Journey With MJ: Iceland

630AM arrived in Reykjavik – March 24

T-shirt-fleece jacket-winter puffy jacket-rain coat = WARM! The temperature is about 30 degrees, not unfamiliar to us, but still cold.

In Reykjavik we saw numerous modern art scattered throughout the town including the Ode to the Sun (rendition of a Viking Ship) and sights such as the Hallgrimskirka (Lutheran church) that can be seen from everywhere in Reykjavik (built in 1937). We also went to the Perlan Museum and went to their observatory (365 viewing of the city).

We stayed in a cabin located behind a house in the town of Hveragerol (located approximately 1 hour from Reykjavik). Hveragerol is a great starting point for the Golden Circle and also the town is known for its geo-thermal (Sulphur springs). We arrived late afternoon and decided to take a 2 hour nap, so that we could stay up later to try and see the Northern Lights.

The cloud cover was thick and the Northern Lights had a hard time breaking through.

Accommodations: Beautiful Summerhouse

Hallgrimskirka Church

Ode to the Sun ....................................

Perlan Museum with views from their observatory deck.

Steps: 13,230

Iceland tidbit: 85% of Iceland is managed by renewable energy (mostly geothermal)

March 25

We slept in to catch up on our sleep from the plane ride. A well need rest for all.

A stop at the local bakery for 2 cinnamon rolls ($4 each) and a loaf of bread ($10). Delish!

We headed off at around 11:00AM to do the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is part of the Pingvellir National Park. We got out stopped at Pingvellir to view the falls, church and hike along the Almannagja (where the North American & European continental plates drift apart (approximately 1 inch a year. Then it was on to the Geysir (largest geyser in Iceland) and the Gullfoss Falls (amazing waterfall). The last stop was to view Kerio (volcanic crater lake) and then we had to head back to our house for dinner. We had planned to stop at one of the hot springs in the area, but ran out of time.

We stopped to find cheese along the way at a convenience shop and we found cheese for $35 a package (ouch!). We chose to go back to our town and see if the local grocery store was open and it was. Thankfully cheese was only $4 there.

Accommodations: Beautiful Summerhouse

Pingvellir National Park

Geysir!

Gullfoss Falls

Steps: 14,388

Tidbit of Iceland: In Iceland, three trees over one meter who is standing together is considered to be a forest.

March 26

The day began with a stop at the Seljalandsfoss Falls. We pulled in the parking lot and the wind was whipping. Jim opened his car door and the door flew open (mmm..broke a little). Jim went to pay for parking and returned with the parking receipt to put in the car. He opened the door, the receipt flew away, Lisa’s money flew out of her pocket and that was the start of the day. Welcome to windy Iceland! This falls allowed you to walk behind the falls and was connected along a pathway to several falls.

As we drove down the road, we saw waterfalls coming down the cliff and they were actually blowing away in the wind/air instead of straight down the side of the cliff.

Skogafoss Falls was the next stop that we made. At this falls we were able to walk up to the falls and then climb stairs to get to the top of the falls, as well as follow a path along the river back for other smaller cascading falls.

The falls were all unique and beautiful.

The town of Vik is located along the coastline with black sandy beaches. There were 3 different black beaches that we were able to stop at, with each providing a little different scenery. In Vik, you are able to see the volcanic sea stacks. This part of Iceland was very windy!

Accommodations: Hotel Lambafell

Skogafoss Falls

Seljalandsfoss Falls

Vik

Steps: 7,488

Iceland tidbit: Iceland’s water is glacial and is one of the purest and safest waters in the world.

March 27

Today was a day of driving and it happened to be a very windy day. We stopped and took picture of another waterfall, as well as drove down a bumpy road to get close to a glacier. As it happens, the weather was to get windier tomorrow and we received a note that our glacier hike was cancelled. We had just enough time to cancel our hotel located in the town of Hofn and re-route back to the other side of Vik. The fear was if they closed the roads we would not be able to get back for our other hotel accommodations. We re-booked our hotel and went on to explore.

The excitement of the day was going to Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. The lagoon had chunks of glacier (vibrant blue ice) floating in the water/shoreline.

We headed to Hotel Hvolsvollur to spend the night. Gallery Pizza provided us with great pizza, country music and a warm atmosphere. It gave me a feeling of home 😊. I needed a break from the brutal, but beautiful Iceland.

We are contemplating our next search for the Northern Lights! Tonight was just too overcast.

Accommodations: Hotel Hvolsvollur

Gljufrabui Waterfall

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Steps: 7,813

Iceland tidbit: Beer remained illegal in Iceland until 1989

March 28

Our glacier hike was re-schedule for Thursday, March 29^th in the morning. This gave us a free day to fill in as we choose.

We decided to go back to the Seljalandsfoss Falls since we did not have much time at this location the other day. There were several falls connected by pathway and today we made it to Gljufrabui Waterfall. These falls are unique because it falls almost into like a cavern and you are able to walk carefully on stone through the stream to get back in close to the falls.

Today we chose to take in the trek to see plane wreckage of Iceland (1973 US Navy DC plane that ran out of fuel on the black beach of Solheimasandur). It is about a 1 hour walk into the sight; however, not recommended when the weather is bad. Well, I guess we read that after our attempt. The wind was incredibly crazy and doing its best to blow us around and then sandstorms would whip up on us as well – after traveling ½ way we turned and headed back to our car. We later learned the winds were at 100 miles per hour!

Tonight we are staying near the Skogafoss falls with an opportunity for another chance to view the falls.

Iceland has provided us with so many opportunities to see the natural beauty to be found in this country. Fire and Ice!

Hotel Accommodations: Hotel Skogafoss

Seljalandsfoss Falls

Skogafoss Falls

Steps: 14,394

Iceland tidbit: Give it 10 minutes and the weather will change.

March 29

We began our day with one last view of the Skogafoss falls and were pleasantly surprised with a rainbow along with the falls. An absolutely beautiful viewing of the falls.

Today is the day that we will do the Skaftafellsjokull Glacier hike at 930AM (located about 45 minutes from our hotel. We arrived early and patiently waited for Troll Expedition staff to get there and get organized. They quickly set us up with harness, helmet, ice axe and crampons. Once our group was ready we headed out for the glacier (a 15 minute walk). This glacier sits on top of a volcano and the glacier is layered with volcanic ash (from the 2010 eruption). Our guide provided us with information about the glacier and an opportunity to drink glacier water.

After our hike, our plans were to head to the Laugarvatn Fontana to relax in a geothermal spa. The spa was very nice and had several different areas with varying temperatures to soothe and relax our bodies. The spa was located on Lake Laugarvatn and if we overheated we could walk into the lake to cool off. The lake was very cool, so a toe dip was more likely.

We headed out tonight for one last attempt to see the Northern Lights. The sky was mostly clear during the day, but the clouds rolled in and the view of the Northern Lights was not to be had on this trip to Iceland!

Hotel Accommodations: Reykjavik City Hi Hostel