This play of colours continued for half
an hour, then faded gradually till it vanished entirely, and the
ordinary atmosphere took its place. It was one of the most
beautiful appearances I had ever witnessed.
June 25th.
The roads separate about a mile behind the little town of
Thingvalla; the one to the left goes to Reikholt, the right-hand one
leads to the Geyser. We rode for some time along the shores of the
lake, and found at the end of the valley an awful chasm in the rock,
similar to the one of Almanagiau, which we had passed on such a
wretched road.
The contiguous valley bore a great resemblance to that of
Thingvalla; but the third one was again fearful. Lava covered it,
and was quite overgrown with that whitish moss, which has a
beautiful appearance when it only covers a portion of the lava, and
when black masses rise above it, but which here presented a most
monotonous aspect.
We also passed two grottoes which opened at our feet. At the
entrance of one stood a pillar of rock supporting an immense slab of
lava, which formed an awe-inspiring portal. I had unfortunately not
known of the existence of these caves, and was consequently
unprepared to visit them. Torches, at least, would have been
requisite. But I subsequently heard that they were not at all deep,
and contained nothing of interest.
In the course of the day we passed through valleys such as I had
seen nowhere else in Iceland. Beautiful meadow-lawns, perfectly
level, covered the country for miles. These rich valleys were, of
course, tolerably well populated; we frequently passed three or four
contiguous cottages, and saw horses, cows, and sheep grazing on
these fields in considerable numbers.
The mountains which bounded these valleys on the left seemed to me
very remarkable; they were partly brown, black, or dark blue, like
the others; but the bulk of which they were composed I considered to
be fine loam-soil layers, if I may trust my imperfect mineralogical
knowledge. Some of these mountains were topped by large isolated
lava rocks, real giants; and it seemed inexplicable to me how they
could stand on the soft soil beneath.
In one of these valleys we passed a considerable lake, on and around
which rose circling clouds of steam proceeding from hot springs, but
of no great size. But after we had already travelled about twenty-
five miles, we came to the most remarkable object I had ever met
with; this was a river with a most peculiar bed.
This river-bed is broad and somewhat steep; it consists of lava
strata, and is divided lengthwise in the middle by a cleft eighteen
to twenty feet deep, and fifteen to eighteen feet broad, towards
which the bubbling and surging waters rush, so that the sound is
heard at some distance. A little wooden bridge, which stands in the
middle of the stream, and over which the high waves constantly play,
leads over the chasm. Any one not aware of the fact can hardly
explain this appearance to himself, nor understand the noise and
surging of the stream. The little bridge in the centre would be
taken for the ruins of a fallen bridge, and the chasm is not seen
from the shore, because the foaming waves overtop it. An
indescribable fear would seize upon the traveller when he beheld the
venturous guide ride into the stream, and was obliged to follow
without pity or mercy.
The priest of Thingvalla had prepared me for the scene, and had
advised me to WALK over the bridge; but as the water at this season
stood so high that the waves from both sides dashed two feet above
the bridge, I could not descend from my horse, and was obliged to
ride across.
The whole passage through the stream is so peculiar, that it must be
seen, and can scarcely be described. The water gushes and plays on
all sides with fearful force; it rushes into the chasm with
impetuous violence, forms waterfalls on both sides, and breaks
itself on the projecting rocks. Not far from the bridge the cleft
terminates; and the whole breadth of the waters falls over rocks
thirty to forty feet high. The nearer we approached the centre, the
deeper, more violent, and impetuous grew the stream, and the more
deafening was the noise. The horses became restless and shy; and
when we came to the bridge, they began to tremble, they reared, they
turned to all sides but the right one, and refused to obey the
bridle. With infinite trouble we at last succeeded in bringing them
across this dangerous place.
The valley which is traversed by this peculiar river is narrow, and
quite enclosed by lava mountains and hills; the inanimate, silent
nature around is perfectly adapted to imprint this scene for ever on
the traveller's memory.
This remarkable stream had been the last difficulty; and now we
proceeded quietly and safely through the beautiful valleys till we
approached the Geyser, which a projecting hillock enviously
concealed from my anxiously curious gaze. At last this hillock was
passed; and I saw the Geyser with its surrounding scenery, with its
immense steam pillars, and the clouds and cloudlets rising from it.
The hill was about two miles distant from the Geyser and the other
hot springs. There they were, boiling and bubbling all around, and
through the midst lay the road to the basin. Eighty paces from it
we halted.
And now I stood before the chief object of my journey; I saw it, it
was so near me, and yet I did not venture to approach it. But a
peasant who had followed us from one of the neighbouring cottages,
and had probably guessed my anxiety and my fear, took me by the hand
and constituted himself my cicerone.
