Page 28 - 2000 ICELAND

curlicues at the tops, looking like Corinthian toppings or Medusa hair in
corkscrew patterns. As always, we were accompanied all along the way by

birds singing and the yellow and lavender wildflowers dancing in the sweet
air around them.

Our picnic spot was high over the gray river filled with “glacial milk”. We

enjoyed the lunch because the hike was a vigorous one and all of us were
hungry and thirsty. By lunchtime, we had been hiking about 3 hours.

Magnus met us coming towards the parking lot where the bus hunched in

wait for us. He walked shirtless under the sun and blue sky. These
Icelanders take their warm and sunny days to heart and enjoy them to the

hilt with winters so long and dark.

Later on, during the after-lunch hike, we were shown the “Karl and Karling”
rocks in the middle of the river—eroded portions of old bluffs almost taken

down by the floods. To the Icelanders, the rocks apparently look like a man
and his wife. To us Americans, they looked more like a little cabin with an

associated outhouse. We had to ford a little stream leading into the big

river and we had to do it barefooted. It was so cold that our feet felt numb
when we finished the crossing. The bottom was so stony and the current so

swift and deep (up to knees) that I was grateful that my walking stick kept
me upright. Several ladies fell in and were totally soaked.

JÖKULSÁRGLJÚFUR NATIONAL PARK

We made our way into Jökulsárgljúfur National Park and drove to Hljóðaklettar,

Echo Rocks, a quite stony hike into an amphitheater-like canyon. Here were
deep caves; the overhanging walls above them contained designs like

dinosaur scapulae imbedded into the stone. We heard no echoes even

when some of the French gals sang Frere Jacques. To further cement closer
relations, Kay and I joined their song and started the round. There followed

a lot of laughing and increased camaraderie. The hike back to the parking
lot was actually hot.