resurrection fern: August 2014

hot springs , Lopapeysa , Snorri's bath and huldufolk

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on our last day of travel in iceland

we visited the very stunning and europe's most powerful hotsprings at Deildartunguhver

the perfect backdrop to a photograph rebekah took of me wearing my lopapeysa

that i knit in the spring

it was absolutely wonderful seeing icelanders, young and old wearing handknit lopapeysa every day

they are just the perfect layer , even in the summer

before heading back to Reykjavík

we stopped in Reykholt to visit the church and snorri's bath

there was a tunnel path from snorri's farm to the bath

the water is not as warm as it once was

so we made one last stop at a town's community geothermal pool before stopping for the day

every town has one and it is where young and old meet up with friends and family to swim and soak

so very relaxing

the last thing i want to say about iceland is that i too believe it is inhabited by huldufolk or hidden eyes

including elves and trolls

over 50 percent of the current population of the country believes this to be true as well

when you are out exploring the lava stones you can really sense their presence

and if the believe in this helps to preserve this land: forbidding roads or developement in these areas of extrememe natural beauty

then where are the protectors of the huldufolk in our great land

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i would love to have seen this church decked out in drying fleece

and i would also love to paint golden stars on my ceiling

xx

have a wonderful weekend

this is a wonderful article i stumbled upon today

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Snæfellsnes

we had a tough decision to make for the last few days in iceland

hurry through the Snæfellsnes peninsula and onto a quick visit to the western fjiords

or take our time seeing all the sights in the area and save the western fjiords for another

visit to the island

knowing that we would be having more than our fill of the worlds most amazing fjiords in norway

in a few days made the decision a little easier

we drove all around the peninsula, camping the first night in the national park in a stone wind broken area near the cliff

a beautiful night for a sunset

we visited the delightful towns of ólafsvik with a sweet cafe serving yummy fish soup and delicious

cakes and stykkishólmur with a wonderful library turned into a semi permanent art exhibit by

american artist roni horn called the library of water

this town also had some beautiful artisan shops including one with icelandic porcelain

i purchased two cups there that are glazed inside with small basalt stones from one of the beaches we

visited in the national park

it has become my new favourite :)

our last night of camping was still in the peninsula a few hours from our final destination

we were intrigued by seeing two families on a hillside collecting something

we drove up the gravel road to investigate and found the entire hillside covered in berries

blueberries and crowberries

we stopped to pick a bowl full and then decided the ground was so soft and the road so un travelled that it would be perfect for camping

and so we did with only a lovely group of icelandic sheep, partaking in the berries as company***

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one last post to come on iceland and then off to norway

xx

m

Posted at 07:58 PM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (4)

when you live in a land with active volcanoes

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you have fantastic lava fields filling your landscape

other wordly rock formations

great legends of building roads through them

a fantastic way to accentuate the greens of the mosses , lichens and grasses

rebekah and i fell in love with all of this

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vik

rebekah and i both loved vik

we arrived on a stormy day and experienced the volcanic sand beach with huge waves and strong winds

we managed to have a bbq on the beach none the less

next morning , as we both predicted the sun was shining brightly

as it should on rebekah's birthday

we had a fantastic day heading down the southern coast to play with rock piles and icebergs

only to return to vik for a second night of camping

the warmest one during our week in iceland

we made pizza on the grill and had a birthday celebration with wine and gifts

we visited the amazing rock formations at Dyrhólaey where some scenes from game of thrones were filmed

we watched puffins fly and swim , along with a great many other seabirds

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off to western iceland in the next post

xx

Posted at 04:40 PM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (8)

first day on the road in iceland

we woke up early every morning

myself a little earlier than rebekah :)

afterall it hardly gets dark in iceland in the summer

our first day of our road trip was such a delight

the weather was somewhat tempermental but although this mean't no rainbows at the waterfalls

i think it really accentuated the ruggedness and beauty of the landscapes

we were ahead of most of the tour buses that tend to really crowd out these spots later in the day

our itinerary was

Þingvellir

gullfoss

haukadalur / geysir

volcanic crater Kerið

skólholt church

seljalandsfoss

Rútshellir

hope you enjoy the ride

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and then off to vik to camp near the beach

more about that another day

xx

Posted at 08:38 AM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (9)

up close

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you can't begin to imagine how happy this made rebekah and i feel

playing with icebergs

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the tip of the iceberg

:)

Posted at 07:49 AM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (10)

icebergs !

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rebekah and i agreed that our favourite day in iceland was seeing the icebergs on glacial lake

most people who visit view them from a distance, which is really spectacular with the mountains and glacier in the distance

others pay large amounts of kroner to get in a small boat and motor around the lake with a group

we decided to walk down the embankment and get up close to them on our own

we had fun even fishing a few small ones out of the lake

natural fresh ice sculptures

each one unique and beautifully formed

these are a few of my favourite images from that experience

a while later we drove across the highway to the beach, had a picnic lunch with our iceberg friends and played amongst them for a while ( I will share some of those photographs tomorrow :)

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Posted at 07:25 AM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (12)

where to start

it has been such a very long time away from here

what used to be my life line, my refuge, my primary means of connecting

has been very patient for my return

as some of you may know i have recently returned from a hopefully not once in a life time trip

to Iceland and Norway

driving and camping where ever we wanted ( rebekah, nancy and I) for over two weeks

well actually only rebekah and i in iceland and then nancy, a fellow ontarian working with rebekah in norway joined us in norway

we travelled about 3000 km total :: 1/3 in iceland and the remainder in norway

we camped in wild spaces almost all of the time and at no cost

and some of these sites were the most spectacular i have ever camped at

we usually shopped locally and prepared all of our own meals except for a few exceptions

like trying out the best apple cake in the world ( i would have to taste a few more before i came to that conclusion but it was delicious)

I wasn't sure where to start with sharing some of the more than 2000 photographs i took with my camera but as I write this I think it best to show you some of those "free" campsites

hoping to entice more to do the same

* the rules in iceland are that you can camp anywhere for free except at recognized campgrounds. In Norway it is that you are a certain distance from a building, that the area is not private ( not fenced off) and is not a public green space.

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