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| Kerid Crater |
Iceland day 2, was the day of heavy rains coupled with recreational tourism that is now associated with the réttir! First, our Frogg Toggs did their job well for their budget price, material, and construction. Now to be honest they were used for short jaunts, not long hiking adventures but managed to keep us dry in the heavy rain outbursts throughout the day. More about réttir later in the post.
Kerid Crater
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| Faxi Waterfall on Tungufljót River |
Our first stop was the Kerid Crater located in a geologically active part of Iceland known as Grimsnes. The caldera’s scarlet slopes (sounds so much sexier than plain red) are composed of loose shag dispersed among sections of green vegetation that culminates in a glittering azure basin whose levels are determined by the water table (or zone of saturation). The Kerid Crater is estimated to be around 6,500 years old. Its vibrant red slopes (I am sticking to the sexy scarlet term) are a clear sign of its geological youth, as iron deposits in the rock have not yet blackened.
Due to the heavy rainfall during our visit to Kerid Crater, we were limited to enjoying its beauty from above and not hiking around or down into it. That lovely scarlet sediment gets very slippery when wet. Yikes, I keep up with this geology jargon, and my geologist and geological engineering colleagues and friends may think I have come over to the dark side. Yeah no! This was one of the few natural attractions we had to pay a nominal fee to view. Well worth it!
Faxi Waterfall (Vatnsleysufoss)
Our second stop was Faxi Waterfall (Fossin Faxi or Vatnsleysufoss). The waterfall is small in Icelandic terms at 80 m (262 ft) wide and 7 m (23 ft) high. It has 2 parking lots you pay to enter as well as a campground and seasonal restaurant on site. The good news was that there were only 2 other couples there at the time, one eating lunch at their camper van and the other visiting the waterfalls. So, we had the falls to ourselves to enjoy. There is a fish ladder as the Tungufljót River is a popular salmon fishing locale. The only salmon I saw trying to navigate a waterfall while in Iceland was at Reykjafoss Waterfall in Hveragerði.
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| Faxi Waterfall on Tungufljót River |
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| Faxi Waterfall on Tungufljót River, near Fish Ladder |
Strokkur Geysir
Next up was a stop at Strokkur Geysir (the churn) which sprouts hot water as high as 30 meters (100 ft) into the air every few minutes (right on schedule). This is one of the major stops for the golden circle tours and the place where we saw the most people on our 8-day trip to Iceland. The photo below was taken before several tour buses arrived and we skedaddled quickly thereafter.
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| Strukkor Geysir before the Hordes Arrived |
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| Strokkur Geysir in action |
Gullfoss Waterfall
Gullfoss (Golden Falls) is one of Iceland’s most iconic waterfalls, located in the Hvítá River Canyon in Southwest Iceland. This is also one of the stops on Iceland's golden circle tours. The waters of the Hvítá River originate from the glacier Langjökull. The first cascade is 11 meters tall (36 feet), whilst the second cascade is 21 meters (69 feet). This picture is taken just up from the handicapped parking lot and is one of the better spots to capture Gullfoss when the tour buses are on site.
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| Gullfoss Waterfall |
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| Day 2 Route |
Réttir
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| Professional Sheepherder |
The route for day 2 is attached with the circle on the route map below Flúðir (along route 30) was where we encountered the Réttir. Travelling Iceland and the Faroe Islands, we were expecting to encounter sheep in fields, on the roads, and in significant numbers. So, when we came upon the first réttir, it was interesting and a delay of less the 5 minutes was no bigger. We realized very quickly that tourist "sheepherders" must be part of the mix. I had to google that as some of the riders (aka sheepherders) seemed inexperienced and ineffective. The professional sheepherders quickly rounded up strays and move traffic along in an orderly fashion, protecting everyone including the sheep.
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| Well Behaved Sheep |
Fifteen to twenty minutes later we ran into our second Réttir and that is where the fun began as did the string of four-letter words. The drive from Flúðir to Vik is 89.5 mi (144 km) and should take approximately 2 hrs under normal traffic conditions. Add in a delay of at least 1.5 hours and well no surprise that there were some four-letter words uttered. The delay was so long, and we hardly moved that we incorrectly assumed there was a major traffic incident. Nope, just a larger group of tourist sheepherders (~12) coupled with professional sheepherders who had less experience (I am assuming) dealing with the tourist version than the first group we encountered. After 5 vehicles, locales I presumed, and 2 vehicles in front of us moved out and passed in the other lane, we followed suit. Confusing the issue was only 6-7 cars drove down the road from the opposite direction including a police car. When we finally pulled out, we passed 8 cars to find all the sheep gazing quietly on the side of the road as per the pictures (that were taken while we were stopped), the professional sheepherders (maybe 3) working hard while the tourists' version were on the road (all on the correct side but blocking traffic) along with the horses they were riding; eating, drinking and having a jolly good time.
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| A Rétt or Sorting Cages |
Fall roundup of the free-ranging sheep is undoubtedly a large undertaking requiring a lot of labour. They use ATVs, horses, or on foot with trusted sheepdogs to fetch sheep. Say what! I saw two dogs the whole time in Iceland, not on the Réttir, and thought they needed to visit Scotland to see Shelties in action.
The rounded-up sheep are sorted at rétts, circular pens with divided sections to separate each farmer’s herd from one another. On the lighter side, while stuck in our Réttir traffic jam, we observed two sheep running away from the boondoggle ahead of us. Who knew they could run that fast! No one was trying to catch them but all I could think was FREEDOM!
My thoughts on the recreational tourism associated with the Réttir are diametrically opposite. Kudos to Icelanders for offering this cultural experience to those of us who visit your beautiful country. Farming/cultivation is arduous work, underpaid, and underappreciated while needing all the assistance it can get. But you can and must do better. I experienced 2 types of Réttirs, one that left me appreciative and in awe of Icelandic ingenuity while the other left me feeling like I was an invisible bystander at a tailgate party. One person tasked with traffic control would have made a world of difference for the drivers stuck in the traffic jam.
This was the effective end to our day, as we still had a 2-hour drive to the hotel, and less than 30 minutes later, torrential rains arrived. Day 2 was complete and the delay coupled with the rain knocked a few items off our list but still overall a good day.
Video Clip
Blogs in my Iceland Series: (to be updated as completed)
The following websites provide additional information on various topics concerning Iceland:
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Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Sam, I am.