PostcardsFromM

After seeing more waterfalls and hiking in some incredible places on Day 3 in Iceland, I’m excited to see what the east coast has to offer. However, I’d say, that the north of Iceland stole my heart and I’m already missing it. But it’s time to move on and my new wool jumper was perfect for this cloudy and windy day ahead of us.

The East Coast Drive

Our day began with a decision to make. Should we drive through the mainland or follow the Ring Road and see more of the coastline straight away? Since we had a great time the first time, we opted for the coastal road again. So, we jumped in the van and set off for the day. The drive turned out to be really scenic and peaceful, as there didn’t seem to be many other drivers around. At least, we didn’t see many cars on the way. The landscape kept changing from hilly to more flat. And all of a sudden a fjord opened up in front of us and we could see the ocean. Even better, the road continued alongside the fjord. We had the ocean on one side and the land on the other. It immediately changed my mood from sad for leaving the north to excited. I wanted to see more. In addition the sun came through the clouds, so it became even more magical. We didn’t really say much while driving because we were just in awe of the view. The road took us into the next little fjord and then out again out on the other side. And driving got even better the further we went. Because, out of nowhere, the road in front of us seemed to go directly through the water. We stopped halfway to get out and have a little walk. We found out that we were on Meleyri Beach. A beach that is covered with black volcanic sand and just seems to go on forever. From three sides it is framed by mountains, which makes the whole place look like an AI-created image. We spent our time here walking along the beach, bird-watching and enjoy the calmness of this place. We were so caught up in the moment that we didn’t even notice the time flying by. When we got back to the car, we couldn’t believe it. It was nearly an hour and a half later! But this stop was worth every second. We carried on driving and the scenery stayed beautiful all the way down to our next stop. Even though you’re just driving and not doing much else, you don’t feel like you’re wasting time. Because you never know what you’re going to see next on these roads and it feels like sightseeing.

Stokksnes Beach and Viking Village

After driving through this scenic and calm part of Iceland, we realized that something has changed. Before we didn’t really see that many cars passing by but slowly it became more. One reason is definitely our next stop too. Stokksnes peninsula. Which is known for its dramatic lighting and reflections on the beach. And with that it is the perfect place to take some pictures. And so we should have expected that there were going to be more people around this area. When we got there, we saw a small visitor center and a big parking lot, where you had to pay for your stay. Coming from the north we were surprised about that, because we didn’t really had to pay at the main attractions there for parking. But obviously that is fine and we started to walk towards the black beach. On our way there we came across the Viking village. It was originally built for an Icelandic film, which was never finished. But it’s still used as a film set for other productions. It wasn’t huge or particularly impressive, but it felt authentic and it was interesting to have a look around. After that, we continued our way to the black beach. And there were definitely more people there, when we got there. It was quite a cool-looking place and I get why it is nice for photographers. But, the Stokksnes Beach didn’t impress me. Maybe it just wasn’t the right lighting. Or maybe I have seen too many edited pictures before, that my expectations were a bit too high. Either way I was glad that we stopped and that I have seen it and I will definitely go again at some point. So we turned around and walked back to our car.

Diamond Beach

Another well-known spot was on our agenda, Breidamerkursandur or better known as the Diamond Beach. But on the way there, we had to have a quick stop, because there were some horses near the fence and I had to get a closer look. So my boyfriend pulled over and I tried to befriend the horses. But I have to say they weren’t impressed by me. So we got back to the car and set off again to the next beach. We arrived shortly after at the parking lot and it was even busier than before. However, we got out and walked to the beach. Same as before, the beach itself was nice, but not as impressive as it looked in the pictures. Though I have to say, I was pretty impressed by the various sizes of icebergs drifting of the Jökulsárlón Glacier. So we decided to go more in this direction, when suddenly something moved in the water. We tried to get a closer look at it and saw a seal swimming in the sea. Not only we saw it, so did some other tourists. They were pretty  excited and started following it, which the seal wasn’t keen on and it seemed kind of stressed. It was a shame to see, that the tourists didn’t seem to care and not giving him space, when the seal wanted to enter the beach. They scared it off on two attempts by coming closer and shouting, so the seal turned around and swam off. It disappeared as fast as it showed up. This scene made me sad and we decided to walk away from the beach and head towards the glacier. It was very stunning, but I couldn’t quite enjoy it as much as I wanted to. As humans, we should respect the nature and the residents of the places we visit, whether they’re other humans or animals or plants. I get that it’s exciting to see a seal in the wild, and I felt the same. However, it shouldn’t lead to cutting its way and stressing it out. Please keep your distance to wild animals! Not only is it more chilled for them, but you also get to see their natural behaviour!

Today’s Route & Facts

• Egilsstaðir to Skaftafell
• Main attractions: Meleyri Beach, Stokksnes, Viking Village, Diamond Beach, Jökulsárlón Glacier
• Highlight of the day: Meleyri Beach
• Hours spent in the car: 4h 51min
• Kilometers made: 381 km
• Days more to go: 6
• Black beaches seen: walked on 3, seen a lot more

Tomorrow’s Plan

After leaving Diamond beach and staying over night in the Skaftafell area, we arrive in the south of Iceland. It gets more touristy, while visiting a canyon, another beach and more waterfalls.

Thank you for reading and see you in the next part,

M.