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Dramatic weather at Dyrhólaey - snow, wind and waves


Pictures are at the bottom...

Kata's making a film, and needed to get some winter footage from the beach at Dyrhólaey, and we both wanted to get out into the countryside while she was here, so, it seemed a perfect trip. We got up astoundingly early, and were on the road by 1:30pm. Weather forecasts of 21m/sec winds (75kph) can not keep an Icelander down. We sailed south, through a snow coated, sun soaked winter wonderland. Iceland is fairly devoid of natural wind speed markers like, well, PLANTS, at the best of times, but when it's all covered in firm snow, there is really no frame of reference for judging windspeed.

Eventually, the car seemed to move enough though, so we gathered that there was at least _some_ wind. Turning on to the Dyrhólaey road, with a flawless blanket of snow covering what we both knew to be a fairly rough road gave us both the feeling of journeying where no man hath gone before. We were also leaving the sun and interesting clouds of the south coast behind, heaading towards dark and stormy low clouds hanging over the headland.

Ploughing through what was now horizontal snow rushing past the windscreen of the car, we arrived in carpark, completely alone. Just us, the wind, the snow, and some the crashing waves of high tide and high winds. It was really quite magical, and quite unlike the sunny happy scenic beach of summer. The snow proved to be a bit _too_ dramatic for Kata's needs, but it was fabulous to watch the surf, with waves crashing into the headland. When we arrived we could barely see Dyrhólaey itself, and couldn't see some of the other towers at all, let alone Reynisdrangar.

Of course, Iceland wouldn't be Iceland without equally dramatic mood swings, and while we were there the sun came out, the sun went away again, the snow stopped, the snow started, and then before we left, the wind and snow stopped, the seas calmed down almost instantly, and the sun started to set over one of the bigger towers.

But, still, enough was enough, and we headed back to Skógarfoss, for a quick stop before heading home. Again, we had it completely to ourselves. Until I got out my tripod and started to set up a picture of the falls. Then a big van load of tourists arrived and drove right up to the base of the falls. Oh well. With the light falling by the minute, I couldn't really wait for them to leave :)

The final note for the day is an observation that it seems the entire population of Selfoss goes to KFC for sunday dinner, all between 7 and 8pm. But no-one at all after 8pm.


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