This was the case with us to-day.

To judge from the map, the distance from Thingvalla to Reikholt seemed less by a great deal than that from Reikjavik to Thingvalla, and yet we were full fourteen hours accomplishing it--two hours longer than on our yesterday's journey.
So long as our way lay through the valley of Thingvalla there was no lack of variety.

At one time there was an arm of the river Oxer to cross, at another we traversed a cheerful meadow; sometimes we even passed through little shrubberies,--that is to say, according to the Icelandic acceptation of the term.

In my country these lovely shrubberies would have been cleared away as useless underwood.

The trees trail along the ground, seldom attaining a height of more than two feet.