ICELAND 2016 Day 05 Visting Jökulsárgljúfur!

As I said yesterday, my guesthouse didnt have inhouse breakfast. So I attempted to find it. The lady who checked me in spoke so fast and scribbled something on a map, but when I drove there, it appeared to be some kind of meat or fish industry. So I drove around, barely got lost in the 4 streets that is Húsavík. And returned to my guesthouse to check back on the details. I noticed a guesthouse having the same email adres so at least I had something to look out for, and this time I found it rather easy. It still was in the company building I drove by.

After breakfast I took off to Hljoðaklettar. A nice drive north along the shore of Iceland, were huge waves were crashing on the shore. The coastline here was in the least stunning! I took a little break at one of the resting places and hoped to catch a glimps of whales which have been seen in abundance here this week. I pondered about taking a whale watch here, with 99% guaranty to see whales. But my holiday was already more expensive than calculated, and bet for my luck to just see them from shore. Besides that, looking at the arctic sea, it really didnt seem the place to be for me for now. Weather would be great later this week.

So, I moved on and found the road to Hljoðaklettar. I got no signs of other traffic, it was a rather long road on partly gravel with lots of sheep. Now I had clear views and once I took left to the actual road to Hljoðaklettar, I felt like wandering off into no mans land. Suddenly I was on top of a hill, and right before me I had this awesome view comparable to Grand Canyon. I was Woow.... but I had a car behind me and I couldnt really stop to take a picture. I took the following ones on my way out ;-)

Some sort of Grand Canyon like feeling, though you must see it in 3D to understand that :)

The way down into this canyon/valley reminded me of yesterday at Aldeyjarfoss, giving me a few sweat outbreaks, but knowing this was a road I am allowed to drive on. I dove into Icelandic forests/bushes and ended up at the campsite.

Would totally love it to ride this trail :)

I have seen worse campsites... not that you camp here, but this is reception/service area

The other car turned left to goodness knows where and later returned to leave the area. Here I was all alone, and I was mesmerized by my surroundings. Photo's still cannot express what my eyes saw.
I walked around, and followed a trail. On the road that actually went to Hljoðaklettar itself, were huge pools of muddy water, not as evil as those I had yesterday, but I felt ok about parking at the campsite. Despite it was a 4 km walk to Hljoðaklettar itself. It wasnt a torture to say so :) Autumcolors give me so much power!

Mudpools, mudpools. I could have taken them but you never know ;)

I merely was all alone here, there were two cars, but no idea where the owners were or went. And this is truly an enchanting place. I sat by the river for a moment on a rock, and like is usual in Iceland, your mind starts to speak. Its those moments of silence and solitude I crave for but never find where I live. Its usually not an easy thing to deal with, because if my mind speaks it goes from one emotion to another. And in this place it hits really hard. I blame the huge amounts of obsidian, you see it glistening everywhere.

I see an elephant!!!!

Some views are so beautifull....

The gljúfur haha :)

I walked on to Hljoðaklettar, but the trail got every challenging. Iceland isnt really a place for people who arent able to take challenging trails. Well I am able to, but I was alone. I forgot to sign up with the safe travel site. And after conquering a few rocky roads and steep slippery climbs, I faces this challenge....

Yup this is the trail..... And it looks easy on picture yeah...

You figure out the road, and all I tell is that the road ends on the right side with a steep ditch few meters deep with possible razersharp rocks. Someone had destroyed the line that would keep you on track. And I know sometimes my balance sucks. On one hand I have very good skills to keep balance, on the other hand it can also be that I just tumble over for no reason. And it usually happens if I am not sure of myself. So no... sadly I didnt proceed on this trail.
I have been walking so much the previous days and driving close to 1500km, I felt tired. Iceland gives me energy but somehow my legs cant handle and my brain got overload. I walked back and returned to just sit and amaze myself. Of all I have seen, of all the powers that created this.
Holland where I come from, is of course seafloor. Creation and forces of nature are less easy to be seen and felt there, so in Iceland I just try to imagine how not too long ago, hot lava flows found their ways here, and created all those shapes. Its beyond imagination.

Art of nature....

Another nice rocky road :) The other one mentioned before is left of the bigger yellow bush top right

This whole 'mountainthingy' is made of natures lego. Basalt blocks...

Epic.....

I took a side trail back to the campsite, leading me through the bushes where I could still indulge on blueberries :)

I made my way back to the mainroad and went to Ásbyrgi. Ásbyrgi is a horse shoe shaped canyon not too far away from Hljoðaklettar. In folklore its said to be a hoofprint of Odins horse Sleipnir. In reality it was once a river and in the deep of the canyon used to be a waterfall. The river fell dry possibly after a volcanic eruption, leaving this canyon. In the end of it there is a neat forest with mainly birchtrees and some bigger sized pine trees. One of the trails is a botanical trail, telling about the plants and trees growing here. I saw brightred berries assuming they were toxic. But they were not. They are stonebrambles, which do also grow in few parts of Holland, but are extremely/endangered rare. I took some berries with me, to see if I can grow them. They say they make delicious juice and/or jelly.

The third sighting of Jökulsárgljúfur, would be Dettifoss. With a 4x4 it would have been easy to visit that one too, but I would probably not risk it to even try. I had my share by now with muddy gravel roads. Besides, I have plenty of time tomorrow.

For tonight the auroras danced, but in Húsavík it was cloudy. I have been sitting outside for a little while on a bench just out of the street my guesthouse was at. But no luck. I went back in, drank some hot chocolate and fell asleep tired. In the early morning there was a long billed bird searching worms outside my window (my window is on groundlevel as my room is in the basement). Cute little bird :)