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
Ode to the Sun ....................................
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.
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 29th 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
Skogafoss Falls
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
Skogafoss Falls
Skaftafellsjokull Glacier hike
Skogafoss Falls
Steps:
10,758
Iceland
tidbit: There are approximately 130
active and inactive volcanoes (30 active).
March 30
Departure
day! We headed into the city for one
last walk around town before our trip back to the US!
