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…