PostcardsFromM

After the calm east coastline and reflective Day 4 in Iceland, today felt different. We carried on down south towards Vík, stopping at some more black beaches and waterfalls on the way. The weather stayed unpredictable, but again the landscape made up for it – dramatic cliffs, roaring waves and little birds fighting against the wind. So, let’s see what today’s journey looks like.

Lava Fields and Canyons

Still thinking about yesterday’s event, we set off to today’s first stop. Eldhraun, a lava field. You can see it right away because of its weird looking appearance. So we looked somewhere to park and followed the marked path through the field. Please be careful not to step on it, as the moss is delicate and takes years to grow back. So don’t act like Justin Bieber. You might be wondering why. He filmed one of his music videos here and the dancing on the moss ended up damaging an area. So we made sure not to step off the path. It felt a bit other-wordly, but it was really nice to wander around for a bit. But we had a few more places on our list, so we hit the road again.

And the next place we went, was actually also where Justin Bieber’s music video was filmed. Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. I should mention that I’m not a Justin Bieber fan, but when looking up these places, it was one of the first things that came up as a fun fact. So why not let you know here as well, right? On top of that, this production has also led to an increase in the number of tourists visiting this place to see it in person. We followed the path from the parking lot and it took us about 20 minutes to get to the end, where the viewing platform is. When we got there, there was already a bit of a queue to get to the tip of the platform. We decided to walk a little bit further back and take some pictures somewhere else and try a little bit later. Which was also successful, but you are definitely never completely alone here. Just to keep that in mind. It’s a nice little walk and the canyon is absolutely worth a visit though. You can easily spend a few hours here taking pictures or just enjoying the views. But for us one hour was more than enough to see everything, and we did kind of miss the silence of our car.

Vík and its Black Beach

And since you can never visit too many black beaches, it was time to go to Vík for a quick grocery run and then check out it’s famous Reynisfjara Beach. The only issue was that the weather decided to suddenly change and Iceland showed us its very windy and rainy side. We can’t complain though, because so far the weather has been extremely nice, even though it was mostly cloudy. The wind has been mild, too. We are now well aware of the other side and I have to say, driving in these conditions can be pretty unpleasant. But we made it to Vík and treated ourselves to some more instant noodle soup to warm us up.

Thankfully the wind had calmed down a bit and it was time to head to the beach. On the plus side of this sudden weather change, we were again alone at this place without any other tourists around. And even though the wind was really testing my balance, it had something quite mystical. The black sand and the waves hitting it with the foggy grey backdrop. To be honest, I really enjoyed it. The puffins on the other hand didn’t seem to enjoy it that much, though, because they were struggling with the wind. But it was nice to watch them from a distance in their nests. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest bird-enthusiast. I like them, but I don’t really know that much about them. Shout out to my vet school, for not teaching me anything about birds, except the odd bit about chickens. However, puffins and penguins are my favourites to watch and it makes me really happy to see them in the wild. Therefore the puffin colony here was also one of the reasons why I wanted to come to this beach and Dyrahólaey. And it didn’t disappoint.

As I said afterwards, we drove to Dyrahólaey to see all of this from a different perspective and maybe spot some more puffins. There’s the option to hike up, but with the wind picking up and it starting to rain again, we decided it’d be best to take the car. But it was stunning as well. I’d definitely recommend going here even though the weather might not be the best. Just be aware that the wind can get quite intense, especially on the cliffs.

Finally more waterfalls

As we didn’t get to see any waterfalls yesterday, it was time to see some more. So we headed more towards the west. The weather didn’t really get any better. It stayed dark and moody. But it didn’t stop us from stopping at Skogafoss. A big and beautiful waterfall that is 60 meters high. So quite an impressive sight. Even if it hadn’t rained, we would have gotten wet anyways. Walking up to the waterfall, the spray coming from it, will definitely reach you. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I forgot my rain trousers. So I did get soaked. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did and bring yourself some good pair of rain pants, when coming to Iceland. But even though that meant, that I know could definitely feel the cold, I didn’t want to go back before not seeing more of the waterfall. It was just too intriguing to not see from the close. There would have been stairs and a path to go up to the top, but we decided against it, since I was at this point completely drenched. Back to the car it was and I got changed.

On the way to Seljalandsfoss, we put the heater to max to warm us up, before we heading back out into the rain. It helped a bit, but when we got there, it seemed just more enjoyable to just stay in the warm car. After some minutes overcoming these thoughts, we made our way up to Seljalandsfoss. Way smaller than Skogafoss, but equally impressing to look at, we were happy that we stepped out of the car. The best thing about this waterfall was that you can walk behind it. So of course we did that too. And, well, we got soaked again. It didn’t matter since it was worth it and clothes dry, but memories stay. So, again in wet clothes, we continued our way to a more hidden waterfall called Gljúfrabúi. It somehow took us a little bit to actually find the entrance to it, but it was really nice to see as well.

Completely drenched again, we got back to the car and decided to stay in this area. The reason for that you’ll find out in Day 6.

Today’s Route & Facts

• Skaftafell to Hvolsvöllur
• Main attractions: Eldhraun, Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, Reynisfjara, Dyrahólaey, Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi
• Highlight of the day: Puffins in the wild
• Hours spent in the car: 2h 40min
• Kilometers made: 220 km
• Days more to go: 5
• Justin Bieber’s music video back drops seen: 4

Tomorrow’s Plan

We had a different plan for Day 6, but we were ahead of our schedule. So there was just a vague idea and a weather check. And over the night, we made a spontaneous decision that led us away from the main land. It involved a ferry, some puffins and a lot of wind.

See you there,

M.

If you are a bird-enthusiast, please let me know a good book to get me started and your favorite bird!