Selfoss to Vik

The coast from Selfoss going east is gorgeous. A series of glacial streams and rivers turns the ocean a stunning torquoise blue.

I stopped at the Flói wildlife refuge, a haven for migratory birds near the town of Eyrarbakki. A well-worn path led through the refuge to the Ölfusa river.

A fisherman in search of trout or char, in water that seems an impossible color.

After my walk, I stopped at a local cafe for lunch. A common meal is soup and bread, and the soup can be any number of varieties from meat soup (usually with local lamb) to mushroom soup. This cafe was serving two kinds of lobster soup. However these are not what we would call lobsters -- we would probably call them crayfish as they aren´t much bigger than your palm. They were quite tasty however.

This cafe had gannets and a variety of other birds stuffed and diving downward, apparently into one´s soup!

By early evening, I was on my way to Vik, passing one scenic farm after another.

The fields are so bright green they seem artificial.

I was staying at the farm Steig in Mýrdalur, a working sheep farm near Vik. The guesthouse was newly remodeled and consisted of several separate rooms and a common living area. The backdrop of the mountains made it very scenic, and the front windows looked out over a huge expanse of green, with the ocean beyond. There were numerous barns and outbuildings, including this one built into the hillside, a common practice in Iceland. By some fluke, there were no other guests that night, so I had the place to myself.

My tourguide was Kristina, 9 years old, who immediately offered to escort me on a hike up into the hillside in the morning. I told her it was a date. Not sure if the 7 AM start time appealed to her, but she arrived with a smile the next morning. Meanwhile her mother began making breakfast.

As we climbed up into the hills, she told me about her family´s sheep farming. The sheep will soon be moving up into the mountains, a task they accomplish on foot and horseback, often with dogs.

This may involve herding the sheep across glaciers, which is sometimes easier than crossing deep ravines.

While the sheep are grazing on lush mountain grass, the farm can let the grass in the lowlands grow, and then bale it up as hay. In the fall, the sheep are rounded up and brought back down to the lowlands for the winter.

Kristina amazed me with her ability to recognize "her" sheep, even at a great distance.

After our walk, Kristina showed me around the barn, where there was an orphaned lamb who needed to be fed, and then introduced me to her horses. By now we were quite hungry, so we went back to the guesthouse and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of lax (salmon), egg, tomatoes, and toast with homemade blueberry jam.

What a fabulous place to stay and what nice people ... I could have easily spent all day there ... but there were so many other things to do ...

My next stop was the town of Vik, where I walked along the beach and then did a hike up to some great views of the town and ocean.

Near the top. You can just barely see the snow-covered mountains in the distance. This grassy knoll was covered with wildflowers.

Looking down into lush meadows

View from the top, looking down on the picturesque town of Vik, where I started my hike.

I left Vik regretfully, as it was a beautiful town. But there was more to see, and only one day to see it before I needed to start back to Reykjavik. I left green grassy hills and scenic views, and drove straight into a geology textbook ...