The mountains of Skagafjordur are some of the most dramatic in Iceland and Sunday was a warm clear day so in the afternoon we decided to climb to a ledge behind Holar which the Bishop Guomundur Arason allegedly climbed to every day, in the early 13th c, to pray.
The path up to the mountain ran through one of the larger Icelandic woods.  This was astonishingly beautiful; crooked wooden bridges spanned gorgeously clear little streams and high trees grew densely enough beside the pathways for one to imagine one were in a far larger, deeper forest.  It was possible to imagine somebody getting lost in here, standing up and still being totally fucked.

Once we passed through the woods we stood at the mountain foot.  In order to better commune with nature I decided to make the assent barefooted.  The ground was cool and refreshing beneath my feet and I felt as one with the beasts of the earth and the fishes of the sea though, sadly, I was not able to take in the spectacular vistas walking up for fear of stepping on a painful stone.

From the ledge it was possible to see right across the valley and down into the ocean.  We spent a while taking it all in and frolicking merrily amongst the boulders and feeling the moss between our toes in the manner of the Bishop Arason.