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Way home…
1. Last boondocking with view on the ocean, not far from Bilbao, while it is raining…
2. Starter with local products!
3. Emile’s happy!
4. Quietness…
5. The rain stops, giving way to a few colors at sunset.
6. …
7. …
8. …
9. … The Basque coast falls asleep..
10. I wanted to discover Canfrang train station for a long time, this curiosity nestled on a pass of the Pyrenees, at an altitude of 3,900 feet elevation. I had seen images when it was disused and I’m surprised to discover that it had been completely renovated and rehabilitated into a luxury hotel!
11. Surprising to find such a building in the middle of the mountains, isn’t it?
12. We reach Pont d’Espagne where we cannot sleep, the bottom of the valley having been closed to traffic after a huge paid car park in which it’s forbidden to sleep. Here the Cerisey waterfall going down towards Cauterets where we spend the night in a campingpark.
132. We head back towards Switzerland along the northern foot of the Pyrenees and discover a beautiful cave on our route: the Mas d’Azil cave. The cavity was dug by the river which runs through it and it’s so large that the road also crosses it.
14. We sleep north of Carcassone to discover the ruins of the Four Castles of Lastours.
15. It is the small roads of the Cevennes that bring us back home…
16. Crossing the village of Mourèze…
And that’s it for these too short summer vacations where VivaLaVida has covered 2,600 miles.
The next articles will tell you about some fall outings…
Thank you for your loyalty to this little blog! 🙂
Cantabria and Basque Country (continued)
The next morning, we continue to discover this rocky coast.
1. The ocean passes through the limestone crevices to create this small lake about three hundred feet from the coast. The swell makes the water move, a rather unusual effect!
2. Another arch.
3. The coast towards West from a small peninsula.
4. And one more arch.
5. There are only a few days left before the end of the vacation, we are heading back east. Abandoned farm along the road…
6. Church near the village of Niembru.
7. We sleep on a surf spot near San Vincente de la Barquera, with beautiful colors at sunset.
8. …
9. …
10. VivaLaVida among surfer campers.
11. First light at dawn…
12. We continue our route in the Basque Country and make a short stop at the Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It’s so crowded that it’s not possible for us to go down because all tickets for the day have been sold.
13. Church with covered passageways…
14. Main door.
15. Another known spot where we find these layered rocks which have tilted to offer their slices to the ocean, in Zumaia. You don’t see it ont the picture but to my left, there is a beach with probably an average of 1 human per square feet! 😀
16. My son in discovery mode.
17. Layered cliff…
I will still have one last update to publish in a few days to close the story of this summer trip… See you soon! 😉
East fjords and end of the trip…
We are Tuesday, the ferry leaves tomorrow, so I have to end the route to the East.
1. A farm and its small church in the plain.
2. These plains are actually alluvial deltas (gravel bars) down the mountains that form the eastern fjords.
3. Short stop at the powerful Nykurhylsfoss waterfall, sometimes also called Sveinsstekksfoss.
4. VivaLaVida makes a small detour through the valley from which she falls, on a track that looks more like a river in places 🙂
5. This valley is a magnificent basalt staircase, each step of which creates a waterfall. Gorgeous ! Too bad not to have time to explore it longer…
6. With autumn colors now very present, it’s beautiful.
7. A little further, on a small pass, the fall of Folaldafoss.
8. VLV will take a chaotic path to find a beautiful Icelandic camp near a small lake, 2100 feet above sea level.
9. The night will be particularly turbulent, with winds to almost 70 mph and heavy rain. In the morning, the rain gives me some respite while the wind maintained.
10. As I have a few hours left before boarding, I decided to take the F936 trail and was surprised to discover it perfectly leveled, without washboard or potholes. After ten miles, I understand why..! I do not take the risk to pass and turn around.
11. So, VLV goes up to do a small exploration towards North…
12. … discover the beautiful church of Kirkjubaejarkirkja.
13. Details of door shutters.
14. Climbing a small pass, a large beach exposed to the Arctic Ocean revealed.
15. Small stop in a colorful side valley, obstructed by a wall of basalt.
16. Mineral colors.
17. Last picture of a rainy heath…
18. VivaLaVida finds back the Nöronna ferry for the return crossing cruise.
In conclusion of these few weeks in Iceland, I have some mixed feeling. The island is home to a wealth of incredible natural treasures for whom, like me, love desolate and wild Nordic landscapes. Combined with the omnipresence of sustained and often extremely recent volcanic activity, the cocktail is often breathtaking. On the other hand, because of tour operators eager to make money, this destination has become so touristy that the consequences of this mass tourism become visible almost everywhere. More and more frequent access bans, legislation seeking to limit the impact on the fragile nature, sites with often developed unsightly infrastructure and invaded by dozens of buses, mini-commercial campers rented by hundreds and, probably corollary, Icelandic not very affable and often even unfriendly with foreigners… Not to mention a exorbitant life costs : filling VLV was more than 400.- USD..!
Apart from the few indoor tracks that VivaLaVida allowed us to access off the beaten path, the pressure of this tourism really bothered me. And we were there at the end of the season, with significantly fewer people than in July or early August. Of course, I understand everyone’s desire to discover this raw nature. Yet there are other places on the planet, equally spectacular but less exploited by tour operators who still know how to preserve their country and are in my eyes much more pleasant to visit.
No regrets, however, to have had the opportunity to make discover to Isabelle – Emile is probably still too small to remember of later – this large island and its beautiful and so changing landscapes!
While the Nöronna ferry made a stopover in Torshávn on the way back, I was lucky enough to have some nice weather to offer you some new pictures of the capital of the Faroes.
19. This small town offers dozens of narrow streets with pretty houses that denote with the American-style pavilions of Iceland.
20. View on the city.
21. Marina.
22. The crossing to Denmark will be somewhat turbulent, with strong winds up to 80 mph and 18-21 feet waves.
23. Venting sinset…
The return to Switzerland was normal except for a turbo hose that dislodged, forcing VLV to drag on the last 350 miles…
Thanks to you for having followed the story of this Icelandic journey of VivaLaVida which will now be rebuilding a small health (axle simmering to change, kneecaps to replace, and complete frame check after more than 6000 miles traveled, of which probably more than a thousand on the various tracks borrowed. You can also view the route on the map “Europe” of this blog… 😉
And see you soon for following VivaLaVida’s new adventures! 😀
“Golden Circle” and South Reykjaness
Thursday, September 13th, the last day of my family’s trip before flying back home, leaving me alone to bring VivaLaVida back to Switzerland.
We leave to visit some spots of the Golden Circle, not far from Reykjavik.
1. Stop at Þingvellir, historic site of the first Icelandic parliament founded in year 930. It has the particularity of being exactly on the divide between the European and the North American tectonic plates. A river flows there on a few hundred yards.
2. Souvenir: Emile is in Europe and Isabelle in America ! 😉
3. On the road to another must-see spot for anyone who has never seen a geyser…
4. Anecdote of the day: we are stopped by two Texan tourists who, having stopped on the aisle to take a picture, got bogged down with their rental Renault and ask VLV to pull them from this bad not. Thank you to Isabelle for the picture! 😉
5. NWe arrive at the Geysir site at the end of the day.
6. This is my version of so photographed Stokkur Gesyr.
7. …
8. We boondock along the F333 trail, away from the crowd to be quiet in nature…
9. Short morning visit in Gullfoss already invaded by mass tourism.
10. Returning to Reykjavik for the return flight of Isa and Emile, short climb of the beginning of the F337 trail to admire the view on the plains.
11. In action!
The next morning, we wake up early to go to the airport where the return flight takes off at 7:20. No picture in the rush of an already crowded airport at dawn. The weather being rainy, I took advantage of my Saturday to write several articles of the blog and postprocess some images. The next day, I hit the road toward East where the ferry will wait for VivaLaVida a few days later for bring her back to the mainland. Path through South of Reykjaness, the peninsula on which Keflavik International Airport is located.
12. Short stop at the pretty Strandakirkja church.
13. Almost all Icelandic churches have a small entrance hall separated of the main nave.
14. Colorful nave.
15. On the coast, I enjoy the contrasts between the black lava and the algae that develop there.
VivaLaVida then took a series of F roads to discover the back of the Myrdálsjökull ice cap. Coming soon in the next article.
Snæfellsness
While there are only four days left before Isabelle and Emile go back, VivaLaVida hits the road to the touristic Snæfellsness peninsula and its various natural attractions.
1. Lava flows in the ocean.
2. Recent volcanic geology…
3. … interspersed with a few small fjords.
4. The famous Kirkjufell mountain, so photographed but invaded by mass tourism. I chose a different perspective, not doing the same as everyone else… 😉
5. To escape the crowd, VivaLaVida climbs to the Snæfellsjökull ice cap for the night.
6. Camp at the crossroads of two deserted trails. Do you see VLV all the way down? 😀
7. Wind clouds while many snowfields persist even if we are only about 2,000 feet above sea level.
8. The next morning, the cap is hidden in the clouds, to the chagrin of Isabelle.
9. But the surroundings are worth seeing…
10. … and the view of the beach, 1,800 feet lower under the clouds, is beautiful.
11. Peninsula South coast.
12. Another highly visited spot, the lava cliffs of Londrangar.
13. The cute little church of Búdir.
14. From the South Coast Road.
15. Stop near a spectacular wall of basalt columns.
16. These pillars, which have a penta- and hexagonal shape of approx. 3-5 feet in diameter, are between 20 and 60 feet high for their visible part.
17. We walk to a pretty little church nestled at the bottom of a crater.
18. Wild camp at the edge of a small river…
19. At 23:00, while I go out to do some natural needs, surprise, I discover a sky adorned with Northern lights…
20. … as much in the Northeast as in the Southeast.
21. I hurry up to get camera and tripod. First of limited intensity, aurora intensifies while I frame VLV in the field.
22. Then without warning, in a few moments, it becomes incredibly intense!
23. Colorful purple fringes appear.
24. And the trails swirl at full speed throughout the sky.
25. Even with an ultra wide angle lens mounted, I can only encompass part of it…
26. I constantly shoot to immortalize this moment of intense contemplative emotion…
27. I feel so small under so much cosmic energy.
28. Then after a few minutes, the show calms down…
29. …
30. I had never been able to see a dawn so bright and dynamic aurora until then.
After more than two hours enjoying this beautiful surprise in the cold, frozen, I go back to bed and look forward to the heating in VivaLaVida…
Fjords of North West
1. Great weather in the morning!
2. Icebergs are still there.
3. Stop on our way to observe seals.
4. When some rest, others seem to play in the water.
5. Under the eyes of ubiquitous and placid sheeps.
6. Small lighthouse on the coast.
7. I draw the portrait to one of these famous Icelandic small horses with long manes.
8. Small church along a fjord. There are many, always small and often with only one house around.
9. As VivaLaVida crosses a small pass between two fjords, the horizon deepens.
10. …
11. To reach a large beach far west of the fjords, the road is endless: while in a straight line, the GPS indicates 55 miles, it will take 125 miles of winding road to get there!
12. The end of day light is spectacular.
13. Rauðarsandur beach is behind this point…
14. VivaLaVida will finally reach it at sunset, enjoying last sun rays on its pretty black church.
15. Calm morning on the inlet.
16. Rauðarsandur beach is Iceland’s largest and its color denotes with omnipresent black elsewhere. Wonder where does this colorful sand come from.
17. Refelction behind the beach.
18. Patchwork at rising tide.
19. Marine atmosphere…
20. In a nearby bay, stop near a ship wreck.
21. These fjords are beautiful and constitute the least visited part of Iceland and let us enjoy more solitude.
22. We camp on the bank of a fjord sheltering hundreds of swans.
Discovery of Snæfellsness Peninsula coming soon. 😉
First steps with family
My passengers well landed, we discovered the Reykjanes peninsula together before going to Reykjavik the next day to buy warm jackets to Isabelle and Emile.
1. Volcanic activity is strong on this promontory.
2. Emile is so happy to be back in “Dad’s truck”!
3. The lava that flowed to the sea creates beautiful cliffs.
4. Beautiful lake of Kleifarvatn.
5. Despite some showers, the weather is rather beautiful but a little cold, about 46F.
6. Lava fields covered with moss and lichen.
7. Iceland is undoubtedly the land of rainbows. 😉
8. Lava tunnel.
9. There are many here.
10. Assembly of 5 vertical images to show you a crater that appeared only a few hundred years ago.
11. After some shopping in Reykjavik, we had a very rainy day stretching the road on the South coast. We cross famous vehicles transformed to ride on the snow. Here, a van similar to VivaLaVida but mounted on huge wheels! VLV looks small compared.
12. The small church of Vik.
13. Dyrhólaey Promontory and its two natural arches.
14. Even if the site is very touristy, we take a walk to the Reynisfjara Beach and its needles.
15. Souvenir on the famous basalt pillars.
16. Dyrhólaey Beach.
17. On the other side, Reynisfjara.
More of the South Coast in the next update…
Tende…
1. Tende is a particular village, hanging on the slope of a deep valley.
2. Small streets are narrow…
3. … and most of the houses have views over the valley.
4. Porch…
5. A real little labyrinth.
6. Ancient door…
7. Another, with its guardian. 😉
8. The colors of the church clash..
9. Roof entanglement.
10. Up the street to the church…
11. … and its painted pediment.
12. The interior is also quite spectacular.
13. Still other doors…
14. Balcony on the valley…
15. Going down to VivaLaVida.
16. A chapel bell tower…
17. Swing for Emile…
18. Last look at the village.
To be followed in some days…
Western Colorado
It’s been awhile that I wanted to explore Colorado mountains and as I have to cross the Rockies to go East, I took the opportunity to make a few detours.
1. Nice valley West of Uncompahgre Plateau.
2. The edge of the plateau is sometimes abrupt.
3. “Western” but actual building…
4. Small church in Gateway.
5. Beautiful mesa over Gateway.
6. The Dolores River has a particularity. To bring water to gold mining, in 1883, a company created a 15 miles canal which was suspended in the cliffs for 5 miles. Some vestiges remain clearly visible…
7. Here in closeup. It’s crazy what the search for gold and silver generated as work in the American West!
8. Typical saloon in a small hick town…
9. Wildlife is still abundant. Here a troop of deer not far from the road.
10. VivaLaVida approachs the mountains and leaves desert with altitude. Here the Lone Cone Mountain which looks like a volcano with this storm cloud.
11. Quiet camping in National Forest…
12. Of course with the campfire to cook the diner! 🙂
13. One of the symbols of the American West: artesian wells…
14. Pastures…
15. Highlands…
To be followed with a small glimpse of Telluride, a small town in the foothills of mountains.
D5 Creation