Iceland, episode 6. In which nature abounds.

I love this photo.

As ever, there's a story and there are many reasons for my simple but sincere declaration of love, but you already know all that.

This was at one of the first scheduled stops during our Saturday tour, at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall.

Our guide told Mari to stretch out her arms then snapped this souvenir photo while I was recording footage for my iMovie and trying to avoid the precarious clash of electronics and mobile mist.

Seljalandsfoss is a popular tourist stop and for good reason. I've said this previously, but popular tourist sites are popular for good reason, but they are also crowded for the same reason. You need to understand that you can always carve out a little corner for yourself so you can have your own moment.

When I see Mari's broad smile and infectious excitement in this photo I easily erase the hundred or so other tourists surrounding us that morning.

If I look carefully, I can see a line of tourists walking behind the falls in the nebulous mist at left, but that's their moment.

As we traveled the Ring Road that scenically circumnavigates Iceland's circumference, Mari and I saw pretty much what we had expected: a lot of everything.

Iceland's varied and variegated landscapes merged together during our ten-hour tour in dazzlingly lush greens, saturated blues, and eye-popping pops of wildflower color.

Our frequent stops for impromptu photo shoots never disappointed.

This is both of us (thanks, Sergei!) a safe distance from the splash zone of Skogafoss waterfall, our next stop. This majestic beauty is the result of two glaciers butting heads a safe distance away.

If you are touring on your own, you'll want to make a delicious stop at the incredible cafe at the Hotel Skogafoss. Incredible for the spectacular view of the falls and for its hearty local cuisine. If you successfully climbed (and descended) the 370 steps up to the top of the falls, then you deserve a hearty bowl of the meat soup or beautifully grilled Arctic char. Even if you admired the view from the splash zone as Mari and I did, you still deserve a lunch break.

One of my favorite stops on the tour was at the Dyrhólaey lighthouse, sitting above the previously pictured black sand beach. Having always loved lighthouses, I was thrilled to discover that this unusually modern beauty was celebrating 90 years of service.

In my younger (and less physically vulnerable years) I had climbed the 228 steps to the top of Atlantic City's Absecon Lighthouse for some amazing views, but the red-capped Dyrhólaey is unfortunately not open for climbs.

Mari caught this little guy roosting (meditating?) quietly nearby with her camera (or whatever it is that puffins do quietly when alone in the grass).

Reynisfjara, a second black sand beach with its amazing natural backdrop of columns and stacks of natural basalt that have for centuries inspired many an Icelandic troll myth, inspired us for some memorable photos as we reached the end of our southward journey.

Although my collector's gaze wouldn't be in full attack mode until the following day at Kolaportið, I did manage to secure an addition to one of my oldest and dearest collections that tropical (at least by Icelandic standards) early summer afternoon.

I have been collecting beach sand since my earliest summer family visits to Jersey and Portuguese shores and the mysterious glisten of Reynisfjara black sand was a welcome addition to a waiting bottle at home.

The sand bottles are currently on winter hiatus and will be out on display again next summer.

Remind me to give them a blog moment.

 

This final photo is the view towards the beach from Vik's Reyniskirkja Church (above). It was the last stop on our colorfully comprehensive coastal tour. While our tour was by no means comprehensive of all the natural wonders Iceland has to offer, it was a journey replete with a beautiful bouquet of an eclectically fertile landscape.

I look forward to sharing some final photos and stories from our short, but very memorable trip to Iceland next time.