Snaefellsjokkull

I won't attempt to pronounce this one but just to say that I am at the centre point of my journey.  This is my first eerie glimpse of this mountain. 

Apparently this is where all the lay lines converge from around the globe.  There are other such places, Glastonbury etc but this one appears to be special.  

It certainly lives up to its brooding nature and I get a vague uneasy feeling as I draw close.  Not a surprise that I find out that Tolkien was fascinated by the stories found in the Icelandic Sagas. 

Did you know that the Icelandic Sagas were the first books ever written in native tongue telling a story rather than verse? They date back to 12th century. 

The statue is a memorial to a young man who died of exposure on the mountain pass over to the other side of the island in 1929.  It pays homage to the spirit of Bardur who mythically gave his life by jumping into the crater and was turned into the great spirit who watches over the area.  

  

Can you see any elves? I must admit when your cycling through these lava fields you do get the sense of being watched! And my bike started to make squeaking noises... So I asked the elves to stop messing with me bike... Sorted :-)

Jukes Verne plays an important part here too.  Apparently he used the glacier at the top for his background to Journey to The Centre of The World.  

So I find the campsite and settle in. The cliffs to the shore a fee hundred meters away are home to many birds and the noise is amazing. They don't go to sleep either it seems.  I'm really looking forward to seeing a puffin.  But that's later on my journey. I hope!