The ethereal beauty of Þingvellir

July is such a great month in Iceland. The weather is usually as warm as it gets and the light is so beautiful – even though it’s just past the solstice, there is still daylight for the entire night [although if it is very overcast it can get dark for a short time right in the middle]. Most people go on holiday at this time of year, meaning that things tend to grind to a halt in the public and private sectors, and some places even close due to weather on exceptionally nice days.

For most Icelanders this is also the time to get out of the city and enjoy the beautiful landscapes that this country has in spades. Unsurprisingly, people flock out of town on the weekends in July, which makes for some pretty heavy traffic jams. This is especially true now during the recession, since many people have decided to forgo their annual vacations abroad in favour of domestic travel.

A couple of evenings ago, EPI had the brilliant idea of heading out to Þingvellir [or Thingvellir, if you speak foreignese] after dinner, for an easy hike. To most Icelanders Þingvellir is  a sacred location – it is the site where our ancient parliament convened once a year [in centuries following the settlement] and has tremendous historical and geological significance [more here]. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a National Park.

Þingvellir is also the place where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart at a rate of a couple centimetres per year. The rift is clearly visible, and tourists are usually taken to one part of it, right near the geology centre. EPI and I, however, entered the rift from a more secluded location and walked along it to the Öxarárfoss waterfall.

That route is a lot more difficult than the one commonly taken, and it was absolutely stunning. At the outset, the gap between the two plates is fairly wide, with grassy plains in between:

But it gets progressively narrower:

With moss-covered screes of tumbling rocks, and lots of caves:

There are bizarre rock formations everywhere:

And pretty flowers:

And ultimately, the waterfall:

Although I don’t want to sound dismissive, I must say that the pictures simply can’t come close to conveying the beauty of the site. Despite the rough terrain there is such an ethereal beauty to the place that neither words nor pictures can fully do it justice. It’s like it all vibrates with this strange and benign kind of energy. And the silence is so all-encompassing that I just kept stopping to marvel at it, standing perfectly still to listen to … nothing. Such a rarity in our bustling world.

For what it’s worth, the full set of pictures is here [note there is a slideshow option].

THE SUN IS RESOLUTELY REFUSING TO SHINE
Although it has been relatively warm and unusually calm, the sun has remained firmly behind clouds these past few days – at least here in the capital. As I write this it looks to be making brave attempts to burst forth, but so far without success. We currently have a very average 12°C [54F], sunrise at 3.20 am, sunset at 11.43 pm.