Farewell, Scotland. Hello, Iceland — a new vista for us. And what a unique and interesting place it is. Here are a few of the vistas we’ve seen in the last two days.
The view from our lodgings at the River Hotel in Hella, about 50 miles east of Reykjavík on the Ring road.
With 18 hours of daylight, who can sleep at 5 a.m.? The birds are up and active on the river at this hour, so I am too.
Iceland’s volcanic origin is evident wherever you go, especially at Thingvellir National Park, Iceland’s equivalent of Yellowstone.
River runoff from the glaciers that cap the central portion of the island are numerous. Excellent fishing here, judging from the 3-foot mounted specimens on the walls of our lodge at the River Hotel.
Neat houses are tucked into hillsides and along waterways, usually far from each other. It’s a mostly deserted landscape, free of human influence…
With lots of Icelandic ponies in open fields.
And of course, the birds — it’s nesting time in the arctic, and the birds are unusually active in these long daylight hours. There are limited numbers of species breeding on this small island, but lots of individuals of those species present.
Not just one, but a whole herd of Whooper Swans, in the middle of a grassy field, lined up, pairing off? We’ve found big flocks of these huge birds in several areas on our drive around the south coast.
Back Yard Biology 