Vik Iceland

After a day on the road we’re now in Vik, in the south west of Iceland. The accommodation we’re staying in is called “A … guest house” and as is an option in a lot of places here we’re using our own sleeping bags but sleeping on their beds. 3 of us in the one room. It’s nothing flash, but we arrived at 9.30pm and then went straight out for dinner to the only place serving dinner this late in town. (Population 290 ) returning here just after seeing a midnight sunset.

We started the day with breakfast at the youth hostel we stayed in last night. Our cereal with fruit contrasted with a gourmet breakfast a couple there had cooked for themselves, but I felt like nothing more complex. We headed out and the fjords were surprisingly spectacular. Waterfalls galore, and quite a rugged landscape not softened by the trees Norway has in its fjords. The towns coloured with wooden houses, but some towns a little more industrial, yet never overpowering as there’s so few people in this part of the country to begin with.

Then we hit the glaciers. Turned a corner from one fjord into the next and there before us were 5, 6 maybe 7 glaciers glued onto the mountains and often spilling onto into lagoons at ocean level. The amount of ice up there is huge, unfathomable really, and when we got to the first lagoon filled with glacial debris – small icebergs floating around in various stages of melt, it was quite simply stunning. I was in my element photographing it all, though the overcast sky probably took some of the sparkle away. After that it was a desert of laval flows of the past forming a huge flat by the ocean criss-crossed by glacial streams.

We’ve been eating various local foods and while Sylvain hates the supermarkets at the best of times Dennis and I have been enjoying trying out new things. We’ve had quite a variety of salmon and herring and all things fishy and various chocolate / sweet things that aren’t exactly healthy choices, but then we’ve also been eating nuts and berries and yoghurts of all kinds, today’s specials were fresh blueberries and raspberry & peach ( I think) yoghurt. The yoghurt the other day with 6 grains… was actually quite nice – chewy but quite novel. It was also a little warmer today – up to 10degrees max. So no frost bite today.

Our last full day tomorrow, and Dennis’ last day. See what we can manage.

skogafoss