Liz and I took a weekend break from the studio with Ægir and Linda, friends of Liz's from Iceland who wanted to show us their country. They drove us along Iceland's southern route (hwy 1) and we took in the ever-changing landscape, stopping every 30 meters or thereabouts for a "photo op". The word for the weekend was "stop" as we used it often whenever another "photo op" appeared. It seemed to work as we never uttered or learned the Icelandic word for stop. Later I looked it up and found seven words for stop: dvöl, stansa, stöðva, hætta, stoppa, staðncemast, snarstoppa. I wonder what kind of stops Icelanders make????
Iceland is packed with spectacular natural phenomena, evidenced by what we saw on our 300 kilometer (one way) trek. Amazing scenery and sites:
STOP: Waterfalls to walk behind and view from the top.
STOP: Old traditional homes with sod covered roofs and some built into the hillside.
STOP: Dverghamrar, "Dwarf Cliffs", dwellings of the "little people".
STOP: Miles of moss covered lava that takes 100 years to grow; 10" thick, soft and spongy to walk on.
STOP: Mýrdahur with black beaches and basalt columns and twisted/tortured shapes.
STOP: The Glacial Lagoon at Jökolsarlón at base of Vatnajökul, the largest glacier in Europe covering 12,000 square kilometers with its ice formations, always changing. The lagoon is 250 meters deep with only the tips of the icebergs visible.
STOP: Rocks jetting out of grass covered mountains:
ANOTHER KIND OF STOP:
STOP: A solitary church overlooking small bay town of Vik.
And finally a stop of a stop:
