Post: Western Iceland: A volcano crater and some sagas

We left Stykkisholmur and headed south to spend a little time a bit north and west of Reykjavik. This part of Iceland is rich in history and lore.

Before we left, I took these pictures of the school playground which our hotel overlooked. It was morning recess and I could hear the students playing.

There are trampolines like the one of the right, in each town we’ve visited. We have never seen one that doesn’t have bouncers on it. It looks so fun! And there were so many bikes— adults and students must ride to school. I am so impressed with the large playground and all the options the students had for activities. Courts, GaGa ball, playground, fields and the trampoline! Plus, inside the building was a swimming pool. Most towns have them and people go swimming all the time.

Our hike for the day was to Eldborg crater, which erupted 5-6,000 years ago. The crater is very round. We had a long hike into the crater by a river, and then through a birch “forest.”

This brought to Mark’s mind the Icelandic forester’s joke:

“What do you do if you’re lost in the forest in Iceland?”

“Stand up!”

After a couple of miles, we reached the base of the crater with some stone steps before a short rock scramble (there were some chains to help) up to the top. The views were beautiful. We could see Snefells and also the trail we had just followed.

We paid a short visit to the smaller crater pictured second row on the right.

And then we made our way back for two miles.

The first saga of the day happened on the way back when I rolled my ankle. Yikes! I can bear weight on it, fortunately, and could walk the remaining couple of miles out. But it is swollen and we may not be able to hike tomorrow.

Our afternoon was spent in Borgarnes to visit the Settlement Center. It has two really well done exhibits; one about the early history of the settlers, and one that tells many highlights from the saga of Egil (pronounced “ale.”)

Both exhibits had audio tours that took us from little room to little room and the displays were somewhat immersive.

The saga display was especially amazing because an artist has worked the characters in wood. Here are three examples:

Here is Egil as a young boy:

He has a long and eventful life. An incorrigible boy for sure, but he was also a poet, and the poem he recited at three is on the side of a building in town:

Egil had a beloved Nanny and her nickname is Brak.

She comes to a sorry end when, after defending Egil from his angry father, the father chases Brak to the sea and throws a boulder at her which hits her between the shoulder blades. The saga is quite specific on this point, and includes that neither Brak nor the boulder were ever seen again.

Meanwhile, that place where she disappeared has two sculptures in her honor:

So that was our second saga of the day.

These sagas were recorded by the poet Snori, who made his home nearby. There are many parts and Egil had quite a number of adventures, perhaps making more enemies than friends along the way.

There are so many things to contemplate around this history and lore. Iceland had no inhabitants when the Vikings discovered it. Due to the dense foliage, the explorations had to be along the coast or near rivers. As the trees were cut down, though, the soil washed away. The volcanic soils are fragile and so it will take eons to build back up again. Meanwhile, we see the rocky and barren landscape of today.

The early society was literate right from its start. Family’s are recorded, as is some history and the sagas. This is amazing too.

It’s hard for me not to wince at the matter of fact violence in the sagas. Instead of reading about a general death blow, for instance, it’s likely to read about how “the ax when halfway through his head and this killed him.” How young are the students when they read these sagas?

Then I started to think about some of our action movies. There is a lot of specific and grisly violence in the name of entertainment. Human nature hasn’t changed much I guess.

The third saga for the day: The Angelica massacres! Yes, in two locations, Angelicas have been smitten. Look!

Turning to a pleasanter topic, the meadows near the river on the way into Eldborg had some really captivating plants; hands and knees botany for every one:

And last, this little boat. I took seventeen pictures of it. Only two are making the blog. The top two are the whole scene.

And this is how I tried to compose for a good photo: