Some people like to go to the South of France. That's fine for them. We, however, are going to the South of Iceland today and tomorrow. I suspect that they are very different.
My husband K and I got up at 6:30 and our daughter J came over at 7 for the three of us to go down to breakfast. We enjoyed it, as usual.
Then, at about 7:30, she and I went to the desk to fight to get our excursion for tomorrow confirmed. Unlike today and our previous excursions, which were with Reykjavik Excursions, tomorrow's is with Grayline. We had to get the desk clerk to call and confirm it and that we would be picked up at the hotel.
Speaking of the hotel, I have finally noticed this lettering over the entry to the desk area, as you come from the elevator. I just never looked up before, I guess.
Once we got it accomplished, we went upstairs to wash up and grab what we needed for the day. We all were back downstairs at 8:20. The real and feels like temperature actually agreed it was 50°. It was also overcast, but we hoped it wouldn't rain.
The bus came at 8:35 and had us and the others at the bus station at 8:45. Not knowing, when we'd have the chance again, I paid 200 kr to use the restroom. Better safe than sorry.
Our driver/guide on the small bus introduced himself as Leif. There was one passenger missing and there was no sign of him. So, at 9:02, we left. However, it wasn't long before Leif got a call from the station. They'd found the passenger and they were going to bring him out to us. So, Leif pulled over at 9:15 to wait for them to reach us. The passenger, who was an incredibly spry 90-year-old, said he'd been waiting in the station. No harm done and we left again at 9:31.
Just before we stopped, I saw this lovely scene out the window.
From what I could tell, we were following route 1, which circles the island. There were precious few roads that intersected it. We never saw a fast food restaurant. No hotel sat at any intersection. You needed a town, which were few and far between, if you wanted to spend the night.
At 10:30, we stopped at Hliðarendi, which, from what I now find on the map, is the name of a gas station and convenience store that has hot food, candy, snacks, etc. I think this is in the town of Austurvegi and the gas station part is N1. We used the restrooms, which were free, and I bought a Coke Zero and a 2 pack of dark chocolate candy bars for a total of 729 kr.
We were back on the road again at 11:06. I noticed a lot more green out here and so many waterfalls! The ridge along here used to be coastal cliffs back in the day.
Farms were pretty isolated and I wondered how kids got to school. The houses were usually white with a red roof. We didn't see power lines, because they used geothermal power. Sometimes, there was a line of trees up behind the house. Leif told us that they were there to protect them from the snow that might come down the mountain. Very practical and natural.
As we approached our next stop, Leif told us about Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 and made a mess of European air travel for a time. It even interfered with our younger daughter returning from her study abroad in Italy. She is not fond of E15. It is called that, because American newscasters couldn't say the real name and took to calling it E15, because it started with E and was followed by 15 letters! At 11:37, we stopped in the parking lot of what had been a museum about it, but was now just the signs. The farmer who had lived here had had his farm wrecked by the eruption, as had other farmers in the area. So, he made the museum to make a little money, while he got back on his feet.
We took the requisite selfies out in the wind and a photo or two of what it looks like across the road now.
We set off again at 11:44. When I saw the next building approaching, I just couldn't believe it. It's like the rock has grown around it.
Our next stop was only 12 minutes down the road. I took this shot of Skógafoss from the road. You'll recall that Foss means waterfall in Icelandic. Skógura is the name of a forest, so this is Forest Waterfall.
We got out in its large parking lot at 11:56. As you can see in this next photo, the parking lot is set back a ways from the falls.
The sun kindly was lighting the falls quite well. The sound of the water was an absolute roar. There were a lot of birds flying around, but I couldn't tell you what kind. The water that came down became a stream that flowed out to the ocean several miles away.
I found some information signs, that were really terrific. They not only told about Skógafoss, but also other falls up over the ridge and along the river as well as a legend associated with it. I appreciate them not making me research this stuff.
To the right of the falls as you look at them was a farm. Talk about bucolic! Dandelions (even here), sheep, a cleft in the land with water running through it, and so quiet.
After enjoying this beautiful waterfall, it was time to get back on the bus at 12:29. It was now partly sunny.
Our next stop was just 16 minutes down the road and it was for Sólheimajökull, a glacier between two volcanoes, Katla and E15. It is part of Mýrdalsjökull, which means "mire dale glacier", and is an ice cap on Katla, as well as the fourth largest glacier in Iceland. I'm pretty sure this shows the edge of that ice cap.
From the parking lot, you can't see anything of Sólheimajökull, and you can see precious little of it, when you get to the trail.
The walk wasn't too bad, but I didn't rush. I found myself walking with our late passenger. He was widowed and 90. He was from the Netherlands, where he rode horses every day, but riding the Icelandic ones yesterday left him sore. He said that perhaps he wasn't going to make it out to the end of the trail. I kept him talking about his life and the next thing you knew, we were out at the glacier. I'm glad he hadn't given up.
Out at the end of the path, we could look out on the glacier and see people climbing around on it. Another group passed us with crampons hanging from their gear. Yeah, no.
Leif pointed out where the glacier used to extend to, but it has been melting a lot.
He explained that the black that was all over the ice was ash from a volcanic eruption in the past. However, if you look carefully, you can see some blue both in the glacier and on some of the icebergs in the lagoon.
There were a sign out here with interesting info, too. I'm always grateful for these signs. I often don't have time to read them on tours. So, I photograph them and can read them at my leisure.
Of course, we took selfies before we walked back to the bus. We were on the road again at 1:25.
My phone recognized that we were driving through an area called Mýrdalshreppur. We saw tents that looked like they were set up for glamping, little communities or big farms (it was hard to tell which), and clouds swallowing the tops of the mountains we were driving along. I believe Leif said, that the large carved out areas on the mountainsides had been caused by glaciers. Whatever did it, they were massive.
After a half hour, we arrived in the town of Vik, which is pronounced like it looks. We stopped at another N1 gas station/ convenience store. Leif told us there was a restaurant around the back. So, that's where we went, the Ströndin Bistro and Bar. The room was dark and looked out through windows on two sides to the grassy land before the beach. We chose a table toward the center of the room and others of our group also came in and sat at other tables that were socially distanced. The guy behind the bar brought us menus. J chose Chicken Pasta for 2890 kr. and a Pepsi for another 450 kr. K and I both drank water, but I also finished my Coke Zero from our earlier stop. I ordered the Beef and Ale stew for 2990 kr. and K took the opportunity to get Icelandic Fish Stew for 2990 kr also. The silverware was in a metal bucket in the center of the table. While we waited for the food, I looked out to where I knew the ocean must be, but could only see tall rocks out there.
J and I split our meals again, and I assured her that you could taste no ale in mine. Both dishes were delicious. K enjoyed his, too.
Unfortunately, we had little time to look around or get closer to the shore. In the distance, we could see the stacks of basalt rock offshore that were once part of a formerly more extensive cliffline called "Reynisfjall". Legend has it that they were trolls who tried to drag their boats out to sea and were caught by the dawn. (Trolls famously can't handle sunlight.) The Atlantic here has water that has traveled all the way from Antarctica, and it can be incredibly rough. It seemed appropriately misty out there.
I got 7 postcards for 700 kr and took a few moments to snap photos of the bit of town around us. I'd seen churches like the one on the hill in other communities. Must be a popular color scheme for Lutherans here.
The three of us were on the bus at 2:55 and we were on the road 5 minutes later. We went back the way we had come along route 1 and at 3:10 we were parked at the Black Sand Beach, also known as Reynisfjara. It is located at 63.4031007°N and -19.0443713°W. The sand here is black because it is formed from heavily eroded cooled lava, aka extrusive igneous rocks. We soon realized that calling this "sand" is generous. It is really lava pebbles, which of course means I took some home. I mean, come on, look how cool it looks.
It was windy and cold here, which wasn't surprising, based on the ocean being right there. Both Leif and signs warned us to stay away from the water. "Sneaker waves" can come out of nowhere and sweep a person out to sea. Evidently, this is a problem on the US west coast from about San Francisco to Seattle, but this is the first we've ever heard of it.
The water looked no rougher than Cocoa Beach, perhaps even calmer. But, Leif wouldn't let anyone get even close enough to touch the edge to test the temperature, which, given the danger, seems reasonable.
We headed for the two caves that are here. At first glance, the cave looks pretty much like a hole in the cliff. But, when you look closer or get closer any way, you see the basalt columns that form the wall. They are absolutely freaking amazing! To think those straight lines are formed by nature. Wow!
Since the tide was out enough, we were able to go around to the cave. It wasn't very deep, but the walls and ceiling were just incredible.
The cave was used as the entrance to a cave in Game of Thrones. I could see why it would appeal to the location scout.
I went to the other side of the cave and thought that the rock there looked interesting. It looked like smoothed over lava. There was another cave farther down the beach.
In order to take our selfie, we had to turn our backs to the wind. It was really tough to keep my hat on.
There was a glass-walled restaurant up at the parking lot. There were restrooms outside next to it. However, you couldn't use them, because the coin-operated turnstile was jammed with a coin. So, J and I went inside to see if there were any in there. A sign said to leave money at the bar, but by now, we had no time to mess with that.
We were on the road again at 3:42 and it was definitely overcast. I was on the ocean side of the bus and even the yellow flowers I saw couldn't make it look any less bleak.
As you walk up the path from the parking lot, you have a great view of the falls, the stream rushing from it to the ocean, and the cliff with more waterfalls along it. It really is pretty cool.
At the end of the path, there are stairs off to the side. My knees were not thrilled with the prospect of climbing those. However, you can walk behind this waterfall! (You can see people in the last photo above, who are behind it.) This is one of the reasons we made sure we had waterproof coats for this trip. I did decide that I did not want to climb up the other side behind the falls and do a 360° trip. I suspected it would be slippery. So, there was nothing for it, but to climb these stairs, which turned out to be wet everywhere and the rails felt a tad slimy, too. Yuk!
J, ever my scout, went ahead at the top to scope out the path through the dirt/mud and rock. She went far enough to decide that I could not in fact go to the back of the falls. It involved going down a slope of the dirt/mud and rocks and that was not going to be a good idea for someone who's knees were not working properly. She did feel I could get fairly far along and be a the side of the back of the falls.
So, that's what I did. I managed to get a photo that I could fairly label "the backside of water" much to the delight of Disney fans on Facebook. I got a photo of J and K and their glasses are almost covered by tiny water drops. Other shots show the beauty of the falls and just how green the land beyond them is.
I like this photo, because besides getting a bit of the volcanic rock of the cliff, I captured a bird in flight up near the top of the falls.
There was a stand selling various things and I got a postcard for 100 kr before we made our way back to the bus. We were on the road again at 5:15.
Traffic got heavier and we actually encountered a traffic jam. Leif said it was all the people heading back to Reykjavik after getting away for the weekend. We also drove through a cloud that descended on the mountain area we had to cross. It was back to looking bleak.
As Leif drove, he continued to tell us about his country. It's about the same size as Kentucky. 11% of the country is glaciers. More than half of all new cars sold here are electric. There have been no Covid-19 cases in June.
In 1941, England asked Iceland to stop trading with the Germans due to the war. They refused. Fearing German occupation of the island, England occupied Iceland. They built the city airport. At some point during the war, the Americans took over protecting the island and the airport. At the end of the war, the Americans gave the airport to Iceland. (It is right near the bus station.) Americans brought Coke, hamburgers, and Caterpillar tractors, none of which the Icelanders had ever seen before.
Thanks to the traffic, our 10-hour tour lasted 10 and 1/3 hours. We were dropped at the hotel at 7:20 and K gave Leif a 1500kr tip. We took the opportunity to dump some things in our rooms and use our bathrooms, before heading out for dinner at 7:45.
We were all a bit tired and not up for hunting for a restaurant on Laugavegur. Luckily, K found an option relatively quickly. It was a bar called Raektin, that had hamburgers. I made sure J was okay with a bar, since she doesn't drink. She agreed to it and in we went.
We waited by the bar for several minutes before a guy came to help us. The back room seemed full. The bar didn't have seats. There was a group at a long table along the wall by the front window. There was a table for two on the opposite side. We suggested that a chair be moved there and we'd make it work for three. He left us with menus and when he came back, I ordered the Classic Burger for 1690 kr and a UFF Blueberry Cider for 1490 kr. J ordered the burger, too, but with a Pepsi for 550 kr. We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries to share for 490 kr, but we both wound up with them on our plate. So, he must have misunderstood and we got charged for both. K decided to be adventurous and order Sesame Cauliflower Wings (in other words, veggie wings) for 1690 kr and a Kaldi Ljos for 1400.
In true bar fashion, the drinks came well before the food. K enjoyed his beer and I really liked everything about my cider from the deep color to the crisp flavor.
Our food took a bit longer, but it was really good, when it came. The burger was juicy and a good size. The sweet potato fries were sprinkled with grated cheese and very tasty. K enjoyed his "wings" and I thought the taste I had was good.
When it came time to pay, the same guy came with a portable card reader. That is much safer than the card disappearing as it does in the US. We left at 9:08.
We were back in the hotel at 9:20. We have to get up early tomorrow and it's a long day. So, we did some packing tonight.
My phone said that this terrific day involved 11,734 steps for a total of 4.4 miles. For whatever reason, it thinks I climbed 12 floors!
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