Christina got this great shot of a lava field being eroded away by a glacial river.

Before we came to Iceland, before we even bought plane tickets, we began to research the sorts of things in which we’d be interested in seeing. One of our main joined areas of interested is scenery that makes for beautiful photographs (Michael) or for great attempts to make beautiful photographs (me).

When you’re in Vik, there are a few breathtaking sights that are hard to ignore. There are basalt columns, glacier rivers, the black lava beaches, an awesome natural stone archway, and even the remains of a crashed plane. And let us not forget that the whole area is surrounded by glacier covered mountains and covered in fields of laval rocks and sand.

Panoramic shot of the incredible mountains, glaciers and the vast black sand desert on the way to our first destination. We had to go a bit off the beaten path for this one… (Make sure to click and view it at it’s full size)

Having a light schedule for the day, the only fixed point was checking into our hotel in Nupar (near Skaftafell National Park) in the afternoon, we decided to dedicate most of our free time to photography. We grabbed breakfast and headed to the beaches.

Abandoned U.S. Navy Plane

The morning light, black desert, and pale sky made the wreckage look like something directly out of a Sci-Fi movie.

In 1973 a United States Navy airplane was abandoned on the beaches of Sólheimasandur. This was our first destination. We arrived early enough that most of the other late winter photographers were not yet around giving us, for a while, an isolated ruin to marvel at.

Scattered all along the beaches are boulders and rocks dragged across the sand by glacier floods or rolled off a mountain during an eruption. They looked like marathon runners aiming for the ocean clustered in big groups or isolated as they fell behind or pushed ahead.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t get a shot of our chariot for this adventure! Here he is posed on the black sand desert in front of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. As you can see, getting to the plane wreckage needs to be done with great care… there’s a path there, but only just barely.

Had to take a selfie in front of the wreckage for good measure.

Natural Arch and Black Sand Beaches

Gorgeous black sand beach, crystal blue water and the natural arch in the distance.

Once we’d finished photographing the airplane, we headed farther east where the natural arch way stood.  The arch can be seen from the road, which winds around the mountains and brings the beautiful curve in and out of view. From the beaches, the view is a bit limited, since the arch stretches out into the ocean, but there are a few nearby cliffs that offer vantage points.

We climbed all over one or two of them, marveling at the ocean pummeling the cliffs smooth. It’s amazing to see the height the waves have gotten, or maybe we were looking at the paths glaciers had carved themselves through the rocks. Either way, we climbed as high as we could and took photos of all the scenery. At one point, we found part of the cliff had been naturally hollowed out like a shallow bowl. We decided it must be a dragon’s nest.

Christina sitting in the dragon’s nest. Had to be quick or else the dragon might know she was there…

The Troll Rocks

Another view of the beaches, cliffs, and troll rocks off in the distance.

Almost directly east of the arch were a group of rocks jutting out of the ocean. These are the troll rocks or Reynisdrangar. Legend has it that one night trolls were dragging a three-masted ship to land but were unable to reach their destination before the sun turned them to stone.

Many people asked me why we wanted to come here. I’m assuming most of them had not seen the amazing pictures of glaciers, waterfalls, or the aurora borealis because I feel like the scenery itself compels one to visit. But one of the main draws for me was wealth of old fables, folktales, sagas, and mythology connected with Iceland.

It’s hard to visit without hearing about trolls or the hidden people. Even today, most Icelanders have a deeply held respect for the lore of the land. More than half the people who live here, while perhaps not strictly believing in trolls or the elves, would not completely rule out the possibility of their existence either. It is hard to drive through the country without seeing clusters of rocks that look troll-ish enough to make you want to believe too or maybe a sight so magical that you know if elves and fairies existed, this is where they would exist.

The longer I’m here, the more I hope one of the rocks I see trailing along the beaches or the group of them stacked on top of each other in a field will turn to look back. I keep hoping a dream of some sort will reveal the fair-folk, rumored to still inhabit the island (and bestow such dreams).

For now, I have the stories of troll rocks and tales of fire (volcanos) and ice (glaciers).