Reykjavik was getting familiar at this point, and my hiking boots were itching to be used (I thought I had gotten rid of the infestation). The first stop on my backcountry tour was the Lava Tube, a 5,000 year old cavern dug out by a river of molten rock. The constant dripping of water was the natural filtration process, which in theory made it potable but I stuck with the tried-and-true Nalgene. This locale was the site of minor silver screen fame (Noah, Halo, and an Icelandic series called Trapped), but you could easily imagine any cave scene taking place here.
Past the three natural sky lights was the true earthen trail into the tube. Deep-red pigment left over from iron oxidation reactions covered the walls and ceiling in irregular patterns; my initial guess for the crimson markings (sacrificed Viking virgins) was suspiciously and hurriedly denied. In other areas, bubbled gray lines denoted the slow release of liquid magma over the course of months a millimeter at a time. We finally reached the end of the standard tour at a “party deck” of sorts where the occasional concert or wedding can be booked.
I followed the winding highways to the southern coast and the dwindling glacier of Solheimskall. I’m going to alienate most of you (five total) readers, but the landscape here was highly reminiscent of the new game Death Standing; check out a quick trailer for comparison. To my disappointment, this one did have traversable ice caves – I’m following up on this for an add-in later this week.
Finally, I stopped at the vast waterfall known as Skogafoss. Even as a veritable oasis of civilization in the sparsely populated countryside of Iceland, I felt a great deal of traditional culture was maintained at this travel hot-spot. Farmlands for Icelandic horses and sheep butted up right next to the guest houses (which probably did no favors to smell), and hydroelectric engineering was supposedly in the works to take the whole site to self-sufficient levels of power. But the real winner was the falls themselves; I understand the general layout is the same everywhere but I can’t help but feel very small compared to the outpouring of force these natural features exude. In short, there ain’t much that makes my ego take a back seat, but this is certainly one of those times.
Ice's Travels 