The trunks used in this country are massively constructed of wood,
covered with a rough hide, and strengthened on all sides with nails,
as though they were intended to last an eternity. The poor horses
have a considerable weight to bear in empty boxes alone, so that
very little real luggage can be taken. The weight which a horse has
to carry during a long journey should never exceed 150lbs.
It is impossible to remember how many times our baggage had to be
repacked during a day's journey. The great pieces of turf would
never stay in their places, and every moment something was wrong.
Nothing less than a miracle, however, can prevail on an Icelander to
depart from his regular routine. His ancestors packed in such and
such a manner, and so he must pack also. {35}
We had a journey of above forty miles before us the first day, and
yet, on account of the damaged saddle, we could not start before
eight o'clock in the morning.
The first twelve or fourteen miles of our journey lay through the
great valley in which Reikjavik is situated; the valley contains
many low hills, some of which we had to climb. Several rivers,
chief among which was the Laxselv, opposed our progress, but at this
season of the year they could be crossed on horseback without
danger. Nearly all the valleys through which we passed to-day were
covered with lava, but nevertheless offered many beautiful spots.
Many of the hills we passed seemed to me to be extinct volcanoes;
the whole upper portion was covered with colossal slabs of lava, as
though the crater had been choked up with them. Lava of the same
description and colour, but in smaller pieces, lay strewed around.
For the first twelve or fourteen miles the sea is visible from the
brow of every successive hill. The country is also pretty generally
inhabited; but afterwards a distance of nearly thirty miles is
passed, on which there is not a human habitation. The traveller
journeys from one valley into another, and in the midst of these
hill-girt deserts sees a single small hut, erected for the
convenience of those who, in the winter, cannot accomplish the long
distance in one day, and must take up their quarters for the night
in the valley. No one must, however, rashly hope to find here a
human being in the shape of a host. The little house is quite
uninhabited, and consists only of a single apartment with four naked
walls. The visitor must depend on the accommodation he carries with
him.
The plains through which we travelled to-day were covered throughout
with one and the same kind of lava. It occurs in masses, and also
in smaller stones, is not very porous, of a light grey colour, and
mixed, in many instances, with sand or earth.
