Michael Powell's Blog, page 104

An Unexpected Encounter at Heimaey’s Aquarium

Whereas we had enjoyed wonderful weather on our first day in Heimaey, our second day was marked by unrelenting rain. We tried to grit our teeth and ignore it, but eventually had to seek shelter. Soaking wet and in toxic moods, we burst into the Aquarium and National History Museum, never expecting to encounter a little fellow who would brighten our spirits immensely.

Before escaping into the refuge of the museum, we had toured around Heimaey Town. During the 1973 eruption of Eldfell, the easte...

A Walk Around Heimaey

A stroll around the island sounds nice, we thought. A leisurely pace, pleasant weather, verdant hills, volcanoes, beaches, cliffs and a bit of puffin-spotting… a perfect way to spend the afternoon! Hours later, collapsed onto a couch from which we were physically unable to arise, we remembered this early optimism. The ridiculous buoyancy in our step as we set out on an “easy stroll” around Heimaey. Oh, we remembered how annoyingly cheerful we had been… we remembered with blackest hate.

The vie...

A Walk Around Heimæy

A stroll around the island sounds nice, we thought. A leisurely pace, pleasant weather, verdant hills, volcanoes, beaches, cliffs and a bit of puffin-spotting… a perfect way to spend the afternoon! Hours later, collapsed onto a couch from which we were physically unable to arise, we remembered this early optimism. The ridiculous buoyancy in our step as we set out on an “easy stroll” around Heimæy. Oh, we remembered how annoyingly cheerful we had been… we remembered with blackest hate.

The view...

Vestmannæyjar: The Westman Islands

Just a few miles off the southern coast of Iceland are the Westman Islands (Vestmannæyjar). Though the archipelago consists of over a dozen islands, only Heimæy is large enough to support a community. With beautiful nature, (relatively) mild weather and an exciting history, the Westmans have become one of the favorite spots for day-tripping Icelanders.

The story of the Westman Islands begins at the same time as that of Iceland. The country’s original settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, owned a group o...

More Pictures from Þórsmörk

The morning after completing the 25-kilometer Fimmvörðuháls hike, we woke up with stiff, aching muscles in our tent at the Básar campsite in Þórsmörk. The last thing we felt like doing was more hiking, but we had six hours to kill until the bus back to Reykjavík, and it’s not like there were a lot of other options. More hiking it is!

We decided to walk to the Langidalur campsite, on the northern side of the valley. Our path brought us to the Krossá River; a wide and deceptively powerful westwa...

Fimmvörðuháls – Fimmvörðuskáli to Þórsmörk

The first half of our 25-kilometer hike from Skógar to Þórsmörk had been dominated by waterfalls, barren mountain vistas, and an unending uphill climb. But after passing between the two glaciers of Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull, our path would start its descent, and the clouds which had been plaguing us all day would clear up, revealing the valley of Þórsmörk below us: one of the most breathtaking landscapes we’ve ever seen.

After passing the Fimmvörðuskáli hut, we emerged into serious gl...

Fimmvörðuháls – Skógar to Fimmvörðuskáli

The 25-kilometer Fimmvörðuháls, or Five-Cairn Trail, leads from the Skógafoss waterfall, up and between two glaciers, and into the valley of Þórsmörk. One of Iceland’s most popular hikes, it’s often done over two days, with a night in the Fimmvörðuskáli hut, but we pushed ourselves to complete the whole thing at once. Ten amazing hours.

The Fimmvörðuháls is considered to be among the world’s best “waterfall” hikes, and begins defending this reputation immediately, with a steep climb up the sid...

Inside the Volcano

After hiking through a field of lava, donning a helmet and harness, and climbing to the top of a perfectly conical volcanic crater, we gathered our courage and stepped onto a cable lift… the kind normally used to wash the windows of skyscrapers. Then we were lowered four hundred feet underground into the magma chamber of a long dormant volcano. A little scary, but visiting Þrihnúkagígur was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we couldn’t resist.

The Þrihnúkagígur (“Three Peaks”) volcano southeast...

The Árbæjarsafn Open Air Museum

At first, the men and women working in the farming village of Árbær took me off guard. Dressed in historical costumes, they were doing things like knitting and tending to the animals. But after an hour or so, I no longer consciously registered their presence. And as the day progressed, I found myself worrying about the impending harvest back home. Would dependable old Betsy survive another winter? Say, that’s a fetching wench. I wonder whither she brings that bucket of mead, and what her dowr...

The Ruins of Selatangar

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Since the days of the settlement, Iceland has been a land of fishermen. Rough characters hewn from Viking stock, daily braving the deadly waters of the North Atlantic without a second thought. But I imagine that even the fiercest among them felt a shiver when coming ashore at Selatangar.

Set on the southern coast of the Reykjanes peninsula in an unforgiving landscape of black lava, Selatangar was a fishing settlement until abandoned in the 1880s. All that remai...