These "buildings" are the remnants of a farm from the 17th century, which is still operating today, including a blacksmith forge, hay storage, and sheep stalls. Throughout the countryside we saw many buildings with these earthern roofs; in various stages of deterioration. Presumably the earth on the sides and roof provides insulation from the harsh Iceland winters. It was also very common to see these farms and homes tucked up under the face of the mountain; in a few places there were car-size boulders that had rolled down the mountain missing the homes - so far.

***********Click on picture for more detailed photos of the glacier********** The highlight of our visit to the Vatnajokull glacier was the Jokulsarlon (glacier lagoon), where the glacier empties into the ocean. This was the end point of our 12 hour 800 km saga today, and clearly the highlight of the trip. The sarlon is about 5 km long, and up to 200 m deep in places, with some of the bergy bits spending as long as 7 years floating around the lagoon before making it out to the sea. This was the location for two James Bond movie shoots. Enjoy the fruits of our long trek, while we get some rest.

This lagoon formed from the mineral salt-rich water from the steam vented to the surface in the middle of this massive lava field. Many people travel here from around the world, for the healing properites of this water. The steam you can see in the background is a geothermal plant which generates electricity and steam for the surrounding area.

Here's a shot of our hotel in Iceland. You can see they have the open air concept here and plenty of air conditioning. Ok not really, but I think someone actually lived here a long time ago, within sight of the lighthouse at Valahnukur.

You can hear the roar long before you see the falls. This is very much Iceland's Niagara Falls. This very cold water flows down from the Langjokull glacier a few miles away, eventually finding its way to the ocean. If you look closely you can see some brave souls (read fools) out on the rock outcropping over the falls.

We drove almost halfway across the country today. Not all the roads were of the best quality, as you can see. However, our little Jimmy had no problem navigating wherever we wanted to go. We were passed however, by some of the locals doing 100 km (at least) on these roads.