Earth, Wind, Fire and Ice
Signs of habitation are few and far between in the countryside. Iceland is roughly one third of the size of the Philippines or Malaysia, but has a population of only around 370,000. Nearly 60 percent live in Reykjavik.
This reconstruction of a timber house from the mid-1800’s is part of Glaumbær, a museum housed in old turf-roofed farm buildings built into the ground. The older structures consist of a hobbit-like warren of rooms.
One of Iceland’s most popular hiking trails, the 22-kilometer-long Fimmvörðuháls, takes one past 26 waterfalls along the Skoga river — and that’s just in the first eight kilometers.
It’s said that the country boasts some 10,000 fosses, Icelandic for waterfalls. Many, like this lesser known one, are within easy view of the famous Ring Road.
A view from one of the enchanting walking paths of Hrútey, a small island ringed by the river Blanda in Northern Iceland.
Most tourists find their way to magnificent Gulfoss, Iceland's most iconic waterfall. It's one of the major sights along the Golden Circle route, a well-known day excursion from Reykjavik.
The sea cliffs of Dyrhólaey are home to nesting puffins in the summer months. In the distance, stark lava columns rise from the water.
On March 19, a new vent appeared in the Geldingadalir valley in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system, and it began to spew lava. It heralded the first eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in 800 years.
Nowhere does the Land of Fire and Ice live up to its name as spectacularly as near the Fagradalsfjall volcano. Easily reached from Reykjavik, the eruption has become the hottest attraction, literally, for both locals and tourists.
Many hikers return to Fagradalsfjall, a mere 20-minute drive from Keflavik Airport, to track the progress of the ongoing eruption there. Here, a photographer trains his lens on the distant volcano.
Cooled lava from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano, aka Geldingadalir, fills the surrounding valleys for miles. Here, the volcano is shrouded in Iceland’s ubiquitous fog.
The impressive sea caves at the Reynisfjara black sand beach are formed of eroded basalt. The beach was one of many filming locations in Iceland for Game of Thrones.
Not far from the southernmost town of Vik, volcanic rock formations in the sea resemble Matisse cutouts.
All that remains of the hamlet of Budir is its photogenic black wooden church, Búðakirkja, sitting on a lava field down lonely roads on the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Snowmobile tours are a popular and exciting way to explore Langjökull, the second largest glacier in Iceland and the closest one to Reykjavik. Hang on, because the ride gets bumpy in the summer.
A boat tour on the glacial lake Jökulsárlón. The ice lagoon is part of Vatnajökull National Park, which encompasses Iceland’s largest glacier. The water is so cold that a person who falls in would only survive a few minutes without a protective suit.
Langjökull, Icelandic for “long glacier,” covers 950 square kilometers, but has been shrinking for 25 years because of climate change.
Landscapes change dramatically across the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, from mountains and glaciers to coastal plains. In the background, the quaint port town of Stykkishólmur is a gateway to a beautiful bay with hundreds of atolls and teeming birdlife.
In the northern whale-watching town of Húsavík, three steaming geothermal saltwater pools atop a cliff provide a view of Skjálfandi Bay, and beyond, the Arctic Circle.
Whooper swans gather near Egilsstadir in the Easternfjords. The birds flock by the thousands to Iceland in warmer months and can be found in both highlands and lowlands.
Frankie Joaquin Drogin & Bob Drogin| ws guest contributors
Frankie Joaquin Drogin is a recovered journalist who quit the news business cold turkey after 20 years, when she moved from Manila to make a home and nurture a family in the US. Her husband, author and journalist Bob Drogin, worked 38 years at the Los Angeles Times, filing stories from at least 50 countries and 49 states before joining the Dark Side as an editor in Washington, DC. He graduated from his career last year and is deciding what he wants to do when he grows up. Frankie and Bob live in Washington and on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
They'd like to give a shout out to international travel pro Tesa Totengco (www.travelswithtesa.com) for planning their self-drive itinerary through Iceland during this drawn-out pandemic. Tesa took care of the hard part, so they could concentrate on the fun.