Another day of water, but starting under a volcano (Hekla). In the panoramas, you see both the volcano and a deep, very COLD creek that we had to wade across (while most people’s feet went numb, my ‘good’ circulation kept them hurting the entire wade across - it was really, really cold).

And yes, this volcano is very near the more recent Eyjafjallajökull eruption that caused so much trouble with the European air traffic just the year after I was there. That volcano is just south, southeast of Hekla on the map where you see the white with the rugged terrain.

On this hike, we experienced the typical Icelandic forest; fairly small trees (there used to be larger ones, but they were all cut down by early settlers). The standing joke is if you can’t see through the trees, stand up. It isn’t much of an exaggeration.

This initial hike was interesting not only due to the beauty of the area but also because we saw water simply coming out of the ground in places to flow into small streams. Something to do with the lava flow in the area.

At the end of this first hike, we explored the remains of one of the first settlers’ Viking houses.

To finish off the morning, we drove along a power line on a gravel road for quite a ways, then took a short turn down another side road and parked. Grabbing our lunch, we walked down a short trail to find the amazing Háifoss. It is a pair of falls and is the second highest in Iceland (122 m). Looking down the canyon that the falls and river have cut out, the view opens out into an extensive flat region far below - absolutely stunning.

In North America, this would have been a busy tourist stop with paved roads, concession stands, and crowds. Here, we saw a small trail sign, a simple trail, a very rough road that I didn’t see any markings on, and only a couple of other cars in the very small parking area.

The perceived isolation just added to this wonderful experience.