Sure, those big fancy city trolls are all fine and good.
Akureyri
But wild trolls, such as the one in the middle upper right below are best.
Innri-Hvannagil
You never know when you’ll meet one.
Wild Trolls vs. City Trolls
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Monthly Archives: September 2019
The Land at Sea, the Sea at Land
Don’t let the novelists fool you. When the land goes to sea, it is a whale.
Reyðarfjörður
It’s just the way of things in a poetic landscape.
Rauðarhóll
Note the little elf in its spume!
Getting Your Head on Straight in Iceland
If you’ve lost your head over the beauty of Iceland, don’t worry.
You can always get another one.
Neskaupstaðir
They’re lying all over the place.
Icelandic Birds: a Complex Ecosystem
Sure, a ptarmigan on the Selá, Christmas dinner, easy to identify.
And an elf bird in its nest in the hraun, not Christmas dinner, easy enough.
But a cairn in the Villingadalur, that looks like an elvish bird, tricky.
Yet, it’s by it that you find your way through elf country to Christmas dinner.
How Mountains Are Made
They come from eggs laid in crystal nests, of course.
Easter Cave, Neskaupstaðir
The Thing About Trolls
Trolls have almost human faces. Almost.
And long tongues that snake out underfoot.
That fall over the cliff and make the sea.
Neskaupstaðir Nature Conservancy
That’s right. The sea is troll spit, full of fish and dreams.
No Shelter Here!
If you are in the Easter Cave at Neskaupstaðir at sunrise on Easter…
…not only will you be wet and cold (or drowning) …
… but you will see the sun rise straight out of the cave’s mouth, where seals, it is said, turn into men.
And men, presumably, into seals.
The Stories the Mountains Tell
One of the deepest pleasures of travelling in Iceland, is reading the books of sagas told by the mountains. Times of transition and movement are best, when the writing reveals itself in its non-human script.
The Saga of July, Reydarfjörður.
What Happens to a Farm Over Time is a Variable Thing
Some farms that no one lives on anymore are still being farmed for hay. Note the fine tractor road here in Reydisfjörður.
Others have gone wild, although they are still farms and can be claimed again. This one, in Neskaupstaðir, is accessible only by foot. A boat looks out of the question.
I bet there are eiðars, though!
A Tale of Two Seasons
Which is the most beautiful, an unnamed fall in the summer at Neskaupstaðir?
Or famous Litlafoss below Hengifoss in April?
What a tough choice!
A Farm in Iceland 