Iceland Day 5: Northern Lights, Folk Museum, Diamond Beach, Glaciers, and Waterfalls

 We saw the Northern Lights two or three times on our trip. It was very ethereal. We had a hard time recognizing it at first. Without the camera lens the colors are not nearly so vivid.  Hubby was able to capture some of it with his super photography skills.

Skogar Folk Museum

 I loved visiting these sod farmhouses.  They are made from originals brought in from various farms around the country. The doorways were tiny.

They used sod because all the wood had been used up by the vikings for building or charcoal making. The wooden houses were mostly made of drift wood collected on the beaches.  Wood was very valuable and anyone who found a piece on the beach would carve their initials into it to claim it. They mostly burned sheep dung for warmth. It made the houses very smoky. 

 In those days farms were spread far apart (they are still quite far apart, cars just help a lot). They had to be self sufficient. This is the farmer's tool shed.  He would have had to be part blacksmith, part farmer, part carpenter. There was an anvil and tiny forge.

 More alfhol (elf houses):

Botany:

And some houses of more well to do folks:

Skogar Waterfall -- right next door to the folk museum:

  Hubby got wet getting this close to the falls:

 

Diamond Beach - me with some of the small icebergs:

 

 

Jokulsarlon- Glacier Lagoon

 Across the road from Diamond Beach is Jokulsarlon - all the massive icebergs that are floating out to sea and then washing up on the beach.

Seal swimming in with the icebergs:

Massive icebergs floating out to sea:

Selfie: 

 

 Incredible glacier

 I had read that September was sheep round up time, but I did not expect to get to see it for myself. They call it "Rettir".  They were driving the flocks that they had gathered from the mountains down the road with four wheelers.

They gather them all into a big pen and then sort them by the farm they belong to - according to their earmarks.

We went to Vik to the see the puffin beach... but this is what it looked like:

 Bah! Too wet and misty to see anything.   We finished off a long day of touring with a quick stop at Seljandsfoss. It was pretty dark by the time we arrived. This was one that we had really wanted to get to so that we could take a picture behind the falls. Unfortunately, it was too dark and my contacts were burning my eyes so I couldn't see well and had to hold on to Aaron as we hiked behind the waterfall. He still got some pretty pics:

And one of us -- me in pain since my eyes hurt so bad. Funny in hindsight though.