I've been obsessing over Iceland for three years. Several of my good friends have gone and had marvelous trips. Emily, Mike and I planned a trip for last September, but ended up having to push it back to 2016 due to a wedding. Psh! Other people's happiness... So, I finally visited and it was more amazing than I could have imagined. My dad and step mom decided to join us on this adventure.
After an overnight flight where we saw a glimmer of Northern Lights, Mike and I arrived early in Keflavík. Picking up the rental car was a bit of an adventure. The keys told us the car was a red Chevrolet Cruze. By red, they meant some sort of mauve gray. Mike and I walked the entire way around the building looking for a red Chevy. We found Dad, Lorrie, and Emily at the airport easily and went straight to Blue Lagoon for a soak.
Blue lagoon was delightful on our tired bodies. We explored the whole thing, basking in the warm milky waters and painting our faces and shoulders with silica mud. It was early enough in the morning that the lagoon wasn't too crowded. The sun was very bright though. The feel of the place is very cool. We drove toward our destination of Grímsnes. We stopped in a tiny coastal town to find food. It was about $15-18 for a simple bowl of soup with some bread.
The landscape in Iceland is amazing: dried chunky lava covered in thick moss. It's basically plains and plateaus along the coast, with distant glaciers and volcanoes. Iceland is home to 130 volcanoes. It is 37,000 sq miles with a population of 330,000, 200,000 of which live in Reykjavik. We stayed in Grimsnes near Selfoss in a darling little cabin with a bedroom, kitchen, sleeping loft, and living space. Emily and Mike immediately went to nap while Dad, Lorrie and I went to the store in Selfoss to stock the pantry. I made dinner and we waited for the sky to be dark enough to scout the Aurora. We saw a light green glimmer before the clouds moved in.
We woke leisurely working through the jet lag. After breakfast, we headed out to explore the Golden Circle beginning at Geysir closest to the cabin. This is exactly what it sounds like. There is a geyser that shoots a big plume of boiling water into the air every few minutes. There were lots of tourists, but the view from the hills above was lovely.
The next stop was Europe's largest waterfall: Gulfoss, the Golden Waterfall. It was as crowded as expected, but powerful and beautiful. Absolutely worth a stop. We spent over an hour walking around and taking pictures.
Next Faxi Waterfall is a much smaller falls on the same river. This was cool because it was not crowded. A salmon ladder ran along one side and fly fishermen were casting below the falls. Beautiful! Afterward we stopped at the Secret Lagoon, a natural swimming pool. We walked around and checked out the geothermal greenhouses, but didn't feel up to paying the $25 each to swim.
Kerið is an amazing 6000 year old crater with so much beautiful natural color. We walked all around it and learned it is a natural amphitheater and is sometimes used for concerts. Based on the depth of the lake in the bottom, scientists can measure the health of ground water.
We completed the Golden Circle at Þingvellir National Park. This park is home to Silfra, a lake formed between the edges of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The nerdy explorer in me demanded I dive those icy, crystal clear waters. The cheapskate in me said no way. The budgeter won out. :( Also in the park is Oxofoss waterfall.
Riding the fluffy Icelandic horses was really high on my list of things to do. They're everywhere, happy, furry horses (not ponies) in every color. I booked a two hour tour with Nupshestar for the whole family. I learned that Icelandic horses have extra gaits. One is a fast, smooth trot called a tolt. The other only some have. It's called pace, a flying, smooth gait about the speed of a gallop. We rode though a big valley with views of a river and Hekla volcano. It was beautiful! Definitely a highlight of the trip. The company does three day tours into the highlands. I want to come back and make that happen.
The Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon came highly recommended and the pictures of it are phenomenal. It was a 4 hour drive from the cabin so we packed up and left early. An hour into the drive we found Sjelandsfoss Waterfall, a towering beauty that you can walk behind. The sun hadn't yet kissed the falls and it was not crowded with tourists. Beautiful. We glimpsed Skogafoss and choose to save it for the way back.
The drive along the south coast is stunningly beautiful. It's a low traffic, peaceful, two lane highway into ever evolving plateaus towering over quaint little farms of white, red-roofed houses, flocks of shaggy sheep, and herds of beautiful Icelandic horses. Many of these farms were nestled under the most fantastic green cliffs with their very own waterfalls.
Jökulsárlón was immediately everything I had hoped for: huge chunks of blue and black-streaked ice towered out of the river leaving the lagoon. It was phenomenal, awe inspiring. We quickly jumped out of the car to stretch our legs and take a thousand pictures of the icebergs in the lagoon. We booked a zodiac ride to the glacier. They dressed us in thick, warm life jacket suits. The driver wore a Sponge Bob beanie and was kind of the strong silent type. He took us to a few big icebergs giving us some info before heading out to the glacier. There were harbor seals watching us bobbing up out of the water while we listened for the ice to break, hoping a piece would fall into the lake. The smaller icebergs are carried out to sea by the river. Some of them end up on the shores of the black sand beach at the mouth of the river. Its like a big, icy sculpture garden.
On the way back to Vik, we stopped at Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which is much smaller with no outlet. That makes the water surface perfectly smooth, which means awesome pictures! Vík is a thriving metropolis compared to most of Iceland, but probably actually no more than a village. It has a beautiful black sand beach that was used in Game of Thrones.
Right near the farm we stayed for the night was Skógafoss Waterfall. Skogafoss is a huge sheet of water that crashes down on the rocks. There is a hike to the top with a platform that intimidates anyone with a fear of heights. The trail then continues up into the highlands to a glacier. No one was interested in walking that far.
We spent the night on a farm called Stora Mork. It has two guesthouses with bunk rooms and kitchens. We had a full floor to ourselves. Everyone was exhausted from hours of car time, particularly Mike who did all of the driving (thanks, babe). Emily and I sat up with our cups of tea watching the stars and hoping the Northern lights would make an appearance. They did, faintly. Suddenly they brightened to full color rippling green and pink. We scrambled to wake everyone else up, but they missed most of it by the time they got dressed for the cold. Emily and I watched for another hour, but though they were present, they didn't flare again.
We had to pass the Seljalandsfoss waterfall on the way out. Everyone did their own thing that morning meaning we left later than planned. Since it was much later than when we'd passed it before, it was crazy crowded. Next to it is a hidden waterfall called Gljufrabui. We had to take the time to explore that one. It was worth it!
Reykjavik is the major city in Iceland, where most of its population lives. It's home to an iconic cathedral called Hallgrimskirkja, a shoreline sculpture park, and an amazing opera hall. We spend an afternoon exploring the beautiful city and had dinner at Glo, a natural food restaurant with food that was both delicious and vibrant (and gluten free). It was by far my favorite meal out on the trip.
My overall impression of Iceland is that I didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to. A friend had said four days was more than enough time. I thought six days were far too few. If you're considering visiting Iceland... GO!! Rent a car, find some Airbnbs, and go exploring!
