Page 45 - 2000 ICELAND

volcano surely demonstrated here that its reputation as a destroyer and
creator is well deserved. The ash and lava create more land and lay the

groundwork for soil, but they also destroy farms, homes, animals, people,
and then bury the soil. All around this area are thousands of feet of piled-up

ash, weird volcanic lava shapes, bare mountain slopes and black ash blocks
and pieces. Then suddenly, you drive into the exact opposite of that

volcanic wasteland and are in a spectacularly lovely long valley with moss-

covered hillsides, wide valleys, sparklingly clear rivers and streams, widely
different colors in the bluffs and exposed rocks in rhyolite, yellows, oranges,

greens and grays.

Our hike here was excellent, not too strenuous, but visually very rewarding.
Our lunch was outside in all that splendor. We started the hike in rain-suits

which were definitely needed but it gradually cleared and we striped to
short sleeves. We have become a cohesive and friendly group now, with

much teasing and laughing. There are some who do not join in, but we

figure it’s because their English isn’t up to it and certainly our French would
never permit any interplay. Thank goodness, Oskar is articulate and

entertaining in both languages. When he gets very tired, he sometimes
draws blanks (mostly when he’s speaking French) and sometimes he just

can’t stand the internal and constant translating and resorts to ignoring us
all and talking Icelandic to Magnus.