Iceland, Land of Ice and Fire

The very picturesque Hraunfossar, NW Iceland

 For most of us, the mention of Iceland conjures up images of glaciers, aurora borealis (aka Northern Lights) and the volcano Grímsvötn, which spewed ashes creating havoc and disrupting flights all over Europe in May 2011. Other than that infamous eruption, the very little that I read about this nation in our news media had to do with its bankruptcy in 2008, and practically nothing else! However, my recent short vacation there had definitely added more colors and dimensions to these contrasting images and somewhat limited impressions.

Actually, it was my cousin Tong CW– also a Royal Lake Club member, avid nature lover and outdoor person like moi -- who prompted me to make a trip to this far-flung island in the Northern Hemisphere. He travelled there for a hiking trip with his son some years ago, and both of them were bowled over by its abundant natural beauty and pristine charm. So, I rounded up a small group of like-minded friends, including a few from the Royal Lake Club, and embarked on the trip in April 2013. Why April? Well, we had hoped to sight the aurora borealis in Iceland, as well as catch the flower parade and visit Keukenhoff Garden in the Netherlands when tulips would be in full bloom. My research indicated that going in April was about the best bet for killing these three birds with one stone! J

The following is a brief account of our travel story, which gives some inkling of why I have since labelled Iceland as the Land of Ice and Fire:  

We arrived at Keflavik Airport in Iceland in late afternoon. After checking into the hotel, our tour guide wasted no time and whisked us off straight to dinner! For foodies like us, nothing was more welcoming than a hearty meal in the very popular and famous Fish & Chips Restaurant that I have specifically requested to be included in our itinerary. We ordered the cod and ventured to try the wolffish, which we have never heard of hitherto. The cod was simply out of this world, fresh and heavenly delicious, very unlike the frozen version we get here in Malaysia. The wolffish was surprisingly tasty too, although we might have refused to try it had we known then what it really looks like! The fish is tossed in barley batter (free of white flour and refined sugar, so I was told) and fried in the all-natural canola oil for a remarkably light, crispy finish that doesn't “obstruct” the delicate flavor of the fresh catch. The fish is paired with malt vinegar or "skyronnaise," the skýr-based house sauce in eight flavors, including coriander-lime, ginger-wasabi, and mango chutney. We were also served fresh green salad, mango salad, tomato/potato salad, home fries, and onion ring….and delicious seafood soup! Oops, this is supposed to be a travel story, not food review…..

The ugly but tasty wolf fish

The following morning, eight out of ten people in the group started the day on a whale watch ship departing from the port of Grindavik, while the other two –myself included – with an acute sense of self-awareness, decided to skip this adventure to avert getting seasick. We opted to spend a more restful morning in the famous Blue Lagoon. We made the right decision, as the sea turned out to be so rough that three our friends onboard the ship did get very sick! Anyway, all of us sought respite later in the beautiful Blue Lagoon where we had a great time enjoying a soak and swim in the revitalizing mineral-rich geothermal water. (By the way, renewable sources such as geothermal and hydro power provide about 80% of the nation’s total energy. Thus, green houses which are abundant in Iceland, are mostly heated by geothermal power.)

We departed from the Blue Lagoon to visit Krisuvik, a geothermal field where powerful jets of steam were seen escaping from deep below the earth’s crust. We were quite happy to be “steamed” standing in the snow and cold wind. Our next stop was Leif the Lucky Bridge, a small bridge over the rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates that runs through Iceland. It was fascinating to see this rift as most of us have only read about tectonic plate movement in our college geology and biology textbooks. Clad in our winter coats, we all continued to brave the snow and cold, for the sheer pleasure of walking across the bridge to gaze into the fascinating depth of the rift. After this exotic experience, we headed to the picturesque village of Stokkseyri to enjoy the lobster feast at the famous Fjorubordid Restaurant, raved and highly rated by travelers on the Internet. Iceland lobsters are small, look more like crayfish, but they are deliciously juicy and firm.

After the scrumptious lobster feast, we hunted for the elusive Northern Lights en route to Reykjavik. Even though the aurora alert site website predicted high probability of sighting on that day, we were not lucky enough to see anything near spectacular. We only saw a tantalizing flicker of light for a split second in the dark of the night, not the awe-inspiring, swirling and dancing lights across the sky as depicted in the photo sent to me by a friend from the UK who visited there a few months ahead of me.

On Day 3, we left Reykjavik for the south coast, driving through villages, enjoying frequent views of snow shrouded volcanos including Hekla, the country’s most active volcano. We stopped along the way to enjoy the splendid Seljalandsfoss and Skogarfoss falls, which tumble over high rock escarpments dotted by hundreds of bird nests. It was snowing all the way, yes, in Spring! Abound with legends of trolls and elves, in the sea off the shores of Dyrholaey and Vik, are rocks 66 meters or so above sea level, with an iconic one telling the story of two legendary trolls trying to drag a three-masted ship to land.

Beautiful Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon

The program next day was an “expedition” to the must-visit Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon. En route, we passed through the vast Eldhraun lava field, the largest on earth since the end of the Ice Age, definitely more expansive than those I have seen on the Big Island of Hawaii. Then it was onwards to Skaftafell National Park, one of Iceland’s most outstanding areas of natural beauty.  The area is dominated by spectacular views of the mighty Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier. From there, we continued our journey to the breathtakingly beautiful Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon where bluish huge icebergs were seen floating and grinding together in the still, deep waters of the lagoon.

The next day we departed for the very popular Golden Circle tour. First place visited was the Geysir hot spring area, to see the famous great geysir, Strokkur, a hot spring that spouts “quite punctually” every few minutes.  It is not as spectacular as Old Faithful in the Yellow Stone Park, but the wait between spouts was much shorter, and more predictable.  Following this was a visit to Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s most impressive waterfalls. En route, we spotted something worthy of a special mention: a dozen or so beautiful Icelandic horses grazing in a farm! Being animal lovers, we couldn’t resist making an unscheduled stop to take some snapshots with the friendly and docile beauties. Icelandic horses are small, almost like ponies, and they are so loved by Icelanders that their purity and bloodlines are fiercely protected. So much so that no other horses can enter the country, and once an Icelandic horse leaves, it can never return! 

We sport the same hair style!

In terms of size, Gulfoss is of course no comparison to the majestic Niagara Falls, nor is it as spectacular as Iguassu Falls. But the name Gullfoss or Golden Falls is more than well-deserved. Standing in front of the falls in bright sunlight, I was literally blinded and spell-bound by the pretty golden glitters of the cascading water. Our next stop was the must-visit Thingvellir National Park, the site of the oldest Parliament in the world which was founded in 930. There, we also saw Almannagjá – Everymans Chasm – formed about 9000 years ago of extensive layers of basalt lava which shifted apart to form a great depression about 40 km long and 10 km wide!

After taking in all the sights and a sense of Icelandic history, geological and otherwise, we headed to the Hvalfjordur area (Whale-fjord) for overnight at the Glymur Hotel, touted to be the best and most romantic hotel to experience the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, we were disappointed yet again: We did not get the much-anticipated midnight wake-up call to witness the elusive dancing lights! But I must say we were amply compensated by the serenely beautiful fjord right in front of the hotel.    

On Day 6, we headed north to the Borgarfjörður district, visited the Settlement Center and a museum in Borgarnes to imbibe bits and pieces of interesting Icelandic history. We also stopped to visit  Deildartunguhver, the most powerful hot spring in Europe, then past Reykholt to the very picturesque waterfalls Hraunfossar, where spring water flows from down under the lava. After this, we headed towards the Snaefellsnes peninsula to Gerðuberg, where we enjoyed a snowball fight by the very unique columnar basalt cliff. In the evening, we arrived at the quaint and picturesque fishing village of Stykkisholmur for overnight. To me, it is the most beautiful fishing village that I have ever seen! It even has a pretty church with a unique architecture to boot!

The following morning, we continued around the peninsula along the north side, going through the villages of Grundarfjordur, Olafsvik and Hellissandur and then through the National Park, where we found many beaches with abundant signs of ancient eruptions with various lava formations and craters. (BTW, Iceland is one of the most geologically active spots on Earth, with 130 volcanos, about 40 of which have erupted in the last 1000 years, and on average, a volcano erupts every 5 years. An eruption will certainly paint Iceland as a land of ice and fire! ) Snæfellsjökull glacier is a dormant volcano which attracts thousands of people each summer there to enjoy the energy radiation, as they believe it to be one of earth's seven energy spots. In fact, I did feel the “qi” when I tried to tap the energy around there! Perhaps the RLC qigong exponents should go there on a special pilgrimage? J  Next, we stopped at Arnarstapi to enjoy its extraordinary beautiful shores and scenery. Being nature lovers, we savored sights of the spectacular landscapes, not to mention the refreshing short hike in the park, and leisurely bird watching along the precipitous shoreline.

Seagull colonies on the shore

In the late afternoon, we headed back to Reykjavik -- via a tunnel under the fjord -- for a city tour which included the uniquely beautiful Hallgrímskirkja church where the world’s largest pipe organ is housed. We concluded the tour with a visit to Perlan (The Pearl) to enjoy a panoramic view of the city. Since it was our last evening in Iceland, the foodies in the group decided to try the famous hotdogs (made of real meat, usually lamb, NOT factory-made frankfurters of dubious  quality) , supposedly the best in Europe, and  “endorsed” by no other than President Clinton himself! I tucked in two yummy hotdogs as my pre-dinner appetizers, and this speaks volumes, because I am one who scoffs at hotdogs as the lowly “emergency food”. After the hotdogs, we still had space in our stomachs for a delicious barbeque dinner at a local restaurant, where amongst a variety of fresh seafood, we got to try the whale meat! Tough and non-descript is all I can say of this special treat. L

In summary, Iceland is small, but abundant in natural beauty. It is only roughly 39,000 square miles (about ¾ the size of peninisular Malaysia), with 11% of the country covered with glaciers, another 30% of the land is lava fields. What one doesn’t see there is lots of tall trees. Thus goes the old Icelandic joke that if you ever get lost in a forest in Iceland, all you need to do is stand up! Only about 320,000 people live in Iceland, where they enjoy an excellent quality of life. Yes, they went bankrupt in 2008, but they have experienced a strong economic recovery since. Iceland is said to have one of the longest life expectancies and the highest literacy rate in the world. And, it is one of the most technologically advanced nations with the highest number of broadband internet connections per capita in the world. Impressed? But I bet what most Malaysians may like about Iceland is perhaps the fact that crime rate is very low there. Even the president’s residence is NOT fenced up! Their police don’t even carry guns -- guns are illegal, except those for hunting -- they only carry batons and pepper spray. 

Click on http://youtu.be/A-l9xGh3LFQ

for a more complete, vivid and visual presentation of my Iceland travel story.