Iceland's Snaefellsness peninsula

 On our last day in Iceland we drove from the capital Reykjavik to the Snaefellsness peninsula. In warmer weather we would have liked to stop more places along the peninsula but it was very windy again and quite cold, but that's a chance you take when you visit in September. We stopped to see the little black church at Budir, saw some Icelandic horses up close, and took photos of Mt. Kirkjufell with its waterfalls.

The Icelandic horse is a completely unique breed and if one leaves Iceland, it is not allowed to come back.  They protect the health of the breed and the horse population very strictly. Many of these horses had blue eyes! 

The next day we left Iceland for Ireland and Northern Ireland. I'll post about that part of the trip soon. 

Hofn - a mountain and a Viking Village (of sorts)

 The last stop on this very full day of canyon and ice lagoon was Stokkesness to photograph Mt. Vestrahorn. The land is privately owned so you have to pay an entrance fee - one of the few places we paid for anything other than parking. 

I wanted to get a good photo of the mountain with a reflection from the water but the tide was out so that wasn't meant to be. The wind here was super strong! We had to lean into it to walk and the sand from the beach was hitting our faces and stinging like little needles. I realized when we were about a hundred yards from the car that I should have changed to my wide angle lens. A really rookie mistake and you can't change a lens in all that sand and wind so I just did the best I could. We all stumbled our way back to the car after a few photos and it was such a relief to be out of that wind! We drove to the Viking village which was built as a movie set and you can walk around and look at the buildings. The crazy thing is, there was no wind here. We could literally see where we had parked in all that wind earlier but the mountains must have blocked it because it was quite calm at the village. 

                                                              Mount Vestrahorn

                                                                   Viking Village

From Vik to Hofn - a canyon and an ice lagoon

 We had spent 2 nights in the small town of Vik which was a good base for the Ice Cave and also the Kria Hotel was very nice. 

Today was a great day. We left Vik and headed east, stopping at Fjadrargljufur canyon. I really recommend this stop as it is a very short easy walk from the parking area along the top of the canyon and the view looking back out the canyon is really gorgeous. 

After the canyon, we drove to Diamond Beach. It's called this because chunks of ice from the neighboring lagoon drift out into sea and get washed up on the beach.  It was really windy here and we were all bundled up from head to toe. Mike lost track of me once and couldn't figure out where I was because everyone looked the same and just had a fraction of their face showing! The shapes and sizes of the ice are so interesting and the clarity is beautiful. We were lucky there was a good amount on the beach that day. It totally depends on the tide and weather and sometimes there is no ice at all on the beach. Don't worry about the one photo below, I managed to avoid that incoming wave. 

Jokullsarlon lagoon is where all that ice on the beach comes from before making its way to the sea. There is a massive glacier that sheds the ice into the lagoon where it drifts around. You can take a zodiac or amphibious vehicle tour but the wind was so strong, it didn't really seem like a good idea and we only saw one amphibious vehicle go out. Maybe it was rough for the zodiacs? If you look closely at the second photo, you can see the glacier in the background.

Iceland's South Coast waterfalls

Again these are a fraction of the waterfalls along the south coast. It would take many days to see them all so we focused on the most popular ones. 

Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall with a large opening behind it so you can walk behind the water (with a hundred or so companions lol, I edited them out of one of the photos). I recommend getting there very early in the morning to avoid the tour bus crowds or go later in the evening for the same reason. They say the best photos can be taken in the late afternoon but that depends on the weather of course. We were there about 10am. It was very wet behind the waterfall, so much so that I didn't use my camera at all - I just used my phone. It was very fun tho and the flow of water was quite good so we enjoyed it. 

Just to the left of Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall called Gljufrabui. You have to wade through the water and rock-hop though a narrow cleft in the rock to enter a small open area where the water falls. It was quite crowded when we were there and the opening is really only wide enough for one person at a time so the people waiting to go in had to wait for the people coming out and vice versa. Inside the open area is a big boulder that makes for an awesome photo if you can make it up on top. I was surprised I made it about halfway up (with a running start) and Mike helped pull me up the rest of the way. These things aren't easy when you're short!

Skogafoss is a 200 foot tall, 80 foot wide waterfall. You can't get very close to the base of the falls because it flows into a river, but the spray and wind coming off were really strong even when you're not super close.  We tried to wade a little bit into the river to get a better photo, but our boots were only ankle high. There were some people on a rocky area to the right of the falls that were closer than we were and they were absolutely drenched! And it was loud! 

There is a series of 500 steps to the right of the waterfall and you can climb those to hike beyond the top of the waterfall. There are multiple waterfalls on that trail and I think you can even connect to another long hiking trail from there. At this point it was raining and we had another stop to make and I was pooped from all climbing all those steps, so we just hiked to the closest waterfall and then turned around.

We also needed to get to Vik as we had tickets for the Lava Show that evening. We were wondering if the show would be kind of hokey but it was actually quite good.

Iceland's Katla Ice Cave

 During the summer in Iceland, you can only visit one natural ice cave. Katla is a volcano that last erupted in 1918 and all Iceland's volcanoes are monitored constantly so it's safe to go to Katla Ice Cave with a guide. It's a half day trip that includes the drive to the area of the volcano in a special transport vehicle, putting on safety helmets, walking across the black volcanic sand until you reach the cave entrance, then putting on crampons over your boots before you go inside. Since we went in September at the end of the summer season, it was actually more of a big tunnel than a cave but that meant we got to hike through the ice tunnel and to a waterfall on the other side so we considered that a bonus. 

The tunnel is completely made of ice that is laced with ribbons of ash from previous eruptions. There are ropes to hold onto as you walk and also plank bridges to cross. Some of the planks were really chewed up from all the hundreds of crampons digging into them all summer and looked pretty shaggy. Our guide Ollie made a point of repeating to us to keep one hand on the ropes at all times and he regularly checked to make sure the anchor points were tight. This is important because there was a glacial river running under and through the tunnel. If you fell in there, I have no idea where you would come out or if you would be trapped under the ice somewhere. Needless to say I kept hold of the rope! The photos of the tunnel are deceiving because it makes it look smaller and easier than it really was but there are videos on Youtube that show it pretty well. It was tiring and exhilarating at the same time and we were thrilled to have done it. 

Waterfalls of Iceland's Golden Circle

 There are so many waterfalls in Iceland and the two we visited on the Golden Circle are just a fraction of them but we loved them both for different reasons. 

Bruarfoss used to be accessed by a muddy 45 minute hike but we were lucky enough to visit after they had opened a new parking area very close to the waterfall. The road does not allow tour buses so it's less crowded than some of the other waterfalls in Iceland. We loved this one because it was not crowded at all and the waterfall itself is so beautiful. The water is an incredible blue color and it gathers from lots of little rivulets to a small swirling river as it passes under the pedestrian bridge.

 Gullfoss is one of the larger waterfalls in Iceland, its name translates to "golden falls". From the visitors center you can walk to multiple viewing platforms. You really have to walk to all of them just to see all of the waterfall and take in the scope of its size. It drops down some cascades, then makes a big drop into a canyon and flows through past the lowest platform. There was a lot of spray and wind so we were glad we had waterproof jackets (a must-have if you are going to Iceland). 

We also visited Thingvellir National Park and ate lunch at a tomato farm this day, it was a great first day!

Iceland September 2023

 Life has been crazy since we returned from Iceland, so I'm sorry for the delay in posting. 

We had a great time! If you have ever considered going to Iceland, or even if you haven't - GO! Mike was initially unsure if he wanted to go because he thought there was "nothing to do but look at scenery" but he really loved the trip and actually wishes we had stayed longer and seen more.  Be prepared with appropriate clothing, Iceland can be cold and windy at any time of year or you may get lucky and have some warmer weather. The weather was chilly most days we were there (early September) with some rain and a lot of wind. I'm talking strong wind! Mike thought he wouldn't need a fleece or other warm jacket and ended up buying a sweatshirt to keep warm. 

We would have liked to hike into the highlands a bit, but we saw too may scary videos of river crossings. Most of the roads into the highlands have at least one water crossing and some have multiple rivers to cross. The car rental agencies are also quite clear about not covering water damage in the insurance. There are tours you can take as well, but we actually saw a video of one of those huge, lifted buses being swept down the river. Yikes!

We concentrated our time on the south coast and and spent one day on the Snaefellsness peninsula. There had been a small eruption on the peninsula where the international airport is located about 2 weeks before we arrived but it had stopped by the time we got there. We weren't sure if we were relieved or disappointed by that lol. Since we returned, they have had a much larger eruption on the same peninsula. 

We did a lot of driving and had some long days, but we saw everything we had planned and had some fun adventures too. My picky eater husband never lacked for something to eat so all you other picky eaters out there needn't worry - Icelanders don't just eat fish and lamb. It is essential to bring waterproof jacket and pants! Even if it isn't raining you will still get wet at the waterfalls.

I'll cover the highlights in the next several posts....