Days 12 and 13 - Meandering through the antithesis

 It's hard to describe the point when your senses re-awaken.  The last week or so has been spent in a black desert with little signs of life... I could have been on the moon or Mars. Spectacular though it was and so completely different to places that I have beem before, my soul felt incomplete. The fresh air I breathed (along with a fair amount of grit and black dust I may add) and the vistas my eyes took in were magnificent and I'm sure that when I'm back home. I will miss the freedom and the solitude of these roads and the black desert... but missing was the smell of life, trees, birds, little animals running around.... and then I arrived at Thingvellir!

I had had a small foray out the previous evening but today and yesterday I meandered through the small paths, the antithesis of the black desert... for here there was life in abundance. On a small scale to be sure, but life abounded. In the myriad of small rock dwelling plants, the heather, the different types of moss, the small birch bushes that the little birds hopped in and out of, the different funghi (I must of counted at least ten different varieties). It was just filled with life. The variety astounded me.

Some places have a smell that you will forever associate with that place - generally in a good way- In canada and switzerland the smell of pine trees, in Ecuador it was Eucalyptus that pervaded my senses, here it is somewhat familiar like lavender but not quite lavender and in 2 days I have yet to identify the plant that is making the scent.

Apparently there can also be found here Minke and foxes, neither of which I have come close to seeing, although I did see some skat that looked like it was from a fox but who knows. I have seen a few birds... 2 different types mainly the redwings which hop about in the bushes until I startle them and then in the few pine trees here was a small colony of goldcrests although it was impossible to get a photo of them as they are so small. 

Here you have to stick to the path for 2 reasons, firstly the moss and umdergrowth may be covering up a huge fissure in the ground of which there are many... caused by the huge amount of seismic activity in the area and secondly because the moss takes years and years to grow and walking on it can damage it beyond repair. The paths are generally well signed except for the ones I tried to find today which went outside the park's borders... I wanted to climb the mountain but couldn't find the track so ended up encircling the north side of the park before heading back through the interior to the campsite.   

Yesterday I also saw another side to the park, that of a historic place of significance. Thingvillir has been used as a place for government of Iceland for hundreds and hundreds of years. Councils were held and cases for crime and punishment were heard here with some 72 people executed here either by hanging or drowning or beheading. Laws have been made here, history has been made here and people still gather here to celebrate independance. 

As I walked through the bit with the tourists, where the councils were held and by the waterfall and the rock where laws were made, you could feel the history, the place felt old, like it held secrets and had seen stuff that it could not divulge. Unfortunately this was the bit with the bus loads of tourists so I tried not to spend too much time here. 

I escaped a bit further in to Silfra where I had been considering doing the snorkelling. It is a unique place because it is where the two continental plates divide and because of the spectacularly clear water, it is a good place to snorkel. However as I watched others take to the water, it seemed a bit bloody cold and also the lake was not teeming with wildlife. There are about 5 different species of fish which have evolved to have different characteristics when the lake was cut off by lava flow many eons ago.. apparently its a bit like the galapagos in that respect! But it didn't seem worth snorkelling there so that made that decision for me. I then wandered to look at the other campijg spot by the lake to see if it was worth moving but 5 minutes there confirmed what I had suspected... pretty as it was, there were about 10 times the number of flies at the lake as at my current campsite... so another decision made! 

I meandered back through the paths, staring at the ground and all the multitudes of colour in the tiny flowers... it was an antithesis of the black desert and it was (aside from spotting the whales obviously) a highlight of the trip. Well worth coming here of you visit Iceland. 

So I'm now holed up in my tent listening to the rain drops... most of my kit is packed ready to head back to Reykjavik tomorrow.. it should be a nice ride... mostly downhill!!