Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2011, Blaðsíða 68

Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2011, Blaðsíða 68
Experience excitement in Iceland’s pure nature or get a bird’s eye view of the country’s most beautiful places Adventure tours Air charter servicesScheduled flights This tour takes you from Reykjavík to the island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands archipelago. Boat trip on the Glacier lagoon and an ATV excursion in the area of Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull. A never-to-be-forgotten trip showing the sharply contrasting faces of Iceland’s natural features. Activity Adventure A Historical Tour of the Westman Islands Ice and Fire – Glaciers and Volcanoes Reykjavík Airport | +354 562 4200 info@eagleair.is | www.eagleair.is Bookingsand information The South and the EastIS OUTSIDE REYKJAVÍK Standing around in the Skaftafell Visitors Centre during midday is more akin to being in a crowded shopping mall than at a nature re- serve. It’s busy. Real busy. Don’t let that scare you off however—the busloads of tourists are all on their way to somewhere, and the Skaf- tafell region is large and bountiful enough to satisfy everyone. The Skaftafell Visitors Centre is an offshoot of Vatnajökull National Park (Skaftafell used to be its own National Park, called Skaftafell National Park, until it was united with Vatnajökull National Park in 2008). It is in direct view of Iceland’s highest peak, Hvan- nadalshnjúkur (2119 m) and encom- passes glacier-tongues Skeiðarárjökull and Skaftafellsjökull, glacial rivers, lagoons, waterfalls and several other stunning sights and places to visit. It has been a local favourite for decades, and is now, as we learned, really popu- lar with visitors to Iceland. Stamps and Svartifoss Inside the centre, we met park ranger Auður Hafstað, who took time off from directing visitors to Svartifoss and sell- ing them stamps to tell us a little bit about life as a park ranger. “The job involves welcoming tourists and travel- lers, and giving them any information they need. We do various acts of main- tenance on the park and its facilities, and then we lead guided walks with a geological theme twice a day, every day—in Icelandic at 11 in the morning and then in English at five in the after- noon.” “This is my second summer here,” she continues,” I was here in the sum- mer of 2001 and I’ve returned now, ten years later. I’ve been here all sum- mer and I can tell you, it doesn’t get boring—even though we’ll often get the same question a thousand times a day. July brings 3500–4000 visitors to the park each day, and usually 2000 of those stop by at the information centre. Most of those wish to know how to get to Svartifoss, and giving directions to there every two minutes is not without its charm, actually. It’s no wonder they want to go there, though it is a fascinat- ing waterfall surrounded by basalt col- umns, and the walk there leads you by two other waterfalls, Magnúsarfoss and Hundafoss, that are also very beautiful. I definitely understand the appeal and am happy to facilitate people visiting it.” While removed from friends and family, Auður says the life of a park ranger is far from tedious. “Honestly, I love it here. The best bit is probably just being so close at all times to nature’s magnificent powers. All these contrasts and opposites: breathtaking beauty that goes with destructive and dangerous forces. Just being here, the land formed by glaciers and fire and is still in forma- tion. I try and go on short trips or hikes every day if I can. Every day, I wake up excited.” Receding glaciers -Has a lot changed in the ten years since you last were park ranger in Skaftafell? “Yes, I couldn’t believe how much the glaciers, Svínafellsjökull, Skaftafell- sjökull and Skeiðarárjökull, have re- ceded in that decade. They are receding at an astronomical speed—Skeiðarár- jökull has all but disappeared, and Skaftafellsjökull has receded a few hun- dred metres in those ten years and left a huge lagoon that wasn’t there the last time I was. It’s exciting really, and noth- ing to fear, as these glaciers have grown and shrunk through the ages. It’s the forces of nature. We are seeing new land being formed, and one can’t help but be excited about what the receding glaciers will reveal. -Has the amount of visitors in- creased a lot? Are you worried that these large groups of travellers might damage the local environment? “We have a lot more tourists now than ten years ago, that’s for sure! But as long as everyone makes sure to fol- low our rules and guidelines, such as staying in the marked path and mak- ing sure they don’t litter, we should be good. We are constantly working on im- proving and fixing the paths here, and are fortunate enough to enjoy the assis- tance of groups of volunteers that come from all over the world to help preserve the region.” Auður was at this instance accosted by a woman who wanted to buy stamps to Europe before hiking to Svartifoss, so we left her to her devices. Be sure to say hi if you drop by. And ask her how to get to Svartifoss. www.vjp.is Tel: +354 4708300 skaftafell@vjp.is Black Ice, Black Falls, Hyper-Colourful Experience If You Worship Nature, Svartifoss Will Be Your Altar Skaftafell is still an awesome place to visit 11 Park ranger Auður Hafstað jokingly told us that the biggest part of her job is telling tourists how to get to the Svartifoss waterfall (“Black Falls”). We all shared a good laugh at that, but when we reached Svar- tifoss after a short hike (as per Auður’s instructions) we instantly understood why all these travellers were so excited to get there. Describing Svartifoss and its surround- ings as ‘a natural cathedral’ is likely a travel writing cliché by now, but that doesn’t make the description any less true. After a 45-minute hike from the information centre that takes you past two waterfalls (Hundafoss and Mag- núsarfoss—those are already sort of stunning), one reaches Svartifoss and the only suitable reaction is to let ones jaw drop and gasp at the wonder of it all. Enveloped by thick, black, hexago- nal basalt columns, the waterfall itself spews forth water from 12 metres up high right at the centre of the stacked basalt columns, that align in sort of a dome or semicircle. One is constantly faced with the question: do I look at the majestic falling water or do I look at the majestic basalt columns and their for- mation. It’s like being religious must feel. One can stand there a long time, looking and listening. And one will probably go there again, later. 11
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