P*A*T (Photography*Art*Travel): Grassy Graveyards and Bergie Bits

Grassy Graveyards and Bergie Bits

Eastward along the southern coast of Iceland, the volcanoes and their icecaps become more proximal to the sea. There is only a narrow strip of green and vegetation between the lava and the high tide mark. Making the most of Mother Earth's materials, early settlers used the sod to cover and insulate homes. Below is yet another sod covered church and a lovingly preserved graveyard that has become a national historical site. All pics taken with camera phone.

Very Quaint

Sweet Remembrance

Fun with Filters

More Fun with Filters

Near the town of Jokulsaron, tourists are treated to a magical sight. As the Breidamerkurjokull glacier has receded (some years at a rate of over 100 meters/yr) a lagoon has formed at the base. When bits of glacier calve off, they float in a jumble in the placid fresh water. Slowly melting, they slowly shrink, flip over and constantly rearrange themselves. These top two are from the first evening at about 10 pm. They show true shades of "glacier blue".

These below were taken on the morning we left the area in glorious sunshine

At low tide, some of the smaller bergie bits float 200 yards down a stream to the sea. At the next high tide, many of the bits are deposited high on the volcanic sand beach near the mouth of the stream. As the waves crash over them and recede, the patterns formed over the black beach pebbles are most interesting, in the abstract.

Sunny morning at Hali, our overnight accommodation.

The restaurant/museum at Hali, designed to resemble the volumes of books written by a local storyteller. Iceland boasts the highest literacy rate of any nation and publishes more books per capita than the rest of the world.