The Mighty Waterfall

After being completely snowed in at an apartment in Reynisfjara, relying on a JCB to dig us out, we decided that it would be wise to make a move from the South as soon as we could see the markers on the side of the road. The mountains, sea and shore had disappeared under a flat white blanket of snow. Our hire car, a VW Polo was well and truly stuck and even the 4-Wheel Drives looked to be struggling in the heavy snowfall. The winter tyres here are a lifesaver; the small metal studs keeping us gripped to the ice. I couldn’t stand up and had to wear crampons to get to the car. The bad weather had been following us for 5 days, but up until this morning, we had managed to outrun it! 

The 5km drive down onto the flatter coastal terrain was a nail biter; even the trucks with super-sized tyres were driving with extreme caution. My heart was in my mouth as we carefully picked our way using the yellow markers like a dot-to-dot puzzle. Staying put would have meant an extra 2 days in a hotel and a missed flight for my partner. Route 1, the main road that circumnavigates the island, is often closed in the worst weather and we needed to get off the mountain and back down to sea level before the road was cordoned off for the day. 

After about an hour, the weather cleared enough to be able to breathe out and we fell into a line of slow-moving vehicles. As we rounded another huge premonitory we saw a sign to the Skógafoss waterfall. The road was iced over, but the faithful yellow markers kept us on the track as we wound our way through a small hamlet, full of red and white tin-clad buildings. The snow was falling heavily and the fall was framed by undulating icicles. I grabbed my sketchbook and walked as far as I could to appreciate the magnitude of the fall.

The spray soaked me within seconds, and my goggles needed wipers to keep clear.  Capturing falling water in pencil and charcoal is bloody difficult, but I got lots of pictures and intend to use them for new work when back in the studio.

We had hoped to see Gullfoss and the geysers, but the road was closed and not due to open for a couple of days because of avalanche warnings – so maybe I will do this later in the month when the weather is better.

This first week in Iceland has been one of the best weeks of my entire life. 

 Here are a few words that describe my emotional reaction to this marvelous country.