Iceland Part IV: The Golden Circle, and some great stops along the way!

We woke up to a very windy and rainy morning. Vik is the rainiest place in all of Iceland and we were pretty fortunate to have sunny skies here the past two days... and that we were leaving that morning!

We were about two minutes into our rainy drive back towards the west when we saw a woman on the side of the road with a huge backpack and a sign that said, "Reykjavik". Now before anybody says anything like "I hope they didn't pick her up", Iceland is hugely known for it's hitchhiking tourists and it's actually encouraged! All along Ring Road you will see men and women with signs asking for rides to various places. There are no crimes associated with this and people from all over the country help each other out, though Americans usually don't since it's illegal here and we have some crazies in our country that makes us jaded. Given the bad weather and excitement we had that we could do something that is pretty normal in Iceland, we asked her where she needed to go. She needed to get to Keflavik airport, but since we weren't going all the way there we told her we'd drop her off in Sulfoss, which got her pretty close and was about 1.5 hours away from Vik. She was so grateful to get out of the cold and we felt pretty good about ourselves helping out a fellow tourist. She was from Estonia and left her daughter and husband to travel around Iceland for a week (solely on the use of hitchhiking!) She actually had been to the base in Naples, Italy and in Hawaii since she her best friend is married to a guy in the Navy- what a small world!

We stopped for a nice picture

Well, sorry to disturb you! 

After we dropped off our hitchhiker we started our drive on the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a really popular tourist route in Iceland and can be done in a day trip. There are three main sights that people see: Gulfoss Waterfall, Geysir Hot Springs, and Thingvellir National Park. We knew this day was going to be our "crowded" day with hundreds of people in tour buses flooding the sights, and while we were looking forward to seeing some cool stuff, we were not looking forward to the hoards of people. The good thing was that we were going around the Circle in the opposite direction, we were getting a later start due to coming from Vik, and we were stopping at other places in between that were off the beaten path.

Our first stop was to Kerid Crater, which is a volcanic crater lake. Surprisingly, this was the ONLY outdoor place in all of the stops we went to that charged an entrance fee (and it was only around $3). Every national park, waterfall, and geysir area has free entrance, which was hard to get used to, but very welcomed!

The crater lake is very colorful and unique! Bjork actually held a concert in the middle of the lake a few years back.

We drove a little bit north and went to Gulfoss Waterfall. The waterfall is on the Hvita River, which is fed by Iceland's second biggest glacier, Langjokull. It was pretty crowded when we arrived here, but we could easily see why. The falls are very powerful and were rampaging over the sides.

We went out to different view points, all in an attempt to try to get away from the mobs of people, but it was hard to do. It's a great stop to have on the tour bus route, but if you're like us you much prefer the quieter tour bus free areas. But just like the Colosseum in Rome, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris, this is one of Iceland's top sights to see so it's a necessary evil. We did very much enjoy looking the intense waterfall though!

The next stop was only five minutes away, the Geysir Hot Spring Area. Because we went to the waterfall first (we passed the hot spring area on the way) we were able to park in a small empty parking lot across from the tour bus area. The Hot Spring Area is a large open area that has more than a dozen hot water blow holes and has been active for more than 1,000 years.

HOT!

Beyond boiling water

Geysir is the original hot water-spout after which all other geysirs are named. Unfortunately the original geysir no longer spews water into the air, but Strokkur is a very reliable geysir within the same area that shoots water 50-100 feet every 5-10 minutes. We watched Strokkur blast some hot water into the air a few times in order to get the perfect picture!

We continued counter-clockwise on the Golden Circle and made a planned stop in Laugarvatn. The small town of Laugarvatn is known for it's geothermal baths (Fontana) and we wanted to experience them. We stopped off for a quick bite to eat and then headed to the baths. The Fontana is a small and intimate area consisting of several choices of shallow and deeper baths, each marked with a temperature rating. You can also go into the lake (with a sign that says, "Dangerous Nature!"). And if you've had enough of the baths you can go into the sauna that's fed by a naturally occurring geyser-like vent below. This was a really nice place to go and unwind after our long day of driving and sightseeing. The temperature outside was in the 50s and it was nice to sit outside in the hot water and check out the scenery. We also ventured into the lake a little bit, though we didn't get too far since the bottom was a bit rocky and it was pretty cold!

Moving on from Laugarvatn, we drove to our last stop of the day, Thingvellir National Park. Because we arrived later in the day and due to the park's size, we were able to avoid the masses and explore this park in peace. The park has a lot of historical significance as the Vikings established the world's first democratic parliament here in 930 (Thingvellir means "Parliament Plains). Now it is a protected national shrine. The national park is also located on the two tectonic plates of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and it's possible to stand (and snorkel) in between the two plates.

There was so much beauty in this park! There were a lot of trails, paths and other walkable areas for us to explore, as well as a beautiful lookout area that had a stunning view of the park and surrounding area.

What a tiring, but great day we had! We still needed to drive an hour to our house that would be our home for the next three nights, but more on the amazing house in the next post! Next up, a day in Greenland and some time in Reykjavik!

Iceland Part III: Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, Skaftafell National Park, and some fun stuff in between!

This day had us driving more east to less traveled areas and emptier roads. It was going to be a long day of driving, but there were always areas to stop in order for us to take pictures or just gaze at the scenery. The landscape was incredible - we drove through mounds and mounds of moss covered lava with mountains, glaciers, and the ocean serving as the backdrop.

Seriously, doesn't this look like a painting?

Some of the many horses in the fields

Jon and his camera

A couple of days before we left for Iceland we saw a picture from National Geographic Magazine showing someone running on the moss covered lava of Eldhraun. We looked it up, and to our delight it was right where we would be driving through on this day. As it turns out we probably would have stopped on the side of the road anyway in order to take pictures of this, but we now knew that there was an area where we could turn onto and get slightly away from the main road.

There was just so much lava... everywhere. And to think of how long it had been there for all of the moss and lavender plants to grow on it was amazing.  Walking (and running... and jumping) in this special area where few people get to see was just incredible. There was only one other car in the turn off area. If you just do a little research, have flexibility to deviate from plans, and show interest, you can discover wonderful things about the world.

We drove on and went out to Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, which was about two hours from where we took our lava break. This lagoon is thought to be one of the greatest natural wonders in Iceland, and though it's a relatively recent lagoon due to a warming climate, it is a spectacular and magnificent sight to see. Huge blocks of ice break of the glacier of Breiðamerkurjökull and large white and electric blue icebergs float on top.

The lagoon is right off of the main road and since we were coming from the west we had an advantage - we came across a small parking lot first, as opposed to the crowded big one across the river. This also meant that we could walk along the black sand beach away from people and see smaller pieces of ice wash up on shore. This sight is so impressive and amazing - we've never seen anything like it before. It was a kind of beauty that we both had never experienced in any of our travels.

Holding some old ice! 

After leaving the lagoon we turned around and headed towards Skaftafell National Park, which was on the way back to Vik. Before the park we stopped at Kviárjökull glacier, which was easily accessible from the road. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as Jökulsárlón, but due to the lack of people it was very appealing. 

About 30 minutes later we arrived at Skaftafell National Park. This park sits on the edge of the Vatnajökull glacier and has a network of trails ranging from taking an hour to a few days worth. It was about 3pm, and although we had no threat of daylight ending, we decided to keep our hike/walk on the shorter end since we had almost a two hour drive back to Vik. As this was a day of glaciers, we took a walk to Skaftafell Glacier, which started right from the visitor center, and ended about 2.5 km later. We ended on a gravel path which opened to a wide area with the glacier right in front of us.

Our path 

There are so many things to see in this park and a lot of different hikes that we could have taken. When (not if) we come back to Iceland, I would like to try out some longer hikes in the park in order to see mountain peaks and waterfalls.

We drove back making stops along the way for some perfect picture taking opportunities. We are so fortunate to have seen such amazing natural beauty on this day! Next up, our drive along the Golden Circle, with some detours along the way (of course)! Stay tuned! 

Iceland Part II: Skogafoss, Solheimjokull Glacier, a plane crash site, and Reynisfjara Beach

Wow, did we have a lot to see on our drive to Vik! Vik is about an hour away from the ferry, but it took us about four hours to get there due to some sights we wanted to see on the way.

Our first stop was to the impressive Skogafoss waterfall, which stands about 60 meters tall and is about 25 meters wide. The waterfall has a lot of power to it and you can hear the thundering of the bottom of it from afar. We were pretty surprised that we were able to get so close to the base of it given how forceful it is. We walked up to about as far as we could get without getting soaking wet. After all, we did have a lot to do that day!

Stairs and a path next to the waterfall led us all the way to the top (as well as testing our fitness) to some precarious views down below. These stairs also mark the start of one of the most popular hiking trails in Iceland, taking you 55 kilometers to Landmannalaugaur.

Next we drove about 20 minutes to Sólheimajökull glacier. This glacier snout is part of the much bigger Mýrdalsjökull glacier. They say that Sólheimajökull is shrinking and retreating, and has retreated about a kilometer in the last decade. As you walk towards the glacier you can even see where it used to be since it is either covered by water or rough stony ground.

Do you think it's cold? 

Don't pass the sign! 

I've got to admit, it was pretty cool looking at a glacier that has probably been there since the Ice Age. Next time I think we'll sign up for a glacial walk so we can really see all of the different formations, ice ridges, and small glacial streams.

Our next stop is a really interesting and random find. On November 24, 1973, a U.S. Navy plane was forced to land on the black sand beach of Solheimasandur in Southern Iceland. The crew survived, but the plane was abandoned, rather than recovered, and it rests there still. Extreme weather (and looters?) has taken its toll on the plane, but the shell and half of both wings still remain.

The plane was somewhat of a challenge to get to. This site isn't in your Lonely Planet or Rick Steves' books - we just happened to find it on a blog a few days before we arrived in Iceland and it gave very detailed instructions on how to find it. There are no signs from the main road and when you do come to the subtle turn off the road, there is a teeny tiny sign pointing that the site is about 5 km away. The "road" to the site (packed gravel and rocks) is bumpy and full of potholes! Rocks were kicking up into the tires and metal and I was afraid that we were going to puncture something as we drove very slowly towards the south. It took a good 15-20 minutes to get down towards the water, but when we came around a small corner you couldn't miss this incredible site.

The tiny sign that's only noticeable after you make the turn

Our last stop of the day took us to Reynisfjara Beach, about five minutes from the tiny town of Vik where we were staying for the next two nights. Reynisfjara Beach was voted as one of the most ten beautiful non-tropical beaches on Earth... and it was easy to see why! There's a lot to see at this fascinating and eerie beach. In the distance off-shore you can see the Reynisdrangar rock formations, which look like spooky spindles of rock sticking out of the ocean. Legend has it that three trolls were pulling a three masted ship to shore, but were caught at dawn by the sunlight and were turned into rocks. I'm not exactly sure where these photos are... I hope we took some! The pictures below are views of Dyrhólaey, which has a naturally formed arch that serves as a large bird refuge.

On the beach there are stunning basalt columns. They were created when magma cooled slowly and then cracked into columns as the surface area decreased. These were just spectacular to look at!

A wave came crashing in on our legs... it was COLD! 

What a great day of exploring a bit of Southern Iceland! Next up, Jokularson Glacier Lagoon, Skaftafell National Park, and a lot of fun stuff in between!