Hvitserkur, the dinosaur rock by Gerry van Roosmalen

About "Hvitserkur, the dinosaur rock"

by Gerry van Roosmalen

About the artwork

The many water-filled potholes, or rather mud-filled potholes, of road number 711 are the first obstacle to getting to the troll rock Hvítserkur. Despite manoeuvring carefully between the potholes, there is no avoiding the car being covered up to the roof with the orange mud. The windscreen wipers are running overtime, and nothing can be seen through the side windows for a long time. An almost perpendicular walk downhill The last stretch the road plunges steeply downhill, not very steep, but enough to be grateful that we are driving a 4×4 car. From the car park, I have two options. One is the safe but longer walk down, the other is the short but almost perpendicular walk to the beach some twenty metres below. A beach that almost completely disappears at high tide, but conjures up the most fantastic patterns in the sand at low tide. The troll Hvítserkur was still trying to find a safe haven I opt for the second variant, if only because from the start of the steep stretch you have a nice view of the dinosaur rock. The rock that folklore says was a troll from the Vatnsnes peninsula. Trolls are terrified of Christianity, and this troll was determined to destroy the bells of the þingeyraklaustur monastery. In all his rage to destroy the bells, the troll noticed too late that the sun was about to rise. The troll still tried to find a safe haven, but was transformed into stone by the first rays of the sun. Meanwhile, I am standing at the foot of Hvítserkur and enjoying this 15-metre-high rock, which today, combined with the setting sun and the view of the mountains, offers a beautiful sight.