Iceland
So Many of my friends around the world,
have a very harsh opinion of Iceland.
It sounds so cold and remote.
Due to the closness of the gulf stream Iceland is a lot warmer,
than many of the nothern United States.
It is the windest inhabited place of the earth.
And does have some sort of precipitation 265 days a year.
There is a saying here
if you don't like the weather wait an hour it will change.
This page is an effort to let all of you know
that while Iceland is remote
and isolated.
It is a very beautiful country ,
with warm and friendly natives.
I loving call it the rock.
For it is country spawned from Volcanic eruptions,
which continue even today.
So it really is literally a rock,
sitting at the top of the North Atlantic ocean.
The breakdown of the country might go something like this.
1 % cultivated, 12 % Glaciers, 4 % sands, 17% grazing land
and 3 % lakes, 11 % lava and 52 % other wasteland.
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Lets start our tour with
Reyjakvik the Capitol City.
The largest city in Iceland.
Where today the entire population on Island is 250,000
Named by Ingolf Arnarson in 874 A.D.
who set two pillers adrift as he was approching the Island,
where they landed he would settle.
Reyjakvik in old Norse means
Bay of Smoke.
So named for the many hot springs sourounding the landing site.
He was not the first to Iceland but the first to settle and stay.
The first was a Viking namend Floki Vilgerdrson
in the latter part of the ninth century.
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Reyjakvik
I always think the city looks like a water color,
as I drive away. looking back in my rear view mirror
it really appears as a quaint lovely painting.
I suppose because the winters are long and dark,
the houses here are painted lively colors.
It is not unusual to see green, purple,
blue, pink or yellow housing.
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Next stop is Gullfoss
Icelands longest river
the Hvita roars through a deep gourge of Shale
at Gullfoss . The countrys most majestic waterfalls .
In English the "Golden Falls"
Another view of the Golden Falls
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Another lovely Waterfall is Skagoafoss
loacted on the south coast.
"There She Blows"
Some of the waterspouts in Iceland erupt as high as 100 feet every five minutes.
The Hot Springs and Geysirs are a most popluar tourist attraction.
And yes, we do get a lot of tourist in the summer. Olny a few
of the braver ones looking to ski venture the wintes here.
Many, bike or hike the Island. While horseback is a great way to
get a first hand view. Camping is almost the national hobby in Iceland.
It is I would guess, the favorite recreational pastime,
as soon as the weather turns the least bit warm,
out come the tents and pop up campers.
Nope, no RV's here camping is a rough and tough
experience here.
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Thumb Nails of the Country
Icelandics put no fencing or protection around high places
Geysirs or mud pots. They figure you should know enough to
take precaution. People travel the countryside at their own risk.
This remote and isolated view of one of the many mountains
can be seen for miles without a living creature in sight.
Horseback riding is a favorite pastime
and a great way to tour Iceland. About 600,000 horses are in Iceland
roughly one for every 4 people.
Some of these waterfalls have paths behind them that can be walked
if you don't mind getting wet.
Looks like early Spring here and at the first hint of thawing, out we all go.
Weather does not stop Icelandic people from what they want to do.
I have found them to be a hale and hearty lot,
that bike long distances as well as hike into
the latter years of their life. It is not unusual to see a couple in their 70's biking
or taking a walk in deep snow
as an evening stroll. They are a very fit group of people.
Vatnajokull
This is the largest of many glasicers the silence is awsome
the only sounds are those of cracking Ice.
The brightest color of green I have even seen is when the sea water is frozen
And look like Emeralds scattered in the ice.
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Litterly thousands and thousands of sea birds make Iceland their home.
Black- legged Kittyhawks, Murres, Plover, and Fulmar to name but a few.
One can drive or hike by and see the entire face of Basalt cliffs that reach thousands of feet covered with nesting birds.
Puffins Are the National Bird.
Fishing a major Source of Income. Also a very protected area. The Icelandic people are very aware that they must protect the waters and fish if the are to continue making a living
fishing. Laws goveren when and how much anyone can fish in order to ensure their
waters will produce fish for future generations.
Iceland also has some of the best Samon and Trout fishing in the world.
Geothermal enegey
gathered from the many waterfalls
and the heat from the the earth,
is the only source of power in Iceland.
Helping to maintain the pure air quality.
Another glacier photo
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Sheep are a primary venture in Iceland
This breed being many thousands years old.
The wool is very warm and is a good export.
They are protected as are the blood lines of the ponys and dogs.
And are rare outside of the country.
These sheep roam the countryside and woe be unto the driver who hits one.
They not only pay for the one they killed but must also pay for any
offspring the victim may have produced in his or her lifetime.
They are gatherd in the winter at a sheep round up
quite the event localy and kept in barns over the winter.
Icelandic Ponys
These good natured horses are much smaller
than what we call horse being an average of 13 to 14 hands.
They carry the same weight with no problem.
They are uniquice in that they have an extra gait called the Tolt.
A very comfortable smooth runing walk. They are the only horses
left in the world that have and perform this gait.
Recently a few have been exported. However
once they leave the country they are not allowed back in.
The purity of the bloodlines are guarded closely.
With the sheep dogs and horses all breeds over 1100 years old.
The children here start riding at an early age.
The horses spend their time out side the year round,
even in the harshest of weather and are no worse for it.
A very strong and healthy breed.
Iceland has very strict rules governing inporting animals
and when I first got here the quratine was six months,
on an island a short distance from Iceland.
My Yorkies were left at home with my son,
for this reason. Also it cost about 2500.00
to keep your pets in quarentine.
I thinks since then the time has been reduced
to three months.
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Icelandic Dogs
Related to the spitz they are primarly used as herd dogs.
They are smart and even natured, but protective of their turf.
Resembling a small Huskie or Spitz to me.
Some even look a bit like a small Collie
The sheep dogs are still vital as over 90% of the livestock here is sheep.
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What the Icelandic people do they do with a great deal of pride. They are craftsmen
of the first class everything is done with a great deal of pride.
They are loyal and very proud of their country.
When you think about it I am not sure any other group of people could do so much with so little.
The human story of Iceland is over 11000 years old. Yet their language
remains vertually the same over the millennium.
A country the size of Virginina ,
with no military have maintained their autonomy
since gaining it from Denmark in 1944.
Slavery was abolished in 1117.
The first Parliament in Europe was started here in the year 930.
Iceland was the first country in the world to be elected as head of state,
and has had equal rights since 1915 five years prior to the United States.
There is no illiteracy in Iceland being wipped out in the eighteenth century.
There are no homeless and very little crime.
There is no hunger here either.
Children are left in their Prams outside of stores while mothers shop inside.
They are as safe as if they were in their mothers arms.
From what I have wittnessed the Icelandic people make some of the best parents
providing love understanding and a nurtuirng atmosphere for their young.
The family is still a very strong tight knit group in Iceland.
The Icelandic children are all taught english starting in the third grade,
so a great portion of the natives speak english,
but as we all do, prefer their native tounge.
They are a quick witted, strong willed and very intelligent people,
fun loving and in large groups love to sing and dance.
Iceland I could happly suggest as a wonderful vacation spot for
any seeking adventure, beauty and a once in a lifetime expereince.
Rich tundra, mountains, lakes, rivers and streams and waterfalls.
Coast lines and Bays,
Geysirs, Volcanic phenomena, Glaciers, Meadows of wildflowers, hot springs,
Lush green fields and medows in the Spring. Snow capped mountains,
Iceland has some of it all.
A land of sagas {stories,} trolls, witches, shape -shifters and all
manner of supernatural creatures.
a land of myth and a land of heros.
I hope this will give you a better idea of what the country
I loving call the rock is like .
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