Reykjavik 2
Tuesday April 9, 2024
My second day trip was up to the Langjokull Glacier. A few hours north of Reyjavik, Langjokull is Iceland's second largest; the largest being Vatnajokull in the east. We stopped by Deildartunguhver, natural hot springs along the way, before continuing to Hraunfossar and Barnafoss Waterfalls, dramatic rapids and water flows caused by lava caverns. The water was exceptionally blue, and at this time of year, there was a little bit of ice on the paths around the area.
To ascend the glacier, we sat in a large converted missile carrier. These were decommissioned and exported to Iceland on the condition that they never leave the island and never used for war (that one's easy, said the tour guide, since they don't have an army). The pneumatic pipe system allows the driver to inflate and deflate the tyres depending on the type of snow on the road, and this is a uniquely Icelandic invention that is being used for research vehicles in Antarctica. The ascent took around an hour, and at the top, we shuffled into a metallic tube resembling a sewer.
The Langjokull ice cave is a man-made cavern drilled out eight years ago for tourism purposes. Due to the glacier movement, the tunnels are expected to disappear in five years' time, as crevasses and open and close as well. Various lights have been drilled into the ice to illuminate and highlight the blue colour of the glacier, as well as draw attention to the characteristic banding caused by the successive layering and compression of snow each year. The layer of ash caused by the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010 was also clearly visible, and I thought that was pretty amazing.
We went out the way we came and descended in the converted missile carriers. The trip back to Reykjavik took around two hours, and since I had an early start the next day, I opted not to go on an aurora hunt that night. Instead, after grabbing some food for dinner, I walked around the park near the Perlan museum and spotted a few black and grey bunnies feeding in the fields!
My third and final day trip was to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. This would take us almost 11 hours, but we had so many stops along the way. After leaving Reykjavik around 9am, we drove for around 90 minutes to reach Gerðuberg Cliffs, large hexagonal columns in a row that reminded me very much of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. From there, we continued west to Ytri Tunga, famous for its seal colony and whale backbone sitting on the beach, then to Búðakirkja, the black church, and then to Arnarstapi. We did a short hike along the coast to see hundreds of seagulls nesting in the cliffs, as well as some dramatic rock formations like a stone bridge, very similar to what I saw in Newfoundland, and a couple of holes in rocks.
Continuing west, we saw Lóndrangar, a rock formation that looked like a viking ship. The locals called it an elf cathedral and an elf library. Our next stop was Djúpalónssandur, the black pebble beach, where they had four strength stones that they used to use to determine suitability to become fishermen - the first stone weighed 23kg, the second 54kg, the third 100kg and the fourth 154kg. The lore goes that the stone you could lift to your chest would determine how much you would be paid - the heavier the stone, the greater the pay. Hafþór Björnsson, famous for being "The Mountain" on Game of Thrones, often comes here to do exhibitions; for me, I was pleased enough to lift the 54kg stone, given I'm not really in the business of lifting more than my own weight. We stopped by the red church quickly, Ingjaldshólskirkja, before heading to our final destination for the day, Kirkjufellsfossar Waterfall and Kirkjufell Mountain.
Along the way, we had a quick toilet break, but some idiots on the tour decided it would be a good opportunity to order food from the cafe. We ended up waiting half an hour for them to get their food, instead of stopping for only ten minutes. Sometimes I really can't understand how inconsiderate people can be, with no sense of how the rest of the group is affected by these selfish actions.
The view of Kirkjufell Mountain towering over the waterfall is so iconic that they use it for every promotional image for the peninsula. It’s not a surprise though, it really is a beautiful sight. When we were there, it was covered in white snow. In summer, it’s green. If you come at the right time of day, the sun will create a rainbow in the spray of the waterfall. We drove back to Reykjavik, a two hour drive, and I tried to grab some food from two restaurants but they were both too busy, so I ended up at a seafood grill on the outskirts of town. I had to rush for my final aurora tour of the week! This one started out quite mellow but soon that brilliant glow intensified. It was bitterly cold and very windy but we stuck it out for as long as we could. We had both green and purple that night, and again, a surprising show given the Kp index was only 3.00.
On my last day in Reykjavik, I wandered around the park where the Perlan building is and then popped into town. I ended up at the Phallological Museum again to use their wifi and their toilet, and then went for lunch at one of the places I had missed out on the previous night. It was an uneventful bus ride to Keflavik airport and a five hour flight back to Toronto.
The last three months have had decent highs but huge lows. It’s taken a toll on me emotionally. I felt I did the best I could with the logistical changes, and then I was lucky to have the support of my family while I was laid off. The drama with Prytania continues - maybe I’ll write about this separately - and litigation is also in the works. I’m looking forward to a week off to recover, and then I’m in the skies again to chase the Great American Solar Eclipse of April 2024.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:47am on Tuesday April 9, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 
Patagonia
Thursday November 23, 2023
We arrived into Punta Arenas Airport a few minutes early, and our bus to Puerto Natales was still a couple of hours away, so we took our time and had breakfast (which turned out to be quite expensive). Punta Arenas is the furthest south I’ve ever been, at 53 degrees below the equator. The bus ride took three hours, but I was asleep for most of it.
We spent the day doing food shopping for our big hike, and a bit of time being a tourist around town too. A games shop that we passed by was selling Watch Dogs Legion for 25,000 Chilean pesos! I had a delicious lamb dinner at a local parrilla and then it was time to go home and pack.
Our first day of the W Trek was frought with logistical problems. Someone in the group deleted the emails with her bus tickets. Someone wanted to go to the toilet just as we were boarding. No one had cash except me to pay for the shuttle bus (I was hoping to use some cash to pay for food as a nice treat at the end of the hike) but at least the shuttle saved us two or so hours of walking. When we arrived at the Central campsite, I had forgotten to get the campsite reservation number but they were able to find me by name. Also I found out I didn’t book sleeping bags, but thankfully it was easy to add to our reservation. Despite all of this, the hike up to Base Las Torres was stunning. We followed the river through the valley up to the Chileno campsite, had lunch there and continued up the ridge. Along the way, a rescue team was carting away what looked like a body bag in a wheelbarrow; someone later confirmed that that was exactly what it was. The last half hour of the ascent was especially grueling, but at last, the three famous rock towers came into view. It was emotional, after walking that much. I felt it was harder than Gros Mourne, but so much more rewarding. The ice floating on the azure glacial lake was so picturesque. I spent an hour at the top waiting for the rest of the group, they arrived close to 4pm, we took some photos together and I started heading back down.
On the way down, I saw a man carrying his baby in a backpack chair, and a poor park ranger carrying a young girl with a sprained ankle. There was also a team of skiers heading up the mountain. I made it back to the campsite at 7.30pm, checked-in and had dinner, then waited for the rest of them. After an hour, they still hasn’t showed up. I asked passers-by if they’d seen them, with not much luck. Finally at 9pm, I started walking back to the trail to find them and sure enough, there they were, finally making it back to the campsite at 9.30pm. The skies were still clear as the sun was setting and I would have loved to do some star gazing, but I ended up passing out in my elevated tent.
Day two was less intense. We followed the path along Lake Nordenskjöld, another beautiful blue glacial lake, crossing a suspension bridge halfway through. I was out of water by that point, but the water is straight from glaciers and is safe to drink, so I refilled my bottle with freshly melted water. Along the way, I could hear the low rumbling of avalanches occurring on the mountains. I reached Cuernos, the first campsite, at 2.30pm, while the others were an hour behind; it took me another 90 minutes to reach Frances, our destination for the day. As I waited for the others, it began to drizzle slightly. When they arrived, we checked in and had dinner. The next day would be the hardest hike, but I had heard some people saying it wasn’t worth going to the Británico Lookout if it was cloudy.
Thankfully I woke up to some glorious sun on the third day. I was hiking by myself the whole day, free to go at my own pace without waiting for anyone. I walked from the Frances Campsite to Italiano and dropped my main backpack there, then took my daypack up to Mirador Frances, a lookout over a mountain and several glaciers. I heard a few avalanches while on the hike, but wasn’t able to capture any on film. From Frances, I continued to Británico, the final point on the hike, a panoramic view of these stunning mountains and glaciers. I was back to Italiano to pick up my backpack and head to Paine Grande, the next campsite. The whole round trip took me under six hours, including lunch time. The hike to Paine Grande took me just under 2.5 hours, a relatively easy hike past Lake Sköttsberg. On the way, the devastation of a forest fire from 12 years ago was evident, with thousands of barren trees lining the hillside. The wind was strong as I walked, but the sun was out for most of the time, so it wasn’t too cold. As a reward for such a long hike, I treated myself to a buffet dinner at the campsite’s restaurant. Finally some hot, cooked food after three days! Chicken! Beef! Rice! Fresh salad! Chocolate mousse! Strawberry mousse! Hot tea! I demolished two plates (and two desserts), but as I watched people put their trays away, I was appalled at the amount of food being wasted. Naturally after eating so much, I was ready to food coma.
The strong winds continued throughout the night; at some points during my sleep, it felt like the tent was about to be lifted into the air. Luckily, the equipment held strong, and probably all the extra weight from the buffet helped to anchor everything down. However, it was a different story on the hiking trail. As we ascended up the valley, the gusts began to pick up dramatically, close to 100kph. The smallest in my group, a 4’11” 50kg woman, had to tether herself to me to stop being blown away. It was so strong that even I was losing balance at some points. It was brutal fighting against both gravity and the force of the wind. Eventually, Lake Grey came into view and with it, the Grey Glacier. I was taken aback by how big it was, a massive wall of ice stretching several kilometers into the distance. Eventually after the first lookout, the winds began to die down as we descended closer to the lake. What should have taken us three hours took us five hours, and we finally arrived at Campsite Grey after 3pm. While I was waiting for the ladies to check in, I walked up to the nearby lookout to get a closer view of some of the ice chunks that had broken off the glacier and floated to the shore.
After all of that, I decided to reward myself with another hot meal. I didn’t think it would be another buffet considering how small the restaurant was, but I was pleasantly surprised. This time, they only let me have one piece of meat; the previous day, I had managed to get one piece of chicken and one piece of beef after everyone had had their first round. I was ready to food coma again in anticipation of the fifth and final day.
The last day had a slow start because we only needed to be ready to go kayaking at 10.30am. However, we soon discovered that the high winds were too strong so both the 9am and our session at 11am were cancelled. This was really disappointing but understandable. The currents on the lake looked swift and it would have been dangerous to head out. Luckily we get a full refund in case of weather cancellation, and it also meant we could start the hike back to Paine Grande earlier. I walked with them until the halfway point, which took us two hours, then I gapped it for the end, which took me another two hours.
Upon arriving, I discovered that the ferry to the bus station required cash and I didn’t have enough after paying for the shuttle bus for all of us. The campsite reception assured me I could sort it out with the boat company, and that this happens often. Anyway, I bought myself a large hot chocolate to celebrate the end of five days of hiking. A phenomenal 181,295 steps and 113.9km in some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve seen on this planet. I’m so glad I did it.
The others arrived about 30 mins after me, and thankfully had USD cash to pay for the ferry. We managed to get on the early boat; I didn’t think there would be that many people and they ended up having to turn some people away.
What would I have done differently? Probably started booking accommodation earlier. The refugios (cabins) and domos (domes with bunk beds) were really nice and well equipped. The tents were okay but I wouldn’t say no to more comfortable accommodation. I would have tried to buy a better variety of food and only for breakfast and lunch; the restaurants are excellent and only buying dinners would have lightened the load. Also I should have brought more cash, and somehow I also blame my friends for not bringing their own. This was a once in a lifetime trip and I was reasonably lucky with the weather until the last day.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:07am on Thursday November 23, 2023 :: 0 comments ::
Iceland
Friday February 24, 2017
There's something in the ice in Iceland that makes it much more serene than in Canada. Certainly at this time of year, the soft covering of pristine white snow around the city makes it more picturesque, and even more so in the countryside.
Upon arriving in Reykjavik, I had some time to kill before checking in, so I wandered around town for a bit. I'm staying on a hill near a massive church, with a tower that overlooks the whole city. The view from the top is the highest point in Reykjavik and seeing the city come alive as the sun rose was magical. Afterwards, I walked into the CBD and visited a volcano museum, which happened to be staffed by a guy who studied at Victoria University in Wellington, so that was a good yarn indeed. I continued on to various locations around town, stopping for lunch (I got grilled plaice and lobster!) and for shelter during the snow storm. I wanted to go to this highly rated Icelandic restaurant for dinner but they didn't have space available, so I went to a steakhouse and got some steak.
Yesterday I went on a tour around Iceland's southern coast. It was jam packed with sightseeing, we visited Skogafoss Waterfall, which has water from the infamous volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, then the Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach for lunchtime where I got some expensive fish and chips. The tour continued to the Solheimajokull Glacier, where we hiked for a few hours onto the glacier itself, admiring (and avoiding) some large crevasses all over the terrain. There was the opportunity to go down and explore one of them, but unfortunately we didn't have time. There were a lot of groups on the glacier and we opted to hike further up to watch the sunset colours light up the white snow and blue ice.
We stopped by the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall on the way back, which we missed that morning as there were too many people around it. You can walk behind it, but at that time of night it would have been suicidal, so we took a few photos and then I got dropped off for the aurora hunting tour.
Four minibuses scoured the southwestern coast of Iceland for a dark spot with no light pollution and clear skies. We found the Strandarkirkja church and waited for a bit but to no luck. A snowstorm started picking up so we bundled back onto the buses. Unexpectedly, about an hour later on the way back to Reykjavik, we found a large campfire by the side of the road and all four buses pulled over - "we have lights!!" came the excited call over the intercom. We all rushed out to gawk at the night sky and sure enough, overhead, visible but faint, were these curtains and pillars of green light, moving slowly and fading in and out of view.
The shots you see on Google image search are all taken with long exposures on fancy cameras so completely not representative of what you see in real life. What the cameras don't capture is the movement, the ghostly shimmering of the aurora borealis as it dances across the sky. It was a very memorable experience for me, it's definitely one that I can check off on the bucket list. Of course I'd like to take every opportunity to see more aurora, especially in different colours.
I was back at the hostel close to 2am and today it's completely whited out with snow. They cancelled the whale watching trip I was supposed to go on and it does look quite miserable outside, so it might just be a quiet rest day today.
Posted by Jeremy at 1:01pm on Friday February 24, 2017 :: 0 comments ::