Why Iceland? It was the most interesting place we could get to for our one week vacation where we didn’t have to kill most of our week in transit or getting over worse jetlag. We hoped it would combine physical activities, nightlife, and relaxation . . . and we were right! We wanted to do it without too much of a schedule, as we’re so scheduled at home, so renting an RV and long Icelandic summer days allowed us to not have to worry about advance reservations, check in/out times, moving luggage in/out, etc. So there we were . . . in Iceland!
Pictures are here, trip description below.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014: Depart Seattle
We flew Iceland Air into Kelfavik, direct flight from Seattle – only a ~6hr flight, and a 7hr time change!
Thursday, June 5, 2014: Reykjavik
Sigrun and Arni from Snail picked us up and brought us to their house. After a nap (we arrived at 6AM), we went in to Reykjavik to explore the city. In addition to exploring, we spent time planning the rest of our trip as we never had a chance to do this at home (we both got the stomach flu right before we left). We went to the tourist agency and they were somewhat helpful. After gathering brochures and info we sat and read at a cafe. We also walked around, had an Icelandic hot dog, which are made out of lamb and covered with remoulade (gross), went to the hotpots (the Icelanders are very into their geothermal hotpots), had a nice dinner (but pricey), and went back to the house to rest up for the rest of our trip! Reykjavik is known for its lively nightlife and music but unfortunately we were too tired and didn’t get to experience this.
Friday, June 6: Depart Reykjavik for Þingvellir to Geysir to Gulfoss to Skógafoss
After a nice breakfast of eggs and toast provided by our hosts, we left around 9am in our Snail Deluxe CamperVan! We first went to the supermarket called Bonus and stocked up on food for the week. It was pretty easy to find the basics that we needed. Driving in Iceland is very easy. There is not much traffic and the signage is incredible (way above American standards). In fact I would say that there might have been an over abundance of signs! The only thing we had to get used to was the travel circles, which actually make a whole lot more sense than the 4+way stops that we have all over Seattle.
We then set off for Þingvellir. Þingvellir is the home of the world’s first parliament. Next we went to Geysir. There were several geysirs there, but the first geysir (that all other geysirs are named for) is here. It was pretty spectacular to watch it erupt (VIDEO). Gulfoss was our next stop, which is Iceland’s biggest waterfall, although there are a lot of huge waterfalls in Iceland. I think around this time we discovered the N1. N1’s are gas stations all over Iceland which have gas (obviously), incredibly clean bathrooms, cafes that serve soft ice cream and hotdogs! Some have small hardware/random stores. We loved the N1! Our GPS somehow directed us to a ferry port on the coast where we found a lovely black sand beach, we stayed for a bit then got going again. The last stop of the day was Skógafoss, a waterfall situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline. This is where we camped for the night. We actually camped at an official campground, but one can really camp anywhere in Iceland. What makes a campground worthwhile is the toilets and showers. It cost $10 per person per night, but the shower cost extra. However, if you visit the hotpots you can take a shower there. We made dinner (spaghetti), drank terrible wine, and enjoyed the view of the waterfall. Around 11pm we finally went to bed in our very comfy van despite the sun still being up. Eye shades and the blackout curtains were definitely necessary!
Saturday, June 7: SKÓGAR–ÞÓRSMÖRK TRAIL (FIMMVORDUHALS) hike
Our hike took some serious planning, as it was 16miles one way — we needed to find a way to get back! We worked out a route that involved catching a (the only) 3pm crazy “superjeep” bus from Basar, then transferring in Hvolsvollur to a regular bus back to Skogar. Problem is, if we missed the 3pm bus we’d be stuck. So we figured we’d need ~10 hours to complete the hike based on guidebooks, etc.
We woke up at 4:30 (still light) and got ready for our big hike. Still jet-lagged, it took us awhile to get started. We set out on our journey around 5:45am. The hike started with a steep incline and cliffs overlooking incredible waterfall after incredible waterfall (22 of them). We were so excited to be on such a beautiful journey, but began to worry as the hike just kept on getting steeper and steeper for hours. Eventually we reached the 1/3 point of the hike and felt confident it could only get easier. We were wrong. We found the bridge we were supposed to cross, but half of it had fallen down so we had to go under, which was possible because the water was still covered with ice and snow. Unfortunately it was starting to melt and as I was walking the ground started to crack under me and Brian quickly grabbed and pulled me back. IF I had fallen I would have been extremely cold, wet and maybe even hurt. Phew! The next part of the hike was what they called the “ashtray” which was volcanic ash and lots and lots of snow. We had to wade through snowfield after steep crazy snowfield for hours. The snow was so mushy that it got into my boots and my socks soon became soaked. We started to worry (Kara may have panicked) as we reached the one emergency shelter hut. We wondered how many more hours could we do this for, did we have enough food to last us through the night if we didn’t make it to the bus, etc. We decided to push on, as the safety shelter did not look very enticing. Eventually we reached the last 1/3 of our hike. This part was steep with jagged rocks everywhere. We stumbled through and after while we began to see other hikers. We had not seen a single person the entire hike until now. We definitely felt better seeing other people! The landscape began to change and we started to see green again. This last part was called Goðaland which means land of the gods. The last 30 minutes we actually had to run in order to catch our bus back. We made it with 5 minutes to spare, and boarded the super bus which had wheels as tall as me (Kara). This bus had to actually drive through rivers, pretty crazy! We had dinner and spent another night in Skogar.
Sunday, June 8: Depart Skógar for Vik to Vatnajökull to Jökulsárlón to Höfn
Vik is on the rainiest part of the island and has a beautiful beach with black sand and white waves. The Lonely Planet said it looked like a “beach seen in negative exposure and the cliffs above glow green”. We thought this was the perfect description. The black sand somehow cause bones and etc. to decay slowly, so we saw lots of cool animal skeletons including what may have been a dolphin. Vatanjokull came next, which is one of the largest glaciers in Europe. This is where we decided to take a snowmobiling ride. I have never been on a snowmobile and generally find them obnoxiously loud and gas guzzling, however we were told by numerous sources this was an amazing experience, so we did it. The snowmobiling company (Glacierjeeps) took us in a jeep up the curvy steep gravel road to where the glacier began. We actually passed some tourist who had tried to drive their rental car up this road and were stuck. Crazy roads like this are considered “F” roads in Iceland and with most rental car agreements you are told not to drive on these. At the top they outfitted us with snow suits and helmets. The snowmobiles were fun (VIDEO), but Brian and I were too scared to do any crazy tricks or jumps. We just zipped around on the glacier going what felt very fast and enjoyed the incredible views. The next stop was Jökulsárlón, where there was a lake with crazy icebergs floating all through it. We took a few pictures and then headed off for Hofn. Hofn is famous for their lobster dinners so we had dinner at a restaurant called Kaffe Hornid. The food was good, but it was pricey and had complimentary bad service. Luckily you do not tip in Iceland. We enjoyed a local beer made with glacial water and thyme, lamb chops, and a reindeer burger. We stayed the night in Hofn at a campsite near the restaurant.
Monday, June 9: Depart Höfn for the East Fjords, Seyðisfjörður to Lake Myvatn to Husavik
We spent much of this day driving through the East Fjords. Beautiful views, but unfortunately it was a bit foggy/drizzly (VIDEO) so we didn’t stop much. Seyðisfjörður is a small town that was recommended by our travel book, so we decided to take a quick detour. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how tough the drive would be. It was on a narrow, steep, mountain pass road (VIDEO of some of the easier part) that was incredibly foggy. When we got there the weather turned nice. We walked around the town, had coffee and local beer at a cafe, and perused some local arts and crafts shops. Beautiful town with snow-capped mountains and hundreds of waterfalls surrounding it, but a bitch to get to. (Coincidence: on the flight back, we watched the Secret Life of Walter Mitty – and he actually goes to this town!) Back over the pass and a bit more driving and we soon hit Lake Myvtan. Myvtan actually means “Lake of Midges” — midges are tiny little annoying bugs that were literally EVERYWHERE. They’re apparently attracted to the CO2 we exhale. It did not take long to realize this town was aptly named. What was cool about this area were the fumaroles (steam vents) and boiling mud pots. We enjoyed walking and seeing steam coming from the earth, pretty crazy and other-worldly looking. We decided we had earned a nice soak so we headed for the Myvatan Nature Baths (VIDEO). First, we were hungry, so we made dinner in our van in the parking lot. Ahh, the conveniences of RV travel. The nature baths were very cool! It was relaxing and we met some other travelers from Vancouver that we enjoyed talking to. It was basically a mini Blue Lagoon. By the way all of the baths make you fully clean yourself before you enter — you must shower naked and in front of everyone. I was bit apprehensive about this, but it was very relaxed and really not a big deal. After we got out we showered and hopped back in our camper and drove to Husavik, one of the northernmost towns and a center for whale watching. We arrived around midnight, and when we went to sleep around 1am, the sun was just setting (but it remained light).
Tuesday, June 10: Husavik adventures, then on towards the airport
Husavik is soooo pretty! There were flowers everywhere, tons of ocean views and more trees than we had seen since being on Iceland. We decided to go on a whale watching boat trip because we thought that sounded like a pretty cool thing to do on the Arctic. We got on a boat with 25 other tourist and we saw some Minke whales, but the water was choppy and I (Kara) felt pretty seasick. They served us cinamon rolls and hot chocolate at the end which was cute. Also the tour guide had an Icelandic knitted sweater for his microphone, but the trip as a whole wasn’t that exciting. We did the whale watching with North Star. We than decided to drive our camper to the prettiest overlook we could find and have a picnic. We found the perfect spot and frolicked in the flowers and layed in the sun. Happiness! Next up was horseback riding which we did with Saltvik. It was just the two of us with a guide and 3 beautiful Icelandic horses. We went down a pretty path to the beach, along some cliffs, and around a lake. We even learned how to Tolt, which is a fast paced stride done on Icelandic horses. We did some galloping too, which I loved! In fact I loved every bit of this horseback riding trip and would highly recommend it! So fun!! We jumped back into the camper and began to drive toward the Blue Lagoon, which was about 6 hours away. We drove until 2am, which was when we could no longer keep our eyes open (although it was still light out) and pulled our camper over on the side of the road and went to sleep.
Wednesday, June 11: to the Blue Lagoon and then the airport to return to Seattle!!
We woke up, did some packing/cleaning, ate a nice breakfast of Skyr and got back on the road toward the Blue Lagoon. Warning: our GPS had two “blue lagoons” — one is actually a store in the airport. Oops. Good thing the actual blue lagoon is only ~20 minutes away. The Blue Lagoon, while touristy, crowded, and expensive, was still a great experience, particularly before the flight. They have mud for your face, serve smoothies and drinks at a walk-up bar in the lagoon, and have various steam rooms, hot waterfalls . . . all for your enjoyment. You can even get a massage while floating in the lagoon (we did not).
After the lagoon, we went back to the airport where we met the Snail folks to return our camper, and then . . . got on our flight home. Seven hours’ flying later . . . we’re back!