Take Me Back to Kirkjubæjarklaustur

If you're not living on the edge, then you're taking up too much space. - Stephen Hunt or Randy Savage

The posting for at this Airbnb described itself as "It's a complete isolation from traditional tourist places!" So we had to drive 20 minutes up a hilly, rocky road to reach the cozy house on an old Icelandic farm. Each time we took that road, I rolled down my windows and turned off the radio. My ears filled with the sound of running streams, brushing grass, and greetings from the sheep. 

We pulled up to a white house with a green roof, three bedrooms inside with a bathroom and large kitchen. The five windows were the highlight. Each view outside, laid a richness of nature. The Airbnb offered an electric stove and a deck of cards. No television, no Wifi, and no music machine-  just peaceful living. 

I spent my time resting the eyes- that's what you do on vacation. We also enjoyed cooking big meals for dinner and studying maps for our next day's adventure. We would look back at the photos he took on his iPad and reflect on what we witnessed. Then we suited up for a little walk. The first night we headed 15 minutes down to the Gorge Fjaðrárgljúfur.

Fjaðrárgljúfur was a little piece of majesty in our front yard. The perfect spot to sit in the moss and watch the waterfalls flow down the rock into the clear pools below. The crisp wind shut out the rushing thoughts in my mind and I meditated at the edge of 100m cliff that ran 2km long. I was resting on top of something that was created 2 million years ago. 

An ice cap had called this area home in the last glacial period. As it retreated, a lake had formed above it where the house we were staying at was positioned. The force of the water eventually split the rock and created a hyaloclastite (soft rock) gorge. You could also access the gorge from the bottom where a powerful stream eventually led to the ocean.  

We made our way back, where warm beds awaited us. As I got ready for bed,  sheep corralled outside my window. It turns out this side of the house shielded them from the cold sideways rain/wind. Their presence felt securing out here in this vast valley. I called them the guardian sheep.