Hot pools of all shapes and sizes ringed the central geyser , some lively with bubblings and splutterings , others ominously calm and tinged green , turquoise and pale blue .
Hot pools of all shapes and sizes ringed the central geyser , some lively with bubblings and splutterings , others ominously calm and tinged green , turquoise and pale blue .
up quite strongly I had powerful visions of being blown off those steps like some out of control Mary Poppins with no umbrella and yes , dear reader , I panicked . With apologies to courageous women everywhere , I waved my menfolk off and retreated to the warmth of the car , wrote up my diary , ate my sons ’ snacks and awaited the adventurers ’ return .
An hour later they re-appeared with tales of wobbling across precarious wooden planks laid over slippery clay , then leaping over hot , bubbling mud pools . Their descriptions of the hiss of egg-scented sulphuric steam and sounds of underground gurglings were another reminder of just how volatile and alive this island is , in places only just below a very thin crust of apparently barren land . Remember I mentioned earlier about the trios of sheep at the side of the unsealed road ? A little known fact ,
not yet explored to my knowledge by David Attenborough is that , after a car has driven past , the sheep scuttle immediately into the middle of the road and lick the ground . Who knew ? We came up with several theories involving hot rubber , salt or other minerals , but perhaps it ’ s simply the only way to relieve the boredom of life on a lava field , poor things .
After a brief stopover in the little fishing village of Holmavik for pizza and a glance through the window of the Museum of Witchcraft ( a small , dark and ramshackle shed ), it was back in the car to complete the long drive to Hofsos in the Western Fjords and find our beds for the night . As the road skirted the water ’ s edge the sight of the glittering blue waves and high , green slopes was refreshing and uplifting after the browns , blacks and greys of our rubble-strewn inland travels .
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