The palisade of Lómagnúpur forms a corner pillar at the far western edge of Öræfi, dominating the view as you approach, but preventing any glimpse beyond. But when you pass it, what awaits stuns you into silence.
To the left (middle and right in the picture above) stretches the huge expanse of the glacier Skeidarasjökull, completely filling the valley like the rivers of ice I had always heard glaciers to be, but never before seen.
In the distance ahead were other bits of glacial ice cap, shining in the sun. And all around us stretched Skeiðarársandur: the glacial black sand desert, crisscrossed by rivers of meltwater, flat, vast, endless, all the way to the unseen sea.
We drove and drove, past other rivers of ice, past glaciers in hanging valleys that would one day become cirques, past small groups of white swans swimming in ice-cold water on black sands.
It was cold, we were completely alone, and the unobstructed wind blew without ceasing.
Small gravel roads lead in closer to the glaciers. Passenger cars like ours are actually prohibited from leaving the paved roads, but in some instances we felt OK driving a short ways on the gravel. Most of the terrain was like what you see above: endless, a seeming wasteland of sand with a sort of terrible beauty. But in other places, the tundra had gained a foothold, and was glorious in its own fall foliage. I was mesmerized by the glaciers themselves, and the way they seemed to glow as if illuminated from within; this place where we paused was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.
(I'll be away this weekend but will resume this travelogue next week. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting, both here and on FB.)
Wonderful!
Posted by: Nina T | October 08, 2015 at 05:27 PM
Breathtakingly beautiful, dramatic and powerful, all!
Posted by: Marja-Leena | October 08, 2015 at 06:28 PM
What an amazing trip! Just catching up here - couldn't really appreciate these on my little tablet screen when I was away. Gorgeous photos, all of them. But I really love that last one.
Posted by: Leslee | October 08, 2015 at 06:46 PM
What an amazing physical and, I imagine, spiritual journey.
Posted by: mary | October 08, 2015 at 08:35 PM
Spectacular landscape but quite frightening to me - like finding one's self alone on the moon with no hope of returning to earth. Jonathan in that photo looks the way I would feel! Your photos and the video really capture the atmosphere.
Posted by: Natalie | October 08, 2015 at 09:28 PM
Powerful!
Posted by: Priya | October 09, 2015 at 12:03 AM
I have been following your posts on your visit to Iceland with great interest. Now that our trip to the Netherlands and Belgium is out of the way, we are really looking forward to our trip to Iceland later this year.
Posted by: Tom | October 09, 2015 at 05:39 AM
Can't wait to see the paintings that come out of this.
Posted by: Dave | October 09, 2015 at 12:31 PM
Eerie. And then the last scene, with the beautiful little plants, comes as a relief.
Posted by: Andrea M. | October 09, 2015 at 03:07 PM
Awesome, in the truest sense of the word.
Posted by: Hattie | October 12, 2015 at 01:36 PM