a volcanic eruption from tiny fragments to boulders) with a conical profile and often a crater. Their eruptions are explosive, like the Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii. Eyjafjallajökull is part of a chain of volcanoes across Iceland, including Katla and Eldfell on Heimaey.
Said Eldfell has caused problems on the island of Heimaey. It is the largest island (13.4 square kilometres) in the Vestmannaeyar archipelago, about 7 km off the south coast of Iceland. The archipelago is geologically very young, only 10,000-12,000 years old, and consistes of 78-80 volcanoes, some of them below the sea. Heimaey is the only populated island with a population of appr. 4.500.
Nevertheless, it has one of the biggest parties in Iceland, the Þjoðhátíð festival at the beginning of August. Right when we were there. *grin* It lasts four days and attracts people from all over Iceland. The weather was warm and sunny to boot, so I actually partied a bit, Viking style (involving drinking and singing).
The volcano erupted in January 1973 and destroyed 400 houses, a fish factory and a power plant. The inhabitants – except some volunteers who remained to save whatever possible – had been evacuated by boat and helicopters within a few hours. A lava flow threatened to block the harbour which would have made fishing, the main source of income for the people, impossible. Firefighters tried to cool the lava by pumping sea water onto it for days, until the flow was indeed stopped. The entrance to the harbour is narrower than before, but our ship could get in.
In the end, a 40-100 metres thick layer of lava and ash covered part of the island. Today, one can climb the 200 metres high Eldfell. Not all evacuated people returned, but by 1975 Heimaey was more or less back to normal.
The stave church is a modern copy of a Medieval church in Norway, the 14th century church in Haltdalen. It was constructed in Norway and transported to Heimaey in 2000, a gift for the 1000 year anniversary of the Christianisation of Iceland. After it was put together, a gallery was added around the outside to protect the building from the stormy weather of the Vestmannaeyar.
Next morning we arrived at Hafnarfjörður/Reykjavík. It was the starting point for the tour of the Golden Circle with some of Iceland's most scenic landscapes. No photos of Reykjavik, I'm afraid; I prefered waterfalls and cliffs.
The Golden Circle unfortunately has become rather touristy with well laid paths and all, but well, I'm a tourist myself.
First stop was the geothermal area in Haukadalur, first mentioned in sources about 1294. It developed on the ryholitic dome of the Laugarfjall. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock based on silica-rich magma that is very fine grained and viscous and leads to explosive eruptions rather than lava flows. There is a geothermally active field on ist eastern slope with several geysirs, fumaroles, and hot springs. Once, the Great Geysir was the most impressive one, but it has gone quiet for years now. But ist neighbour Strokkur erupts reliably every 6-10 minutes.
The water at the surface of the shaft is about 85-90°C hot, while deeper down it's 125°C, kept from boiling by pressure by the water above. Yet the heat is rising, and once the surface reaches boiling temperature, the pressure on the water down the shaft is lessened and the mix of hot water and steam erupts.
The Gullfoss waterfall (also shown in the first photo of the post) is part of the Hvitá river. It runs southward from the inner Iceland high plateau and, about a kilometre above the falls, it turns sharply to the west, flowing down a curved incline, and then plunges into the gorge. The fall has two steps of 11 and 21 metres (36 and 69 feet); the crevice runs perpendicular to the fall. The amount of water in the fall averages to 140 cubic metres per second in summer and 80 in winter. Plans to dam the fall and use it for hydroelectic power were fortunately abandoned.
One could easily spend an entire day in the Þingvellir National Park, but even 1½ hours make for some pretty photo spam. *grin* For one, the site is historically important. The Icelandic Althing met near the Almanngja Gorge every year since 930, a gathering of all free men to discuss law and deliver justice. It was disbanded by the Danish government in 1798, but in 1944, the Republic of Iceland was proclaimed there (though the parliament has its seat in Reykjavik now). There will be a detailed post about the history of Iceland.
Thingvellir (I'll spare you that funny letter) is situated in a rift valley that is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates drift apart. The view above is from the Almannagjá gorge on the American side eastwards to the Eurasian side and the Heiðargjá fault; the vale in the middle is sort of a geologial no-man's land.
The Öxará river did not originally run through the valley. It was diverted to provide sufficient water for the Althing meetings. It now runs down from the western plateau in a waterfall and several bassins to the valley where it empties into the Þingvallavatn.
During the last 10,000 years, the continents drifted apart for 70 metres. The tectonic activity has left the landscape with dozens of fissures, cracks, and gorges, some of them filled with water. The area is also prone to earthquakes.
One of the cracks that is filled with water is the Peningagjá, the Money Fissure. There are both dry and water-filled fissures and cracks, and more run under the layer of volcanic basalt that covers the landscape. Sometimes and earthquake will lead to a break in the layer and open a fissure, like it happened with this one. The water is clear and cold. For years, it was a habit to throw a coin into the water to bring good luck, but that is no longer allowed.
The Thingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 (the anniversary of the first Althing), was later expanded to include more geological formations, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The visit was defintely one of the high points of the cruise.
Another stop was at Grundarfjördur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula (known from Jules Verne's novel Voyage au centre de la terre. The mountain itself kept hiding in the mists, but the peninsula has some interesting places to visit besides.
Snæfellsjökull (1,446 metres high) was an active volcano 7 million years ago, creating the peninsula. Today is is dormant, having moved away from the active hot spot, and its top is covered by a glacier. But frequent volcanic activity continued on the peninusla, mostly in the centre along the Ljósufjöll system, even als late as the time of settlement (9th century). Those outbreaks left behind a number of interesting geological formations; the reason Snæfellsnes was designated a National Park.
Búðir was a village that once played a role as local trade centre, but today, only the church and a hotel are left. The first church dated back to 1703, but the present one was built in 1848 which still makes it one of the oldest timber churches in Iceland. Unfortunately, it was closed (there are some old paintings to see).
Búðahraun is a large lava field of about 1,000 hectares at Búðir. The lava is mostly covered by moss and lichen, but some plants managed to take hold as well. The eruption took place 8,000 years ago; it was a crater eruption, but the latter is nothing big, only 88 metres high, so it was more an outflow of basalt lava in all directions. There are plenty of fields like that in Iceland; and the activity is going on in places, like on the Reykjanes peninsula in 2025.
Basaltic lava is typical for volcanic activity. Contrary to rhyolite (see above), it has a low viscosity and tends to outflows with the odd lava fountain – like fe. In Hawaii – rather than big eruptions, sometimes covering vast stretches of land. Basalt is formed by melting of the Earth's mantel material, for example along the mid-ocean ridges; it is therefore the most common rock. It is composed of various minerals, predominantly quartz, but also silicates like pyroxene and olivine.
Arnastapi and Hellnar are fishing villages dating back to the Middle Ages. Fishing has become less important locally after most of the fishing industry moved to the larger towns like Reykjavík, but today, tourism plays an increasing role, and the natural harbours that once attracted the fishermen have been turned into marinas (with some fishing boats still active als well).
Arnastapi was favoured by the Danish crown during the time Iceland was under Danish supremacy (1380-1944) and Denmark had a trading monopoly (since 1565). Hellnar, which relied not only on fishing but also had farms, lost its importance at that time. Today, many houses are used as summer houses. Both villages are connected by a scenic trail along the coastal cliffs. As you see, I had a chance to walk that one.
More interesting lava formations can be seen at Djúpalónssandur. Lava from the Snæfells ran down to the sea where it solidified into bizarre forms. The beach is covered with miniature lava 'pearls' instead of sand, tiny black pebbles smoothed by the surf.
There had been a seasonal fishing settlement, Dritvík's Cove, from the 16th to 19th century with up to 400 inhabitants and 60 boats during seasons. But change in fishing technology and permanent coastal harbour towns made the old ways unprofitable; the site was abandoned. Today, the houses have been swept into the sea.
Off to the most remote area in Icleand, the Westfjords and the town of Ísafjörður. With a whopping 2,600 inhabitants, Ísafjörður is the largest settlement in the Westfjords and their administration centre, dating back to the 16th century at least. It is located in the Skutulsfjörður, surrounded by mountains and so close to the Polar Circle that it experiences permanent darkness in winter, since the mountains cut off what little sun may appear at the horizon.
The mountains in the Westfjords are prone to avalanches. They are flat topped due to the Ice Age glaciers, with steep slopes. When there is little wind and heavy snowfall, the snow will accumulate on the summits and, once the wind returns, loads of packed snow may get loose and crash down the slopes. After an avalanche killed fourteen people in Súðavík in 1995, Iceland got serious about avalanche protection. We could see some of the measures.
There a rows of grilles to break up an avalanche, and protective embankments that will divert an avalanche off any inhabited area. Those consist of stones and reinforced earth (earth walls with steel elements). Those embankments have already prevented damage and death.
A charming place is the dune and beach landscape at Holtsfjara, along the Önundarfjörður. The sand here is white, not a black volcanic beach like in many parts of Iceland. The unusual colour is due to mussels and other small calcineous critters that have been grinded down by the surf during thousands of years. Despite the southern look, the water is cold, but it doesn't keep some Icelanders from taking a wee swim (I wish I had the time to do the same).
The ship then turned north-east, to Húsavík, for a shorter stop. I picked a tour to an open air museum, the turf house at Grenjaðarstaður. Until the 19th century, Icelanders used whatever was avaliable to build their houses: stones, lava, driftwood, timber from Norwas (if they could afford it) and turf. The house at Grenjaðarstaður was a parish house and one of the richest in the area, with more stones and timber used in ist construction than turf. Nevertheless, it was dark and rather humid inside. One can imagine what the cottages of poorer people were like.
The house – yes that is one building – follows the gable house pattern that was common in Iceland. It was built in 1865 and renovated at the end of the 19th century. The combination of several roofs works best if you don't have much large timber and shingles, but have to rely on turf. There are not only the rooms in front, but more in the background, also each covered by its own roof; they are connected by a dark and damp tunnel. Add to this the smoke from the kitchen and fireplaces – well, the air was not exactly healthy. The turf roofs and the lava barriers between the 'houses' – working as drainage system – had to be repaired constantly.
When we reached Akureyri, our final destination, the weather began to turn from warm and sunny or typical Icelandic (if you don't like it, wait ten minutes) to downright bad, with horizontal rain and icy blasts. I didn't mind, except for the hassle when photographing. Click, wish, click, wish … and there are still photos with drops on the lens. It also was difficult to properly see the camera display though the plastic cover.
I picked another day-long tour despite the rain. And since we're in Iceland, there will be more geological sites inlcuded that are a result of volcanic activites (see below).
The Skjálfandafljót is a 178 km long river that originates from the ice of the Vatnajökull and flows north to the sea. On ist way, it creates the Godafoss waterfall, cascading from a height of 12 metres over a width of 30 metres.
Legend has it that lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði who was instrumental in Christianity becoming the official religion in Icleand in 1000 AD, cast his idols into the fall. But the main source for the events, the Íslandingabók (a 12th century text) only mentions Þorgeir's speech at the Allthing, not any idols getting thrown into a waterfall. The story probably came up in Denmark in the 19th century.
An active volcanic system in northern Iceland ist the Krafla with an 800 metres high central volcano and a row of smaller ones. The system is most active in the region around the Mývatn lake. Eruptions 2,300 years ago formed the lava rocks at Dimmuborgir, the pseudocraters at Skútustaðir, and the sulphur fields at Hveranrönd/Námafjall.
The sulphur fields are an active and constantly changing area of thermal springs, boiling mud pools, fumaroles and solfataras. The air smells quite sulphuric and was warm in some spots even on a day with cold winds.
The Dimmuborgir formation was caused by a huge, collapsed lava tube. Those form when lava with low viscosity (basalt lava) develops a hard crust on top under which the lava flow continues. This took place some 2,300 years ago, originating in side-craters to the Krafla. The lava pooled over a small lake where it caused the marsh water to boil; the vapors rose though the molten lava and formed pillars of various sizes – steam is still a lot colder than 1000-800°C hot lava which solidified around the steam bubbles. The lava continued to flow down all the way to the Mývatn, and the tube crust eventually collapsed, leaving behind the bizarre pillars of solidified lava.
A local legend blames the trolls. A lonely she-troll invited all the trolls of the neighbourhood to a party in hope to find a husband among the bachelors. The party was so much fun that the trolls forgot to check their watches; the sun came up and – boom, they all turned to stone.
They Mývatn lake was created by a volcanic fissure eruption from the Krafla. The lava flowed down the Laxárdalur all the way to the northern Atlantic 50 km away. There had been a larger lake surrounded by marshlands prior to the event. When the lava ran over the water-logged sediment, it generated steam explosions much like at Dimmuborgir, only there was no lava dome, so the process led to rootless cones or pseudocraters. Those resemble volcanic craters, but there is no magma chamber beneath, nor any conduit. They are also smaller thn your average magma crater.
As counterpoint to the sunny Gullfoss in the first picture, we'll end with a rainy one. The Eyjafjörður is one of the longest fjords in Iceland (about 60 km) and usually very scenic with high mountain sloping down to the water – when the scenery isn't hiding in fog and rain. At its endpoint lies Akureyri.
We left Akureyri to continue – not directly to Cuxhaven as planned – but to Stavanger in Norway. The reason was a nasty storm coming in from the west, so the captain decided to skip the stop at Grimsey (which offered no guided excursions anyway) to keep ahead of that storm. Instead we would have an extra stop in Norway. I will cover that one in a new post, though; this one is long enough already.
