Ghost? Yeti? Alien?
The “ghost” looked to the south. Interested perhaps in the ruins of the abandoned farmhouse at Dagverðará by the south coast of the peninsula, heavily decorated by graffiti.
This afternoon, driving round the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland, my wife and I spotted this strange appearance on top of the Snæfellsjökull glacier. It looked like a ghost to me, a friend pointed out it might perhaps be Yeti the “Abominable Snowman”. Or was it perhaps the mythical protector of the peninsula, half man, half giant Bárður Snæfellsás?
The “ghost” looked to the south. Interested perhaps in the ruins of the abandoned farmhouse at Dagverðará by the south coast of the peninsula, heavily decorated by graffiti. Perhaps he had read the “Save the glaciers” and “Save the rainforests” messages from his glacial throne?
The Snaefellsjokull glacier features in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth where it serves as the entrance to the center of earth, and many believe it to have mystical properties. Residents in the area often claim they can “feel the power” of the glacier.
In his novel Heimsljós (World Light) Icelandic novelist Halldór Laxness describes it thus:
“Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands.”
In November 1993 after a series of peculiar sightings over and around the glacier, thousands of people from all over the world gathered in the area, convinced aliens were about to land on the glacier.
The aliens never came, at least nobody saw them.
Or perhaps they’ve just been hiding until now?
Anyhow, a couple of minutes later, our guy was again covered with clouds. Most likely never to be spotted again.
Do you believe in magic? No joy, no sorrow, only beauty. But we say it's beauty because it gives us joy.