This was our last day in the east of Iceland and, again, Ezra and Naomi took to playing games they found in the house upon waking up. It really is fun and heart warming to see them get so excited about the differences and finds in each new dwelling we occupy!
You should also know that Ezra and Naomi created their own language, now called Ezromi. They have fun speaking to each other in it and sometimes include me in funny games related to it. This morning, they sang me a song in their language…
As we drove out of the east, we caught glimpses of more beautiful green landscapes. We also had to stop at Studlagil Canyon! Studlagil is an absolutely stunning basalt canyon, with a beautiful (and dangerous, as it is very fast) blue (same situation as Bruarafoss) river flowing through it. We did some research and found that while going to the west side of the canyon allows quick access to great views, if you go to the east side and are willing to complete the 45 minute hike there, you gain far better access to the river and amazing basalt formations. Naturally, we chose the east side! The canyon was stunningly beautiful, both the basalt and the river. We were able to get down into the canyon and do a lot of climbing around on rock formations and soaking our feet in the cold river. It was fun and invigorating!
At Studlagil today, we also got really into Icelandic mythology. This was prompted by our interest in the interesting mythology of so many places in Iceland (usually dark and usually involving trolls, witches, and/or elves) as well as a really interesting rock formation at Studlagil that made both Ezra and I think of our own Iceland-inspired mythological explanations. Naomi added some on as well, but her story continued for over 15 minutes and we arrived back at the car and had a discussion about shortening stories in mythology, haha. It was fun to see both Ezra and Naomi connect so much to what we had learned, now inventing their own mythologies of a place, in the style of Icelandic mythology and sagas.
Here is what we came up with (as recorded from our oral history by Ezra) – There once was no canyon in Studlagil. Originally the two pieces of land were together. On one side of the hill was a troll town called Trolltunga. On the other side was a water source and a town occupied by Giants. At the time water was a problem for these trolls so they sent the biggest and strongest troll named Bigass to find a way to get water from the giants’ side. So Bigass decided to create a path and broke the hill in two to create a river to Trolltunga. After, he was declared king of the water by the trolls in Trolltunga! A while later, the Giants were now getting little water and tried to get it back. The biggest giant in their town tried, but failed. He tried to drill a hole to his town to bring the water there, but was caught and got turned into stone by troll magic. The giant town died and the trolls lived happily ever after!
After leaving Studlagil, we drove further north and visited two more fosses, Dettifoss and Selfoss. The drive was wild, the last 20km on gravel roads, and just a volcanic wasteland. (The sign in the bathroom at one of the fosses provided a practical sense of just how remote this was, telling us to take all trash with us.) Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in all of Europe! For our consistent readers, you may remember Gulfoss, one of the first fosses we visited in Iceland. It was massive, making it hard for me to envision a waterfall more powerful. Seeing Dettifoss, however, the difference was clear. While Gulfoss is massive, there is a gorgeous elegance to it (this is all, of course, just based on the natural ways the rock shape was formed). Dettifoss is raw power, no elegance. Water scrambling over water in an intense effort, crashing down into the river. The water composition itself also adds to this picture. While Gulfoss is clear/blue/white, a classic river/waterfall, Dettifoss is a waterfall directly fed by glacial melt off the north side of Vatnajokull Glacier (which again speaks to both the size of Vatnajokull and the devastation of climate change on these glaciers.) This means the waterfall is heavily mixed with volcanic dust and ash, making the water a dirty grey color.
Selfoss was nearby and similarly colored (for the same reasons.) It was another area where we could have come to the east or west side. Again, we chose the east side, willing to enjoy a longer hike (this one was really an uneven rock scramble the kids loved) for much better views/experiences. Selfoss was quite beautiful really looking like a horseshoe of many waterfalls melded together into one larger one.
From there, we powered on to our destination in the far north, Olafsfjordur. We looked forward to having some chill time up north and exploring this small coastal village near the north point of a fjord. We also had a fairly large apartment in Olafsfjordur, which would be quite nice after having a shared house. One funny thing about the ride up was our first experience with an Einbried Gong! Iceland is chocked full of Einbied Brues (single lane bridges) that are usually quite short. We thoroughly understood custom and expectation surrounding these and enjoyed calling out “Einbried Bru!” when we came up to one. We had not, however, experienced an Einbried Gong (single lane tunnel) before and had no idea of protocol for that one. Thankfully, as it was later in the day, we did not meet another car in the tunnel and therefore didn’t have to figure out what to do in that event (more on this in the next few posts.) It was very interesting and, wild note, 5km long through a mountain! The drive along the fjord was gorgeous and driving into the sleepy fjord town was a welcome event for us after a long day.
We did have a dinner stop at a gas station for an Icelandic style hot dog (with full Icelandic condiments.) The kids even finally convinced us to let them try Coco Mjolk…which, to be fair, is just a brand of chocolate milk that had a mascot and advertisements and had become a running joke!
One last thing: is this a soup dumpling, a birthday cake, or a breast? What do you think? HAHAHA!
See you on the next mountain!
July 14, 2025 – Total Steps 16,051 (Some Elevation During Hikes)
At first glance, a breast!
Love the made-up mythology! I thinks the kids have learned enough in the past month to cover a whole year of schooling. What an experience for all of you!