Iceland 2003

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Vidéos.

video

A small water source hot. We finds some of it from times to times, although this is not  really ususal.  Our guide knew the places...

video

The foams, that we finds enough often in the regions of the north.  Here I am at a place where there are a thickness of 0.7ft easily...

Slideshow.

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Photographs.

Open	The airplane lands towards Reykjavik.  The first one and last evening, we walk in the city.  A street of the center of Reykjavik The city is very colored, and reminders the cities of the Europe north or America.	Open	One puts our matter in the hotel, then we venture in the commercial and tourist center of Reykjavik.  We leaves first to walk in groups...
Open	Each having a special thing to do (buy cards, stamps, collection of money,.. .) we finishes to divide the group and make an appointment at 19H for the meal in the evening in city.  I venturemyself towards the harbor to see how it is.	Open	The 12 August, we leave Reykjavik by borrowing the standard Icelandic buses lines.  Our bags are put in the soutes, we install ourselves close to the windows, and letr's go to landmannalaugar. I photograph the landscapes while regulating the camera on the fastest as possible speed to minimize the movement of the bus. At low altitude (<1000ft) we always meets greenery, if we are far enough to volcanoes.
Open	But by approaching the landmannalaugar, things change. We enter in the volcanic region of Iceland, the ground is often black gravel resulting from affected volcanic rock, and it is not sometimes wide fields of lavas cooling on places.	Open	The landmannalaugar has a zone of campsite fit out with toilets, shower, and even also a natural warmed swimming pool grace a warm inflow of water at 50°C .
Open	We leave in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 12th to discover the volcanoes of the landmannalaugar. The landmannalaugar is situated in the South of Langjökull and Hofsjökul. It is a region where gets involved volcano, plain and mountain. Colors are very varied thanks to the water, the moss, and the volcanic rocks.	Open	A landscape in the landmannalaugar... The landmannalaugar is a region very colored: the red and the black of rocks, green of the moss, blue of water, yellow of the sulfur, etc.... That gives rather typical landscapes!
Open	On Wednesday, August 13th, 2003, we leave for another excursion. We pass across a typical payasage of this region: a recent field of lava, which surrounds small mountains .	Open	Large the geysers are nevertheless not present of everywhere. However, one frequently finds small sources of hot water like that one!
Open	A view of the landmannalaugar.	Open	... And still another taking since a local mountain. The valley is situated at approximately 1300-1700ft, and we were already at 2600-3000ft to take this photo and the previous one. Personally, I like these colors varied (black, red, green) which extend at loss of view!
Open	The small sources of hot water is rather common in the landmannalaugar. It is most often the small fumarolic gases of it types...	Open	The landmannalaugar, towards 3000ft of altitude... The greenery disapear and it remain only rocks. The glaciers start in effect towards 3300-3600ft of altitude!
Open	This photograph is taken just after other one, and the shot is just located on the right of the previous one.	Open	By going back down on Wednesday 13th August, we pass in front of a small lake encircled with this original herbes which give a small white bowl on their summit.
Open	On Thursday 14th August, we leave the landmannalaugar, southeast direction (if I remember definitely). Here are the landscapes of typical altitides which they meet (2000-3300m)	Open	Here a chart of the landmannalaugar which I could photograph when we pass in Fjallabak.
Open	We cross a particular valley in the afternoon of 14th, perhaps a fault I believe, unfortunately by poor weather. The volcanic soil is fully covered with moss, what gives to the valley a particular aspect.	Open	They will make the essential of the trek, from Thursday 14th August 2003, in wild camping. Our guide Steini know the interesting places, shetled between coline and rocks, and not very far from a river. We will stay 3 nights at this place.
Open	On the Friday 15th, we walk around our improvised camping. We pass close to a river. The ancient flow of lava are very frequent in Iceland. They become eroded, then become covered progressively with moss, as it is the case here.	Open	We pass close to a big river. It carry many particles of volcanic rocks, and deposit it everywhere. This gives some black sand, and with sometime it gives an interesting photograph.
Open	On Friday 16th August, we remain nailed under tents because a lot of rain. I use it to make some photographs in surroundings area. The moss sometimes attains a thickness of 0.7ft. This is an example of what this gives...	Open	The Saturday, 17, weather is always poor, but we really leave. There is really small flower in Iceland, like that one!
Open	and still other one! ... check agreed, they are not very big!	Open	Here is a work of nature very particular. A rock covered with herbes. Our guide Steini explained us what it was, but I don't remember.
Open	We cover a good distance on Saturday, 17. We pass in front of a river in the south Icelandic which gives an interesting photograph! In the afternoon we take back a bus, we change place to return on the coast, in the south and in front of Vatnajokull.	Open	The Sunday, 18 in morning, we wake up with fine weather in a small camping located against the mountains of Vatnajokull. They are located has some feet above the sea, what allows us finding some greenery, some shrubs, and also the glacial tongue which go down from Vatnajokull to sea as it is the case on this photograph.
Open	We borrowed a way which goes up above the camping along the slopes of mountains. We point to a glacial tongues that goes down from Vatnajökull. The weather become bad in afternoon, but it does not prevent us to discovering this landscape at 1600ft above the sea!	Open	... Then that one! It is the lowland located near the sea.
Open	And closely, here is one of the glacial tongue.	Open	Flowers are always here, although they are still not very big.
Open	By going back down to the camping, we pass by another way. We discover these rocky structures that is common in the Icelandic south: rocks form columns with hexagonal section put together, one against to each others. With rivers, this gives one curious photograph.	Open	There are some trees in Iceland! Finally there are some!
Open	On the Monday 19, we leave discover the floating ice close to the sea. we start by a walk by foot by poor weather. Then we pass towards one of these glacial tonhue which finish by a lake. It is common in the Alps, but here we find this at the sea level!	Open	Here we are close to a glacial lake rather big this Monday 19. Icebergs originating from Vatnajokull float on a lake situated at 300ft to the sea.  Although this is not sea glaciers, this is anyway interesting!
Open	And here we are to the camping in evenings.  We participate to the meal elaboration, and this is Steini (our guide, here at left) that is the cook.	Open	Tuesday 20, we walk again to the galcier.  With a local guide, we go on the glaciers to do a small turn.  The glaciers are very flat in Iceland, even in the bends.  And I must say that I find that astonishing, becasue this is rarely the case.  Here we finds a stream that throws itself in the glacier. It gives interesting colors!
Open	Here a very curious things that we finds on the glaciers.  A piece of rock with earth recovers itself by moss, and it gives that thing!	Open	During the night from tuesday 20 to wednesday 21, the time changes again. We takes a strong wind the full night until the morning. I takes this photo of the clouds.  The wednesday 21 will be a calm day. We resumes the bus, direction west, and we arrive at Vik.  Free afternoon, where we discover the region.
Open	Evenings on wednesday 21, while we was already in the night, a member of our group awakens us at midnight when the boreal dawns marches in the night sky. Forms for them evolves slowly, passing typical draped form to simpler form.  I put the camera to the ground, I the adjust it on 4s pause, and here this that I obtain!	Open	Thursday 22, we go hiking behind the colinnes of Vik.  We cross this town (that is the southern part of iceland), then we borrow the path that climbs at the top of this mountain.
Open	Close to Vik, we finds these rocks with the aspect of hexagonal form...	Open	The sea edge, close to Vik.  The sea and the earth mix itself, forming peninsula, with black sands beach.
Open	On the other side, we falls on a sea-cliff with bird.  A lot of bird nests alongside this cliff, and I arrive to take this picture while basting me alongside a small way.	Open	The edge of sea, close to Vik...
Open	Then return to the camping in the afternoon of the 22.  In the morning on friday 23, Steini takes us to visit the church situated on the heights of Vik.  Then we resume the bus in direction to Reykjavik.	Open	We arrive evenings, we install ourselves in the hotel, then we go directly to the restaurant in the evenings.
Open	Saturday 24, all day is free. We rent a car then we go to Geysir to discover the big iceland geysers.  There is two Geysers in Geysir: one of 100ft and one of 260ft.  The one of 100ft explodes regulary, while the other one of 260ft all 5 hours.  At first, a hole in the earth loads itself with water grace at a small stream that flows near at hand.  Water warm up itself all gently, and when enough of vapors under pressure are produced, we notices a bubble to appear...	Open	...who raises all water presents in surface...
Open	...to finally project water even at 100ft of hieght!	Open	Then return to Keyflavik where we discovers the blue lagoon.  This is an artificial swimming pool (I believe) using hot water of the earth that is at easily 40°C or more according to location...  What pity that we have cloudy weather... where it rained!  But we was not able to choose, the airplane left the next day!

big photograph of Iceland - wide photograph of Reykjavik - photograph of the landmannalaugar - wide picture of extinct volcano - big picture of geyser -moss photograph - glacial tongue of Vatnajokull - glacier of Vatnajokull - photograph of aurora borealis - photograph of vik - beach in Iceland - photograph to geysir