So there it is - the last stop on our journey: Iceland. When we set out on our travels, we had no idea where we would all end up. But the wish to make a detour to Iceland on the way home had been with us ever since we left almost a year ago.
We had not exactly planned our Iceland trip far in advance, though. From Mexico we sent part of our camping equipment back home, which we could have used very well in Iceland. In Seattle we shopped the missing gear back together, including sleeping bags that keep you warm down to -1° C. In the hope that this would be enough for the Icelandic autumn.
When you go to Iceland, there is one thing you have above all: a very long to-do list of things you simply must have seen and done: see a geyser, bathe in a hot spring, northern lights, glaciers, Icelandic horses, waterfalls, marvel at whales, eat fermented shark…
If, like us, you only research what you actually want to do in Iceland once you are there, a few more items get added: puffins, icebergs and ice floes, turf houses, geothermal areas, arctic foxes, getting to know Icelandic swimming culture and eating a lot of soft ice cream.
Where on earth do you start?!? I can say this in advance: we did not tick everything off. Three items are missing, to be precise. But you always need a reason to come back.
We did not feel (yet) up to a cold start with dozens of sights and crowds of people. Especially since we had stepped off the plane slightly jet-lagged after it had simply skipped the night. And we had a 20° C temperature difference to cope with. Downwards.
We googled the nearest hot spring and off we went to the bathwater-warm Reykjadalur river. Incidentally, all those names quickly give you a few basics of Icelandic:
- dalur = valley
- foss = waterfall
- fossar = several waterfalls
- jökull = glacier
- fjördur = fjord
Only the pronunciation is quite something… above all because there are such funny letters as ð, þ and æ.
Right, but we want to get to the hot river. We knew beforehand that it was not exactly an insider tip, but the river was supposed to be long enough for everybody to find a warm spot. On the 3 km trek we already saw the first small and large bubbling springs, which are around 100° C hot! Incredible, I had never seen anything like it before!
There were indeed a fair few people in the river, but we found plenty of warm spots to enjoy for ourselves.
Whether it was the warm water or the fact that by North American time it was 7 in the morning - we were suddenly dog tired and headed for the nearest campsite in Selfoss. There was absolutely nothing going on there. Had we been a little optimistic with our we-are-camping-in-Iceland plan?
Nah, said the campsite warden. Most people only turn up between 6 and 8 in the evening. We quickly pitched our tent in the most sheltered spot, since I had serious doubts about how cold it would get at night… and then drove out again to a nearby waterfall, the Urriðafoss. But there simply was not much to be done: one of us urgently needed to go to bed, and one of us finally needed to put together a plan for Iceland.
Day 2: Chasing Waterfalls
Is it the same for everybody, that after a long-haul flight you could sleep until all hours? At 10 in the morning I forced myself (and Jan) out of bed. Firstly the sun was shining wonderfully and secondly we did not want to sleep through Iceland. Oh, and it was not cold at all during the night, by the way!
We had intuitively decided to drive the famous ring road around Iceland anticlockwise. In that case the Golden Circle comes first on the route, home to the most touristy of all Iceland’s touristy highlights. They sum up quite well what Iceland has to offer: a geyser, a waterfall, a water-filled volcanic crater and a rocky rift between two tectonic plates. The loop can easily be done in a day, which is why dozens of tour buses are out on the route.
We only headed for the Strokkur geyser and the Gullfoss waterfall. Even though it really was incredibly busy, I found both natural wonders spectacular. The geyser can handle the crowds without difficulty, since it erupts reliably every 5 minutes in a 20-30 metre high fountain of water. Every spectator has a good selfie after 2-3 eruptions and the next batch of onlookers can move up.
After that we drove to the mighty Gullfoss waterfall, adorned thanks to the shining sun by a large rainbow.
And since we liked the waterfall-plus-rainbow combination so much, we headed straight for the next one: Háifoss. It is not pronounced like the English “high”, incidentally, but more like “howy-foss”.
Many roads in Iceland are tarmacked, but many are not. The really bad ones are so-called F roads, which you should, or may, only drive with four-wheel drive. The 7 km road to Háifoss does not officially fall into that category of road, but in practice it does. Well, it will be fine, we had taken out the all-inclusive insurance package…
Luckily Jan was at the wheel. My nerves barely survived the drive from the passenger seat! Especially after we bottomed out badly once…
Arriving at the end of the road, we stood in a modestly busy car park in the middle of a moss-covered plain. In front of us the Háifoss plunged an impressive 122 m into the depths, making it Iceland’s third highest waterfall. Plus a blue sky - wow!
But that was not all the natural beauty awaiting us. A few metres further on, with the sun at my back - I learned that trick quickly - a rainbow shone at the side of the Háifoss. Simply indescribable.
Admittedly, it is hard to tear yourself away from a sight like that. On the other hand the combination of Iceland plus sun is not to be expected daily. Perhaps we could admire another waterfall with a rainbow?
So we drove on - bottoming out once more - towards Gljúfurárfoss and Seljalandsfoss. Two waterfalls right next to each other. After pitching our tent below the Gljúfurárfoss, we first went to see that waterfall, which effectively falls into a mountain. And in waterproof clothing you can even walk into that mountain through a cave entrance.
The Seljalandsfoss is even better, because firstly another rainbow really was waiting for us there in the evening sun. And secondly you can walk along a rock ledge behind the waterfall and look out from there towards the sunset. Sadly my camera equipment was slightly overwhelmed by the scene because of the spray from the waterfall. Otherwise those would probably have been photo-prize-worthy pictures… ;)
Incredible - what a day! That day we were ready to emigrate to Iceland on the spot. We even had a plan already: Jan works from Reykjavik for six months and I - erm, alright, the plan was not quite fully developed.
Day 3: An over-60s party on the Sólheimajökull glacier
The previous evening we had booked ourselves onto a glacier walk at Sólheimajökull. Arriving there, the great disillusionment: our group was 20 people strong and fell - without wishing to offend anybody - into the 60-plus category…
We were equipped with helmet, harness, crampons and ice axe. In theory I would now have been looking forward to the walk ahead, but looking around the group I was not so sure whether we were perhaps only wearing the gear for professional-looking photos…
The first visual impression was quickly confirmed: after the 10-minute walk from the car park to the glacier we waited a further full 20 minutes until the last member of our group had arrived. When we finally got onto the ice, the guide apologised to us in advance: the tour group had turned up at his office that morning without booking and wanted to join the walk. Normally there are far fewer people, he said - and above all, the fitness level of some of them really was not sufficient. We had simply been unlucky…
All in all we did not get far on the glacier. In the end we could simply have bought crampons in the USA and done the walk on our own. So I say now. Yes, yes, I know, there are supposed to be 700 m deep crevasses and holes that are easy to overlook…
Admittedly: I am sitting here three weeks after our trip typing out my Iceland memories. For that I have a crib sheet. On the crib sheet are 50 sights in total that we saw in Iceland. For instance that after the glacier walk we went to the Dyrhólary cliffs - because there are supposed to be puffins there. Yes, I remember. But it is simply impossible to remember all the names.
Sadly puffins only breed in Iceland until mid-August, as I only discovered later during my research. We also visited the black beach of Reynisfjara near Vik. On the whole, though, that day it felt to us as though every Iceland road-tripper (and sadly every bus tour as well) was working through the same points.
Very important - Iceland has a genuine swimming pool culture: every village, however small, has a swimming pool. And these are mostly used only by Icelanders, not by tourists. Obviously we had to take a look, right? You take off your shoes in the hallway, go into the changing room, into the shower naked (this is compulsory) and only then into the pool (in swimwear). In our case the one in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. And often swimming pools have only an outdoor pool and definitely always a hot pot. With a view of a waterfall it is very easy to endure even at 7° outside.
Day 4: Ice, Ice, Baby!
Right behind our tent at the campsite in Kirkjubæjarklaustur a long narrow path went up a hill. Since Jan was still asleep, I climbed it on the spur of the moment. At some point the path disappeared and only sheep tracks led upwards. My common sense told me: leave it. My wish to see sheep at the top saw the odd shoe print here and there.
At the top a few cuddly, sweet little sheep promptly came strolling towards me. I had actually meant to memorise exactly where I had come up the hill. Because if I have learned one thing on our travels: navigation is definitely not my strong point. Instead I followed the sheep across their mountain pasture. That this can only go wrong is something I know as well. When I wanted to head back, I of course no longer knew where the way down was. And the slope was so steep that from above you could not make it out for the life of you. So I took the first turning downhill. At first it was fine, but at some point it got really steep. And from there I could see the path perfectly clearly. Sadly it was ten metres away from my chosen route…
I optimistically carried on regardless for a while. But at some point I seriously asked myself how tired of life I actually am. And I would claim that I am really not the sort of person who gets scared on a mountain. It was simply appallingly steep and without a discernible path. Eventually I turned back after all. And had to discover that I was back at the top very quickly and, via the right path, back down again relatively quickly too. Why not do that in the first place?
There was one good thing about my little excursion taking longer: Jan was awake! :) On the plan for that day were two highlights I was really looking forward to: Diamond Beach and the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.
As is the way in Iceland, though: you never really get anywhere without a stop along the way. And so we first pulled up at the Svinafellsjökull glacier, where we only wanted to take a nice photo of the glacier tongue. But it turned out you could also walk quite well along the foot of the glacier from there. Without crampons we were not brave enough to venture properly onto the ice, though… You know, 700 m deep crevasses and all that…
Before reaching the large Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon we also discovered the small Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon and there the first “icebergs” we had seen in our lives.
The Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach, so called because little icebergs line the black beach like diamonds, were considerably busier. But deservedly so!
The picture below of our campsite in Höfn is rather amusing, because it makes you believe we camped in incredible idyllic surroundings. In reality, though, Icelandic campsites are often terribly conveniently located by the road. That night we were also lucky enough to have pitched our tent under a street lamp. And it was good, too, that we had strategically placed our tent within walking distance of the toilet block… whose door to the men’s toilet squeaked at full volume. But hey: nice picture, right? ;)
