The weather continues to be good carrying on from day 2. In fact, a bit too good as the road in the Eyjafjarðardalur valley that Ike took yesterday was closed 2 hours later due to strong currents in the river meaning the bridges were at risk of being washed away. And the extra water in the river was from increased snowmelt due to the high temperatures.
On today’s travels, Ike visited the Heimskautsgerðið, or Arctic Henge, in Raufarhöfn, one of the most remote villages in Iceland. Although still under construction, when complete it will act like its namesake Stonehenge as a huge sundial.
Ike also took some pictures of (and in!) the purple flowers that you see everywhere in Iceland- the Alaskan lupine. Although very pretty, they can be a controversial subject. About 75 years ago they were introduced into Iceland to help with topsoil loss. And in this, they have been a bit too successful as they are also in danger of overrunning native flora and changing Iceland’s volcanic landscape. So it is now an important question in Iceland about whether the lupine should be destroyed in some areas.
But away from all vegetation, the travelers ended the day on Iceland’s steepest road. Hellisheiði Eystri is a mountain pass at 644m above sea level at a 15% incline in places. Luckily the view from the top was fantastic, although the hairpin bends still to do on the way down worried Ike a bit…
But everyone arrived safe and well at the next cottage. And as it was on another farm the welcoming committee was sheep! Unlike Bingo the dog and his pigs they didn’t hang around though.
The summer landscape of Iceland looks very similar to New Zealand with less vegetation.