Skógafoss.

AO and my guidebook both said this was one of Iceland’s top waterfalls. It drops 60 metres from the upper cliffs. Who  am I to argue with them? It really was a splendid waterfall. I was a happy guy.

Chris in front of Skógafoss

Chris and Hans by Skógafoss

We also drove by Surtsey an island created by the  tourist eruption in 1963. That eruption began on the floor of the ocean just south of the Westman islands and lasted for 4 years. That makes even Nicholas’s birth seem short. Fishermen were the first to notice the signs of birth when they saw smoke rising from the sea in November of 1963. Molten lava was spewing out of the seafloor and hit the sea cooling instantly. It did not take long for volcanic debris to hit the surface 130 metres (430 ft.)  above the ocean floor creating a burning island.  A pillar of black ash mixed up with steam was sent 10 km. (6 mi.) into the air. This looked very dangerous to people on nearby Heimaey and was even visible from Reykjavik. The flights confirmed that a new island was being formed out of liquid lava that was piling up over a huge mound of tephra. It solidified into a giant volcanic refuse heap that is still visible today. That’s how volcanic islands are born.

Seljalandsfoss

This was a day that a waterfall guy (me) was satisfied. We saw 2 outstanding waterfalls in one day I got tt photograph them both. The second one was Seljalandsfoss. All my earlier misgivings about not having a chance to photograph them disappeared. Life was good again.

Seljalandsfoss is gorgeous waterfall that is fed by the famed glacier-capped volcano Eyjafjallajökull  that erupted in 2010.  We were allowed to walk behind the falls but our guide advised against it because we would get very wet. I did not want to take my camera behind the falls and feared I would not have enough time to photograph it properly, so I opted to stay in front as did most of our group. However, I was sorry to miss the unique viewpoint of the waterfall.