Wednesday, May 20, 2015

ICELAND ~ A PICTORIAL ODYSSEY (Part One)

The Midgard Serpent drinks from the River of Eternity

Skógafoss in South Iceland is where I spotted the Midgard Serpent

Hraunfossar, a series of waterfalls streaming out from the Hallmundarhraun lava field
... after a volcano erupted below the Langjökull glacier in the Reykholt region

Hvítá River into which the Hraunfossar feeds (hraun is the Icelandic word for lava)
Barnafoss, where two boys drowned while crossing a natural bridge, 
later destroyed in an earthquake
Faxi (Horsemane Falls) or Vatnsleysufoss on the river Tungufljót. 
The island looks like a replica of Iceland 
Goðafoss, Waterfall of the Gods, in the Bárðardalur district of North-Central Iceland 
Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest point of Iceland in the Vatnajökull National Park.
You can see the edge of the Vatna Glacier peeping out between the hills
Atop the steel monument in memory of those who perished in the glacial flood of 1996, when a subterranean volcanic eruption melted part of the glacier, turning it into a massive torrent 
of cold black apocalypse 
This section of twisted steel was salvaged from a bridge destroyed by the glacial flood. 
Note the cosmic serpent graffito
British students Ian Harrison & Tony Prosser went missing on a sunny day in August 
1953 while doing field work on a glacier near Skaftafell. They were caught in a sudden 
blizzard. Despite an intensive search-&-rescue operation, their bodies were never found. 
But 50 years later in 2003, melting ice uncovered their camping gear
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lake & a Grumpy Iceman
Blocks of ice melting on the beach
Where glacier meets the open sea
Rapid meltdown as summer approaches


Clambering around the loose scree of a moraine hill
Kirsten from Austria with a tiny piece of melting glacier
Icicles on the mudguard of our Mercedes mini-bus
The road across the frozen North with Captain Palli at the wheel
Monochrome landscape
Still snowcapped in the first week of May
Snow melting on the lava fields
We saw so many waterfalls I have no idea where this one was & what's it's called!
The Icelandic horse is prized for its gentleness, robustness & steadiness on the gallop
Icelandic winter snack plate of Harðfiskur (dried fish), smoked lamb & rotting shark

PHOTOS BY ANTARES
courtesy of his Huawei Ascend P6