Day 10 — Mount Laki (8 July)

Mt. Laki, never heard of it until today. For almost a year starting in 1783, the mountain created a 15 mile fissure in the earth that produce a massive eruption that created 135 craters. The gases released into the air are said to have caused famine in Europe in 1784 and lost crops throughout that decade. Some historians claim that this prolonged period of famine may have been the catalyst for the French Revolution. The rim of the now dormant volcano was our main goal for this morning.

We turned off Route #1 onto a gravel road and drove for over 40 km. We went up and down, sideways as we drove over humps, holes, and streams. No ordinary car could survive this road. I almost didn’t.

The parking lot had about ten vehicles like ours when we arrived. You have to really want to come here. Glad we did.

Soon, we were climbing up on a rocky path that some German volunteers constructed a few years ago. When we reached the halfway point, the women in our group decided to pose for a women’s only photo. They must have been inspired by Iceland’s woman president, woman prime minister, women heading every political party, and the woman mayor of Rekyjavik. Not be outdone, the men took our photo but as you noted, dear reader, after the women.

We had more climbing to do. We were in the clouds with the rim of the volcano still above us.

Eventually, we reach the rim and began to walk into the volcano. One had to be particularly alert — the path could be tricky. We took our time when we confronted rough, rocky, and slick areas. We were rewarded with a moonscape. Did you know that Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins trained for their Apollo mission in Iceland? We all came together — women and men — for a group photo. I also asked Herdis, our guide, to pose for a photo. I decided to put in a second — the Icelandic Viking pose. I heard music from the Ring at that moment. Valkyries arise.

Time to descend as the sun began to peer through the sky. The Mt Laki eruption created 135 craters of various sizes. You can see one of the larger ones in the middle of photo below. The green color is moss that takes 100 years to grow. The black areas are fields of black lava. Our group in the lower left is only at beginning of our descent. Yellow stakes mark the trail which was ready to twist an ankle, pop a knee, and freeze a hip. The trail smooths out towards the end.

We continued to our next destination, a large crater called Tjarnargigur where we stopped for a lunch break. Most of our group was hungry, not surprising after a jaunt up a volcano, no? Surrounding the crater was a black lava field upon which nothing but patches of sea campion grow. I once saw a similar landscape colored in brown at Crater Lake, Oregon known as the pumice desert. The minerals that are expelled during an eruption are so devoid of nutrients that only a few plants can grow in them. It was eerie to see such a large black (perhaps blank) canvas cover the ground.

We walked around the crater on a smooth path that included a boardwalk so that we didn’t walk on the 100 year old moss. Another crater, yawn, after hiking Mt Laki. When we rounded the crater, we were rewarded with a beautiful lake set amongst the rocks. What a surprise.

The gravel road presented challenges throughout our day’s journey especially on our returning route. The first photo shows our vehicle approaching a stream to cross. In a more open area, the photo shows the van in the water. Herdis helped stage this photo by dropping off interested photographers on one side of the stream and then re-traced the bus’s path to pick us up. Thank you Herdis.

And then, another waterfall. I groaned but this one was one of the best. Herdis asked me how many Laird and I had seen on this trip. Perhaps 150 give or take a few. I know that a few more will be coming up tomorrow. I’ll keep the yawns to myself. But the stop did offer the opportunity to photograph the original style WC found in these parking lots. Newer ones having running water.

Our final stop was Fjadrargjufur, a most impressive canyon that starts with, guess what, a waterfall and is bounded by massive blocks and columns of stone unlike other canyons we had seen or hiked. I wondered how it would feel if one could walked or waded down the canyon. Laird said that it would ruin photos with the masses of people in them. We also took the high road and speculated about the impact of people throwing rocks at the stone walls, climbing and scrawling graffiti on them. Not a pretty picture. Let’s keep its beauty as is.

Our touring for the day ended. Now, the mundane — dinner. Herdis booked us in at the, meaning in this case, only local restaurant where our hotel was located for the only time available, 6 PM. By 7, the place was jammed with people waiting in the reception area and out the door. Be sure to read the specials board carefully.

The food was excellent. Even locals dine here. As we left the restaurant, I ran into two couples who had shared the hot pool with us yesterday. I thanked them for having a wonderful country. One guy hugged me which made him suspect as to whether he was a real Icelander. One of the wives asked me whether the husbands looked better in the pool or in their street clothes. I passed on that question. I did find out Icelanders quack like ducks.

Everyone was happy with dinner. Wasn’t the salad just stunning? A vegan’s delight. My fish was flavorful and firm. The fries were medium to crisp — not quite the crispness that I received on the second try last night. Herdis loved her pizza. I didn’t order a pizza because a 12 incher seemed to be lot. It was but that did not stop the others who ordered pizza. No take home boxes for this crowd. Heather said that the risotto was very good. Must have been because she is certainly a member of the clean plate club.

Thus, another fulfilling day ended even with more waterfalls.