The Currency

Look at those bills. They are quite stunning. Being used to manipulate Euros, which are quite frankly dull and unoriginal, this came as a surprise. In fact, at first I didn't pay much attention because I was expecting the same kind of boring artwork. I only really looked at them when checking to see how much I had left.
Oh and no I'm not that rich, 1€ is about 111 Icelandic Króna and around 100 ISK for 1 USD.

Morning Hiking

Video Tour of The Cold Giant

South Coast

Heading to Vík where I'll be staying for my second night in Iceland. In Myrdalur precisely, between Skógar and Vík, close to Sólheimajökull glacier.
As you may have heard, the weather can change pretty quickly here, and indeed it did today. After a rainy, windy afternoon, clouds started to go have a look elsewhere, letting the sky blue and the sun shine in the evening. (yes, blue can be a verb ;)

It was the perfect time to go to Vík village and have a walk on the Black Beach. That's right, black sand. Because yellow sand is so boring, they couldn't have the same as everybody else. And vikings are badass. Kidding aside, black sand is a usual feat of volcanic islands.

Vík & The Black Beach

In the late 19th century this was a developing area, thanks to fisheries and trade. But it was also a naturally unstable area. Sand-drifting and flooding where not uncommon during extreme periods. Thus putting the houses and locals in danger.
The 1918 Katla eruption did not help either, expanding the beach due to large amounts of sand and gravel being washed out into the ocean. Roads had to be regularly cleared of the sand, which was also being blown onto the houses by the wind.

In 1933 a sand stabilization program with vegetation was launched and the area was fenced off. Stone walls were erected, different kind of grass planted. Later on, a flood embankment and a groyne were also built.
The village of Vík is now better protected and the beach rebuilt and extended.

Ready For a Long Walk

The first part of the road leading to the trekking starting point was easy to access. But quite early on, a warning sign informed of a restricted access. But while parking, I saw someone walking back to his car to hit the road. I checked it too. And came to the same conclusion as the previous guy. And so I went, fearlessly.
Well, on a few occasions my heart beat went faster. This is definitely a road that one shoudln't take during winter or on a rainy day. But it was totally worth it. Plus it saved me walking 12km before the real trek even started.

Drawing in front of a glacier

After walking for a little more than an hour I started to look for a nice spot to draw the view. And there it was. Right next to the walking path, a glacier and facing it, a rock perfect for sitting.
I wasn't able to draw much longer than an hour, because even though it was a really sunny day, the wind was freezing. Even on sea level it's pretty cold but high up in the mountains, and in front of glacier (and I had forgotten my gloves, because yeah let's be totally silly, did I say it was sunny?) I'll let you imagine...
So, this drawing is unfinished because of a thermal body issue.

I've never done that before. Actually I rarely do landscape, and when I do, it's in a nice and warm place, on a comfy chair, and not sitting on a rock in front of a glacier.

The Great Painter

Look at those colours, blue, purple, yellow, green... What a palette.

Recharging the Belly

After that long walk, followed by a long drive to go the next guest-house, the body was in need of a refill.
Side note: be careful about waiting for the next gas station to refill you car tank. In some places you can easily go for a hundred kilometer before seeing another one. It almost got me...
Back to the gas for my body. What was waiting me in the guest-house restaurant was a nice buffet, with once again some fish (herring and salmon appetizers) blood pudding and sheep pâté. The fish was again really good, the pudding was nice, but I couldn't finish the pâté. It was a small piece, but was a bit too fat and weird for my taste.

The Stone Family

On the road to Eskifjördur

Next stop on the roadmap: Eskifjördur. Town and port on the east coast.