Volcanoes, Geysers, and Trolls, oh my!

I was restless and then this opportunity came up for me to go to Iceland. So, I went. And what an adventure it was. I was excited to go and see the natural wonders there, but what I did not realize was how much it would embody my favorite books and movies and how much the land is steeped in lore.

I believe it will take me several posts before I'm finished. I'll try to stick to one topic per post, but I may get a little carried away.

The bay in Reykjavik.

Hmm, I think I will start with the trolls. I went on two excursions with different companies, yet both guides spoke of the trolls. Now I knew trolls were a part of Icelandic lore from reading The Story of Grettir the Strong, by Allen French, but I was surprised and delighted when the guides started talking about them.

The first guide told us that trolls were big, strong, stupid, and turned to stone when the light comes up. Check, check, check, check. Exactly how they are in The Hobbit.

Troll Couple with Boat

The next day, on the other excursion I had the opportunity to actually see some trolls, turned to stone off course.  The first two are located near Vík, a small coastal town (the southernmost town in Iceland). From the place where we stopped for lunch we could see them standing in the surf, frozen as they struggled to drag their three masted boat to shore before day dawned. There were two, a husband and wife troll. The interesting thing is that the bigger, wider one is the wife and the tall skinny one is the husband. The guide said this was so because just as women tend to outlive men, so this wider lump of rock would outlive the tall thin one as the elements beat upon them.

Lone Troll

As we stood on the outcropping near the third troll, we could see the two trolls with their boat in the distance. That's were I took the photo above.

 The third troll was located at the cape of Dyrhólaey. Here is a photo of him standing on the sand, the waves lapping at his feet. He's huge, over one story tall.



Here is another picture for size and location's sake.

Lone Troll

More on Iceland soon.

All photos are my own.

The Road goes ever on and on without me

Photo Credit: Edana A.

"The Road goes ever on and on
 Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
and I must follow if I can,
 Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
 Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
~ from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Photo Credit: Edana A.

Sometimes I want to just take a road and follow it all the way from it's source to it's end, wherever that may be, and just see what happens to it. Does it grow larger or smaller, what places does it pass through, does it meander through the woods and little towns, does it pass through big towns or open country? Where does it go?

Sometimes my heart cries out in restless desperation because I cannot follow all roads (usually when I am sight-seeing and exploring), I cannot go around every corner. On and on, the road and the land go, and I always wonder, "what's around the bend, what's over the next hill, the next stone?"

Just as in the poem, the road goes on ahead without me, and I chase it with my small feet, but then I meet a fork, or some side path, or I have to go back for I have neither time nor energy to keep going.

Bilbo spoke of being "swept" of his feet, and he told Frodo, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the Road and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.  Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further to worse places?"

Sometimes you leave the house and you don't know what will happen in the course of the day or were you will go, you may have a destination, but that may change, or other destinations are added, or a wrong turn will bring you to sights and places you didn't expect to go. It's like life.  

Like little hobbits, we live out our humdrum lives, but maybe we will be called to a higher purpose and go to lands we never dreamed of.

Photo Credit: Edana A.