You can also get insights into turf-life at Glaumbaer, near Saurtharkrokur, a restored farmhouse that dates from the 18th and 19th centuries. The main building is actually a collection of nine or so "houses" joined by a central corridor and connected to five more "houses" with separate entrances.

In all, it could accommodate about 22 people, both the farmer's family and his workers. Each man worked and ate sitting on his own bed. On the private shelf — the only artifact that Iceland claims as truly its own — a cylindrical wooden dish with a lid, often intricately carved.

Houses such as Glaumbaer were used in Iceland until around 1900, when they were gradually replaced by the reinforced concrete structures used today.

Thorgeir Thorkelsson: Bringer of Christianity

By the year 1000, a healthy contingent of Christians mixed with pagans in the country. The assembly at Thingviller felt it would be wise to officially go one way or the other. The decision was given to Thorgeir Thorkelsson, the leader of the pagans.

After "hibernating" under a bear skin for three days — and thus giving rise to an Icelandic saying that you must "go under the skin of the bear" when you have to make a hard decision — Thorkelsson opted for Christianity, as long as pagans would not be discriminated against and certain practices were still allowed.

To prove his sincerity, Thorkelsson took his spirit pillars and threw them into a nearby waterfall, which has ever after been known as Godafoss.

Godafoss is only one of many striking waterfalls dotting the landscape of Iceland. Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Svartifoss, Hraunfossar, Barnafossar, Gullfoss — each with equally fascinating stories, each with a beauty all its own — are a few of the major falls. You see many more as you drive along the roads, making waterfalls one of the lasting images of the country.

Snorri Sturluson: Sage of the Sagas

Snorri Sturluson, born in 1179, is credited with being one of the first to write down an Icelandic epic, the Egils Saga, which by his day had already been passed by word-of-mouth for 200 or 300 years.

A statue of Snorri, who also served in the Althingi, can be found near Reykholt, where his farmstead once was. The farmstead is long gone, but there is a hot pool that is said to be the oldest man-made structure in all of Iceland, where Snorri soaked his bones and pondered life.

Reykholt is a gateway to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, known not only for its dramatic landscape but also as the setting for other Icelandic tales, including the Eyrbyggja and Laxdaela Sagas.

It is not surprising that this area was chosen by author Jules Verne as his gateway to the Center of the Earth.

Even now, you can stand on this dramatic sweep of land and know that you are at the center, if not of the universe, at least a place apart, a place dressed in a coat of many colors where history and geology are woven in endlessly fascinating ways.

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com