South Iceland day 1: hydropower, black sand and puffins

What a country! Thursday and Friday, Agust and Krisjan took us on the most amazing trip to the southern coast of Iceland. It began with a stop at Burfell Hydropower Station, a fully operating plant producing energy for a big chunk of Iceland. We went on a tour of the station, checked out the generators and the room with the turbine, and then looked around a little museum they just opened in the station. It was great to finally see all that we talked about in lecture. After that, it was time for a true Icelandic lunch! We drove down a gravel road (very common in Iceland) to a place called Stong. Back in 1104, a massive eruption of Mount Hekla caused the settlers and farms to be destroyed, so it is a hotspot for archaeology studies. The farm and house was later rebuilt in the mountains based on the excavated findings. We took a short walk through the lava covered hills to the house and ate Skyr (Icelandic greek-like yogurt) and dried cod (fish beef jerky). The skyr was delicious, and I'm still deciding how I feel about the dried fish.
After lunch, we decided to go waterfall hunting even though it was freezing cold and raining. We drove a bit further along the dirt road, traveling deeper into the middle of nowhere until finally we decided to get out and hike around. All of a sudden, we went over a hill and around a corner to find the most amazing picturesque waterfall. It was a whole series of waterfalls snaking around boulders and a big grassy mound with natural caves. I now know why Icelandic people believe in elves, or hidden people, because there are so many caves carved into the hillsides. Of course, we had to go down to see the beauty up close and Kristjan didn't think twice before leading us down the steep banks of the valley. We walked along the grassy island and into the hobbit holes. Kristjan introduced us to the purity and freshness of the springs here. He made us all stick our faces into the water and drink it and wash it over our faces. It is no myth, Iceland has the most pure and fresh water.

4km tunnel connecting the two reservoirs

After that little detour, we headed to the site of a power station under construction. This power station is one of five that will be a 'Run of the River hydroelectricity' on the Thyorsa River. This basically means that the river provides power to all the power stations and there is really no large drop or storage dam before, A reservoir is created artificially and the discharged water goes back into the river to flow down to the next plant. This plant took the water from a reservoir that is 4 km away, so a massive tunnel had to be drilled through the hills so the water can travel and fill up in a basin right before the station. The water will then flow through the station, turning the turbine and creating energy, then be discharged back into the river.

It was very cool seeing the plant under construction. It gave me a real feel for the immense size of the plant. We were able to go down into the empty reservoir and walk through the opening where the water pipe would go into the turbines and man did I feel tiny! The base for the turbine was in place as well as a massive pipe for the discharge water to flow out of. This plant definitely gave me a much better understanding of the power that can be harnessed with water.

  After the plant we ventured farther down the coast. It was a foggy and rainy day and normally we would’ve been able to see the glacier Eyjafjallajökull towering over the farms but it was too foggy out. We kept driving and eventually the paved road turned into a gravel road and then a deserted parking lot. As we got out of the car I was blown away with the scenery. Towering mossy cliffs to my left covered with white birds soaring around and a black sandy beach to my right with the sound of waves crashing in the distance. We walked onto the ash covered beach and along to the basalt cliffs which formed rock pillar cliffs and a scary looking cave along the beach.

Finally it was time for dinner. I wasn't sure what to expect, so when we pulled up to a cute little house in the middle of fields overlooking a cliff on the black beach with a lighthouse atop it, I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out Agust's mother owned this gorgeous summer house and offered to cook us a traditional Icelandic feast of lamb and potatoes with an apple cake for desert! It was delicious! After dinner she gave Agust a special key that took us on a private road up to the top of the cliff where we saw our first group of puffins and once again relished in the beauty of the coast. We then drove to our hotel in the town of Skogar, which is famous for the waterfall Skogafoss. Our hotel was very nice (with real mattresses and bath robes!) and we were very pleased to discover it had an outdoor hot tub and sauna. We dropped our bags, changed into our suits and spent the rest of the night relaxing in the tub, taking in the incredible day we just had and debating what more was to come tomorrow.