Iceland: part 2
DAY 4
Today like many days when you travel, we adapted. Late the night before we realized that many of the things we wanted to see were a bit beyond where we had planned to go. There are essentially two schools of thought when this happens: man I am tired let's skip it or well we already paid all this money to be here, let's make a long day. We went with the latter and decided to push on further down to southeast Iceland enroute to see Diamond Beach.
The reason this beach is referred to as “Diamond Beach” is because of the large pieces of glacier ice that wash up on the beach and when the sun hits them can resemble something like a diamond. Not to burst the bubble ahead of time but this was a bit underwhelming. I am unsure if it was just the time of year or if it was just an unlucky day but there weren’t very many blocks of ice on the beach. Now you may be thinking, “oh wow you should have just stuck with the original plan to not drive as far,” and this is where you would be wrong. Just across the road was a beautiful bay filled with thousands of pieces of ice, floating in the water before they went out to sea. This was truthfully a pleasant surprise for what we thought was a wasted drive there. To top this off there were several seals that were swimming in the water around the ice and made for a very enjoyable time. After we spent some time watching the seals and walking along the shore we piled back in our very compact car and headed back west towards some other sites we had in mind.
Along the way we stopped for a quick lunch of sandwiches in a field being watched over by the mountains, it was truthfully breathtaking. The singular complaint I have about Iceland is the lie we were told by tons of people before going that there are not insects there. I will say it was nice not having anything that can bite you but these tiny gnat sized bugs were everywhere on a majority of hikes and while we ate lunch. They didn’t bite but they swarmed everything… so be warned.
Anyways after lunch we piled back in and drove about a mile down the road to a park that I beg you to send me videos of you trying to pronounce: Vatnajökulspjódgardur. Yep, good luck with that. But there may be a clip on our YouTube of someone giving it a shot if you want a good look at what not to say. The special part about this park is the option to do two different things, hike uphill to another waterfall or hike a flatter trail to a glacier, which do you think we chose? Trick question, the group divided and conquered. My Dad, Bre and I hunted out what felt like our hundredth waterfall, Svartifoss.
The funniest thing about it though is it was just as much worth it as all the rest. This waterfall was the first one we actually had to hike back to see, it was about 45 minutes straight uphill. It was one of those bitter sweet moments too when you get most of the way there and realize that there is a parking lot just a few minutes hike from the waterfall. Nevertheless we didn’t let this get us down and we carried on to find a stunning waterfall. It was situated in what could best be described as a bowl and had very squared rocks surrounding it.
After taking it in for a moment we started our descent back to the bottom before driving our way onward to Fjadrargljufur Canyon. Again, good luck pronouncing it, our navigation didn’t even give it a shot. This Canyon was also made famous by Justin Bieber, so much so in fact it had to close down in order that all of the flora could regrow. It was a huge canyon and the trail carried on for several miles so we just saw a portion of it. Even though we only saw part of it, it was still well worth the stop.
Our final stop of the day was in the tiny town of Vik, you may be able to pronounce that one. This seaside town was wedged between two very green mountains and beautifully situated right on another black sand beach. It was a short stop here but you could easily spend an afternoon in this sleepy little town. After another dinner of fish and chips we made our way back the few hours to Hella before a less busy day the next day.
DAY 5
This morning, day 5 to be exact, Bre and I started our day with a walk down our dirt road by the house. It was such a peaceful and beautiful morning out. We were extremely blessed by the weather in early June, it was 50’s or 60’s almost everyday. On the way back from our hike Bre made friends with some local Icelandic Horses before being attacked by those aforementioned pesky bugs.
Following our walk, some people decided to have a rest day while my Dad, Bre and I made our way to some sites closer by. Our first stop was lunch near Selfoss, a larger town just up the road from Hella. After lunch we stopped at a giant crater with a lake inside. Kerid Crater was as clear blue as you can get, surrounded by red rocks and green grassy flora. The hike around the rim and down didn't take more than 40 minutes and we were on our way again.
This time we were off to find my dad a private natural hot spring to swim in. This was recommended to us by the bus driver a few days before. Sadly the one she mentioned was very expensive, not very large, and packed. For having the term “secret” in the name, it sure appeared as though the secret was out. We quickly decided against this and made one more stop at yet another waterfall. I know now that you probably don’t believe me that it is just as unique as the previous one, but it was. Hjalparfoss was a very secluded waterfall, with almost no one and nothing around. This waterfall was two more powerful ones meeting in a little lagoon. It was so nice I had to stick my feet in.
This was a great ending to another successful day traveling throughout Iceland. Thankfully as you do with travel, you discover things you didn’t plan on. On the drive home we were greeted with yet another gravel road but this one was so desolate that there was not a single other sign of life around for the most part. It looked as if we were on the surface of the moon, surrounded by mountains, and with the nearest town 30 miles away. It was a perfect surprise at the end of the day.
DAY 6
Happy Icelandic Independence day! Day 6 was one that started with a very long drive from the south of Iceland, all the way to the town of Akureyri in the north. This drive was mostly boring but as we got closer to the north we were greeted with high mountains as we drove the valley in between. Our goal was to make it to the town of Akureyri in time for an annual airshow in celebration of their independence. When we finally made it, the airport was packed, we were very excited for what was sure to be an amazing show. This however, was not the case. The show was fairly anticlimactic, with a few planes doing some fun stunts but really that was it.
We decided to go onward to Godafoss, yes I know another waterfall, but hey this one is called mini Niagara Falls so it has to be good right? Even by this point, with as many waterfalls as we had seen, this one was still good. It looked really similar to Niagara, on a much smaller scale. It was slightly busier than the others but the drive in was very beautiful. There is a tunnel you have to pay a toll on in the north, but you can bypass it for a free drive on a much prettier road.
The next thing we did, is something we discovered when traveling on our friend trip to Spain, date night. This is the best thing when traveling with a group, because no matter how well you like each other prior, you will need a break. Even if you are single, take a few hours away from the group, to process, do something you want to do, and relax. It will absolutely make the rest of the trip more enjoyable with the whole group. On our date night, Bre and I grabbed a quick bite at the ever abundant Shawarma shops scattered across Europe. Following dinner we climbed a bunch of stairs and saw the main church in Akureyri, with a botanical garden and ice cream to follow.
After meeting up with the rest of the group we made our way more north, through a one way tunnel, and to another stunning airbnb. Bre and I made the most of it by sitting in the hot tub, and watching the mountains and multiple waterfalls in view of our sun room. It was a very peaceful ending to a great day. Stay tuned for part 3, where we do something not many travelers to Iceland do but I firmly believe more should! Until next time, go and take a trip!
