August 17: "Rolling without effort"
At 8:50, Donatienne is already at the meeting point to let us know that they
are waiting for us at the car park in front of the supermarket. Off to Husavik,
a fishing harbor 50 kilometers north which was formerly the home base for
a fleet of whaling ships, where we visit the whaling museum and learn that
Iceland has decided to hunt 12 minky whales for "scientific research"
this year. A few days later, we read in the paper news of the assassination
of a whale. While visiting the museum, I signed a petition against this political
hypocrisy. I agree that Iceland has much more to gain from the tourist attraction
(with its financial repercussions) to these splendid creatures than the sale
of the meat to Japanese.
It was a funny feeling watching the landscape unravel at 60 km/h instead of
the usual 15 or 20. I felt a little bit like an old man who finds that the
planet is going around too quickly and wants to get off. After this cultural
visit, we headed for Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall. On the way,
we visited Hafragilsfoss, a little bit downstream and almost as a impressive
as his big brother. (You probably gathered that Foss is the Icelandic translation
of falls.) Already from far away, we could see the spray created by the cascading
water. Once the falls in site, we were amazed at the sheer mass of tons of
water (500 per second) plummeting 45 meters down below. Was the immobility
of the crowds a sign of their humility before this spectacle of power? We
had difficulty in believing how lucky we had been not having missed this natural
wonder which the day before we had given up visiting because of our fatigue.
Also incredulous of having a full day of uninterrupted sun that became an
incredibly spectacular sunset in the evening. The road between these unforgettable
spots passed through long plains of desert without a hint of vegetation despite
the last volcanic eruption going back to over 100 years. During stops for
taking pictures, I spent much of my time scrutinizing the ground searching
for a piece of lava which we could take with us without adding too much to
our already heavy load.
Elsewhere, we saw
lines of shrub pines, planted by plane to try to thwart sandstorm erosion.
And the climax to this marvellous day was arestaurant dinner with our adorable
friends who had the idea of driving south of the lake on the way there and
taking the northern route on the way back, stratagem which they had concocted
to allow us to choose the easiest way to take the following day towards Akureyri
without regrets at not having seen the alternative intinerary. The adieus
were not too painful since we remained convinced that we would meet up again
upon our return to Europe. (No suspician at all that we would come together
again much sooner.)
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Birds on
Lake Myvatn
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The road
to Husavik
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Pebble beach
at Skjalfandi Bay
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Red mountains
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Hafragilsfoss
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Jökulsaafjöllum
River
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Dettifoss
spume
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The most
powerful
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waterfalls
in Europe
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Canyons
upriver
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