Intro Iceland, the land of fire and ice. A country that speaks to the imagination with many volcanos, waterfalls, geothermal springs, black sand beaches, and glaciers. With a population of around 360.000 citizens and around 100.000 square km, it is one of the less populated countries within the Schengen zone.
The first permanent settler of Iceland was Ingólfur Arnarson and his family who arrived at the island with his brother-in-law, Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson in 874 from Norway. According to the legend, Ingólfur threw overboard two pillars and pledged to settle wherever they landed. The pillars end up at what nowadays is Reykjavík.
They choose a country with a rough climate. Months without sunlight and weather that can change in an instant. But also, the country with Northern lights, waterfalls, and more unimaginable beauty that feels out of this world. Time for an adventure! We arrived in Iceland the moment the new quarantine rules were in place. Which meant we got tested for Covid-19 upon arrival, stayed in quarantine for 5 days in a hotel, at the nearest city next to Reykjavik, Kopavogur, and got tested again. We both received a message by text that we got a negative result which meant it was time to go!!
Seljalandsfoss Our trip starts in the Southern part of Iceland. After being days on the same spot it is super exciting to go and explore! With the camera ready we arrived at Seljalandsfoss. A beautiful waterfall from many angles. We decided to first go to the stairs to see the waterfall from that side. The sound of strong water surrounds us. The grass is greener than green, and the water looks pale white when it comes down.
Then we walk to the other side. There is this small round shape on the hill straight in front of the waterfall. While we decided this is a great spot to take pictures, the sun shined even stronger, a rainbow showed up next to the waterfall. Magical and a great start of our trip!
Seljavallalaug Being one of the oldest swimming pools in Iceland our expectations were high to see the Seljavallalaug pool, which was constructed in 1923. It has been used to learn swimming and there are even rumours that this is the best pool according to Icelandic premier. We arrive at the parking, but we could not see the pool yet. But suddenly two people with towels showed up walking towards us. We follow the way they came from and after a walk along the river, we found the pool.
The water looks like a black river and gives the reflections of its surrounding mountains. We change and take what I thought a careful jump in the water. Well, it ended up being completely underwater haha. The end of the pool was way deeper than I thought. While the sun was setting, and we swim in the pool the temperature started to drop. Soon it was time to head back to our mobile home, our van. After the pool, we drive to the campsite to make food.
Skogafoss The next morning, we wake up and get ready near the Skogafoss campsite for another day of exploring! In the distance, the waterfall is visible, and even from far away it is clear that it is a powerful and impressive waterfall. When we arrive, the sun was out and a rainbow is visible! The waterfall creates a mist that goes everywhere and not getting wet is impossible. Water comes down with so much power it is hard to hear each other while taking pictures. We decide to warm up (and dry up) with a cup of coffee and come back later.
We go for coffee and carrot cake at the restaurant with an amazing view of the Skogafoss. We spend more time near the Skogafoss that morning and then leave in the direction of Vik, Black Sand Beach.
Vik, Black Sand Beach, Plane Wreck While the sun was setting, we arrive at Black Sand Beach. The light gave beautiful pink tones and it felt magical to walk (and dance, run and not to freeze in my summer dress) at the beach I dreamed of seeing for months.
That afternoon I hear that there is a belated surprise waiting for me; horseback riding at Black Sand Beach!! 😊
The next morning, we arrive at the Vik Horse Adventure stables and meet our cheerful instructor. Together with one other girl, we wait to see which Icelandic horse will be ours for an hour. I get the sweetest horse you can imagine with its beautiful black colour.
The Icelandic horse is a purebred for over 1000 years. It is forbidden to import other horse breeds to Iceland. The ancestors of the Icelandic horse arrived with the Vikings settlers between 860 and 935. These horses have a height around 140cm. In winter they have long shaggy fur to stand the cold climate. They come in all different colours and while exploring Iceland you can see them almost everywhere. Near Vik is a good spot to take pictures of them, where you can see them near the road.
We make our way to the beach and after a couple of more nervous minutes (do I really know what to do?) I felt more confident and started enjoying being near the beach. While riding we talk about Iceland and were, we have been so far. As soon we are more near the beach it is time to go a bit faster and experience the Icelandic horse’s unique gait called “Tölt”. In Icelandic Tölt means to walk.
The movement of my horse showed just a tip of its power and it felt great! riding faster gave a glimpse of the freedom that I missed for so long!
After that moment we drove around and even went through a river. Too soon we make our way back to the stable, the one thing I think is when I can I do this again?!
After horseback riding, we get a coffee and make our way to the plane wreck which is also near Vik. From the parking spot, it looks close by, but do not mistake this illusion, it is an hour walk through the middle of nowhere. In the meantime, the wind became stormy and I was happy with bringing a scarf along.
When we arrive at the plane wreck, it feels unreal, from a movie scene, just a plane or what is left of it, in the middle of nowhere. In the background the mountains with a little bit of snow on the peaks and the other side the ocean. We walk around the plane and try to see what is a cool spot to take pictures.
Hjorleifshofdi cave After visiting the plane, we decided that it would be great to see if we can find the Hjorleifshofdi cave I wondered about it for so long. With the sun setting slowly we find a mountain near the ocean and a gravel road leading to our green dot on our Google Maps navigation.
It feels like going on a treasure hunt 😊 And then we found the cave! The wind intensity was less in the afternoon which meant the drone could be used. The Jodi (Yoda) cave, who got a nickname because of the shape of the holes and reminded me of the Star Wars character, it was magical. The sunlight came from the ocean side and gave the cave long shadows. With spots being so magical like these, it is not hard to understand why more than half of the Icelandic population believe in elves.
With a little help (ok a lot) I climbed the highest rock with my white dress. After taking pictures and flying the drone we decided it was time to find a spot to make food. Along the road, with a half-moon in the background, we ate dinner in the van. 😊
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
The next morning we make our way to the Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. Along the way we see many sheeps but that is not supprising if you realise there are over 500.000 sheeps in Iceland.
We park the car and walk up to the viewpionts. The canyon looks out of this world with the river flowing between pillars of moss. We walk around and after a couple of pictures we make our way back to the car to go to our next stop.
Glacier Lagoon- Jokulsarlon After getting a coffee at the local gasstation we drive futher South-East to the Glacier Lagoon Jokulsarlon. While we drove towards the lagoon the mountain range with the big glacier became more visible the closer, we got. Even from far away, it looked already impressive.
When we arrived at the parking spot at the Glacier Lagoon it felt unreal! In front of us, the icebergs were in different shapes with all possible white, blue, and grey tones. Between the iceberg’s birds were flying and taking a bath and a curious seal swim by. Along with 15 other tourists, it still felt quiet. The only sound we were hearing was ice-breaking or moving along with the sound of the birds.
We decided to first check and see everything near the lagoon before it is time to take pictures. While we walk around, I started to see more details. The shapes of icebergs were all different, like floating art. 😉
Hofell Hot Tubs, Vestahorn and Stokksness After this cool spot, we went to Hofell Hot Tubs. Great place to relax with a hot tub for yourself. With the view of the mountains and low afternoon sun, it was great to relax in the warm water and just do nothing for a bit.
While we were relaxing, we spoke about Stokksnes. I wanted to see this spot already for a long time, but we did not discuss it before. We found out that it was just a 20 min drive from the hot tubs and decided to go! While the sun was slowly setting, we arrived at the Vestahorn mountain range. I was beyond excited and when we bought a ticket to go on the terrain, we decided to cook next to our van and enjoy the view.
For the evening we left the terrain and slept at the parking spot. The next morning the alarm went off super early to go back to the beach. As I hoped, it was low tide and there was almost no wind the water gave a mirror reflection with the mountain range in the back. It was stunning!! We had a great moment, just the two of us and this incredible place were we just belonged for that moment. I danced in my white dress enjoying this happy feeling of belonging in the freedom of that moment.
Both of us were super curious about the Old Viking Village just in front of the mountain range. Even though we did not eat breakfast, yet we were full of energy. The Viking village could just come out of a movie I thought. Well apparently, that is the case. This reconstructed village was built as a movie scene in 2010. Still gives an interesting view on how it could have looked like in the time of the Vikings.
After breakfast, it was time to leave South Iceland and drive back to Reykjavik to get a charger for the camera. With a last glimpse of Stokksnes and a big smile, we leave this beautiful spot with great memories of South Iceland!
My next blog post about West Iceland: coming soon!!
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