1. East IcelandA Collage of Landscapes August 2011

2. Interior of East Iceland – land of dunes and rock

3. Route 1 – the Ring Road, the only highway to circle Iceland

4. Land of waterfalls

5. Jökulsá á Dal

9. Breiðdalur – our introduction to the East Fjords

11. Switchback roads down into Breiðdalur

12. Rhyolite peaks of Breiðdalur

14. Bus stops in the middle of nowhere – typical Iceland!

17. Fishing village of Breiðdalsvík

21. Berufjörður

26. Fish hatchery in the fjord

27. Djúpivogur – fishing village, population 360

28. Local police have a sense of humor!

30. Djúpivogur, founded by German merchants in the 16th century, is the oldest community in the East Fjords.

34. Austurhorn

35. Jökulsa I Lóni river estuary in Lónsöræfi Nature Reserve

37. Lónsöræfi hosts a colony of swans in autumn

38. Vesturhorn

40. Höfn – population 1640

42. Views of Vatnajökull from Höfn Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap outside of the Arctic, a total 8000 square km and 1 km thick. Home to numerous volcanoes, including Grímsvötn, the volcano that erupted earlier in the spring.

46. Drive from Höfn to Skaftafell Best way to appreciate the sheer scale of Vatnajökull – drive along the Ring Road on its eastern side. The drive took a total of 2 hours past multiple glaciers!

47. Volcanic eruptions under the ice cap create massive jökulhlaups – sudden floods of glacial melt waters so powerful they carry huge boulders and leave behind floodplains of volcanic debris.

56. Jökulsárlón – the glacial river lagoon

59. Jökulsárlón started forming in the 1940s and continues to grow as the glaciers of the Vatnajökull rapidly retreat. Breiðamerkurjökull once reached the Ring Road.

60. My close encounter with the icebergs.

64. Icebergs on their journey out to sea.

65. Melting icebergs marooned on the black sand beach

67. I stand on the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean!

68. Looking back towards the lagoon and Vatnajökull

70. The Icelandic sense of humor

76. Svínafell – Viking-era farm, once home to FlosiÞórðarson, known for burning Njál to death and sparking a bitter feud, as dramatized in Njál’s Saga.