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Day 9 & 10
Day 9
Day 9 started with some homemade waffles and 6 different types of jams our host Thora made by herself. She was an amazing host, asking us about our plans for the day. It really felt like home. The close quarters we lived in probably helped as everyone was friendly. I would suggest you look up this place if you are bunking for the night close by… just don’t mess with her carpets!
The fog had really come in last night. It was tough going in the morning with visibility being barely 100m. I kept driving till I got to “Jökulsárlón” or otherwise called the “Diamond Beach”. I was waiting to see this beach since the day I touched down in Iceland and now that it was finally here… WOW!! The beach was filled with these huge chunks of ice, which had washed up onto the shore, just sitting there against the black sand sparkling under the Sun. The sky was beginning to clear up, but there was still enough mist around to allow rays of sunshine to bounce of the ice. The contrast between the dark black sand, blue ocean waves, sparkling ice, translucent mist and rays of sunshine created a scene that could be taken right out of a fantasy world. I just could not tear myself away from this place and my camera was in click-click-click mode.
Slowly as the place got busier I decided it was time to move on to “Skaftafell” glacier.
As you get closer to the glacier you begin to understand the sheer size of it. You can’t really see it from the parking lot (paid parking), so the best way to take in the views is to either hike or take one of the guided tours onto the glacier. I decided to hike to “Sjónarnípa” point to take in the views. Stopped over at the visitor center to get my trail right, since they were quite a few out there and picked one which went via “Svartifoss” waterfall. The trail has a few steep sections, but they are so well maintained that it’s not that hard, and there are plenty of fellow tourists on it.
Getting to Svartifoss or the black falls was easy since its a very busy location. The falls are surrounded by dark lava columns which form a U-shape around it.
The trail to “Sjónarnípa” point from here was less crowded. In fact I did not see a single person on it till the very end. The sky had cleared up by this time and the temperature and the wind was perfect for hiking. The trail from Svartifoss is a bit rocky in sections, but for the most part it’s a gradual climb up. The entire path is bordered with a wide range of flowers and as always everything is so green. You don’t see the glacier till you get to the top. Well worth the hike as the view from the top was so massively gigantic. The huge glacier flowing from the white mountains inland was surrounded by green hills on one side and the rocky mountains on the other side. I did not truly grasp the immense size of the glacier until I zoomed in to some of the people taking guided tours on the glacier. So I ventured as far to the edge of the mountain as I dared to sit down and just breathe it all in. The way back was all downhill. I did not take the same route back. This one had more shade and was quicker (if you are interested its trail S6).
Checked into “Frakkur Guesthouse” before heading to “Fjaðrárgljúfur” Canyon. Another crowded tourist spot. But impressive nevertheless. There is a short hike to the end of the canyon. As you get there you come to understand the true power of nature. This canyon was believed to be formed at the end of the last Ice Age, 9,000 years ago when the water from the glacier started cutting into the rock to form the canyon that it is now. It’s quite a sight when you understand the history behind it.
That’s another day wrapped up with some fish and chips in the belly
Day 10
Day 10 was a busy day. Lots of places to go, lots of stuff to see and lots of pictures to take. If that was not enough I made a last minute addition to the schedule to see the "Sólheimasandur" Plane Crash. It should probably put me a couple hours behind my scheduled plan… but who cares, I run my own schedule!
So I decided to get out by 7:00AM and headed to “Reynisfjara” Black Sand Beach. You pass through another major town of Vik (when I say major it’s got a population of less than 500), but still looks pretty large and well stocked for its size. The last 6 miles approaching the beach was so cool, as you wind around a few fresh green hills. Surprisingly the beach itself was crowded this early in the morning (tourist bus). The standout features here are the basalt columns that are formed by cooling and expanding lava. The black sand with its pebbles and
the rock formations sticking out in the ocean also made it a worthwhile visit. Since the first sighting of the basalt columns were overrun by tourists I walked further down and there was no one there. There was a neat cave like formation with the same basalt columns.
"What I dint know was that a few of the scenes from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story were shot here. I could have brought a few of my LEGO storm-troopers and gone crazy"
Finding the parking lot for the "Sólheimasandur" Plane Crash was actually easier than I expected. There were a few cars there already and it was right off the road. It was a 4 mile roundtrip hike on a very flat track. There is absolutely nothing along the way and you don’t see the plane till the very last minute. It’s the sight of a United States Navy Douglas Super DC-3 airplane that crash (nobody knows for sure what caused it) landed in 1973. The plane has since been withering away to the forces of nature. But it
makes for a really good photo location, with nothing in the background but the vastness of the black sand.
"The Sólheimasandur plane crash is also a sight for a song filmed for the Bollywood movie Dilwale"
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Next stop was “Skógafoss” waterfall. Another really busy spot. The fall itself is one of the biggest in Iceland with a drop of 60 meters. You can walk right up to the falls if you dare. Make sure you have a good waterproof layer, because you WILL get drenched. There is another path to the right of the falls which goes up to the top.
There is one thing about this country. You can’t miss out on the small stuff that you see along the road. There are these small huts or rooms or cottages that look like they have been built into the land. So many of these little sights which look like they are straight out of hobbit land. Huts with vegetation growing all over them. Some even look like rocks have grown around them.
“Seljalandsfoss” waterfalls was another location I was looking forward to. You have to pay for parking here as well (that’s 2 spots so far). And another crowded location. Probably a sign that I was getting closer to civilization. You can take a walk around and behind the falls, but be prepared to get wet. The falls are also visible from the road, if you just want a look at it, instead of the experience. Took some time to sit down for lunch in a restaurant close by with a view of the falls.
“Gullfoss” (Golden Falls) waterfall was next on the agenda. This was another massive fall which was shaped like 3 wide steps with the final one being a massive drop. Another one of those where you can literally take a bath if you get even remotely close. Did not spend too much time here, and I was not ready for a 3rd round of drenching on the same day, so got a good look at it from a decent distance and was on my way to “Strokkur Geysir”
The clouds started coming back in and it was getting a bit dark so I was hoping my luck holds out for a bit longer and I can get to see the geyser before the days end. People were racing to get into position to shoot the eruption and the ones that were there were peering into the camera rather than at the geyser itself. Was a funny sight, not that I did not follow suite. It’s as reliable as reliable can be, erupting every 5 minutes. Some eruptions were 15m, some were higher, almost 30m. I found that my iphone camera took better pictures here compared to the DSLR.
Last stop for the day was “Laugarvatn Hostel”. After grabbing something to eat at the store next door I joined a few people in the common room to watch the France vs. Belgium Soccer World Cup match. They were all Belgium fans, so the day did not end well for them :)
Google Maps Day-9
Google Maps Day-10
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