Icelandic Honeymoon: Day Three

After our surprisingly sound sleep in the van, I explored the beautiful views surrounding our "campsite", which included a herd of horses, which are some of the most majestic creatures I've ever seen up close. They were so friendly and social, too! The Icelandic horse is one of the purest breeds in the world, because local law prevents all other horses from being imported into the country, and exported animals are never allowed to return. These are some of my favorite photos that I took on our whole trip, because the horses are such wonderful subjects -- and our unexpected backdrop of Eyjafjallajökull in the hazy morning light was amazeballs.

After a quick PB&J breakfast, we were off to Seljalandsfoss, our first big waterfall of the trip. It looks quite delicate and beautiful from afar, but once you get closer to this 200-foot-tall beast, you will quickly become drenched with the spray. This is one of the most unique waterfall experiences in Iceland, since you can follow a path into a cave behind the falls and stand behind the curtain of cascading water. (Note: Make sure you are wearing raingear and shoes with good tread; the pathway is uneven in parts and very slippery.) Just a stone's throw away from here is Gljúfrafoss, which is mostly obscured by a cliff face. You can access this hidden falls through a thin crack in the outside cliff wall, as well as climb the small, winding cliff to get an aerial view of this moss-covered waterfall den. (Note: Apparently you do have to pay for parking here, but it was swarming with tourists when we arrived, so we drove a bit further down towards Gljúfrafoss and managed to park freely near some campsites.)

A very short drive away is yet another stunning waterfall: Skógafoss, which produces such a massive amount of spray that often you will be blessed with a single or double rainbow appearing in the mist. Sadly, it was too cloudy and gray for us to get a spectrum this day, but the lush green walls and deafening sound was more than enough to satisfy. (Note: You can walk right up to the falls, but unless you are wearing full rain gear and have protection for your camera, I would not recommend. I got pretty soaked and didn't even approach that closely!) There are also 370-ish steps that take you to the top of the falls, and it was here that I realized just how out of shape I'd become in recent years. People many decades older than myself were passing me on the stairs; a truly humbling experience. ;) However, despite the pain to get to the top, it is quite hypotizing to watch the water from the Skoga River rush over the edge. The food truck Sveitagrill Miu is on location just before the parking area, and definitely worth a stop for some tasty fish & chips, along with an assortment of dipping sauces and gourmet salts.

We ended up skipping our plans to visit the Turf House in Selfoss the previous day, so since we were making good time on our itinerary we stopped at the nearby Skógasafn museum to get our first real dose of Icelandic history and culture. The transporation and communication exhibits were interesting enough, but we skipped the folk museum and instead went out to see the recreated village, which includes a schoolhouse, church, and several styles of homes from periods of Icelandic history, including a very Bilbo Baggins-esque turf house. It's crazy to think that several of the wooden houses were lived in until the 1970's!

Next we were off to Reynisfjara Beach in Vík, which when we were tossing around ideas for honeymoon destinations, was the location that made me 100% set on Iceland over anywhere else in the world. It's the southernmost village in Iceland, and as there is no landmass in the Atlantic Ocean between here and Antarctica, the waves hit the shoreline with an unparalleled ferocity. (Note: the warning signs on the beach here are NO JOKE. Avoid going near and certainly IN the water. The "sneaker" waves are very unpredictable and the undertow can take you out to the freezing sea in a heartbeat. A tourist drowned here just earlier this year, and several others in recent memory.) Despite the treacherous waters and howling winds, the location is unbelievably unique and awe-inspiring, with it's gothic caves, towering basalt columns, jet black sand, and legends of trolls who turned to stone sea stacks in the shallows of the Atlantic Ocean. The area is also known for a lot of puffin activity in the early morning and late evening hours, but since our trip was in the afternoon we unfortunately missed getting a glimpse of these cute little sea birds. Despite the town of Vík being home to only 300 residents, it has several well-reviewed restaurants. We refueled our bellies at Suður-Vík, a charming and cozy spot with exposed beams, a delicious camembert pizza, and local artwork made from shells, rocks and flora from the black sand beach.

It's hard to believe that even after such a full day, we still had one more stop to make: Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. What had started as a light drizzle on Reynisfjara Beach had developed into full-fledged rain by the time we arrived, so our stop here was cut short and we didn't hike the full length. The canyon is well over 300 feet deep and about a mile long, and the bedrock dates back to the Ice Age some two million years ago. NBD. The serpentine shape of the canyon is a by-product of thousands of years of erosion, caused by the melting glaciers, and provides some truly spectacular views. It's one of the prettiest spots to see in Iceland (and that's saying something!) and despite its easy access from the Ring Road there aren't many tourists here.

From here, we drove past miles and miles of lava rock fields, covered by undisturbed moss. (Note: Despite Justin Bieber rolling around on the moss in one of his music videos, please take care to stay on the marked paths and don't walk on it: moss is very fragile, and can take hundreds of years to regrow after being trampled upon.) The skies were super gray and moody because of the continued rain, so that paired against the seemingly never-ending horizon of green lichen was really incredible. The rain was relentless, so we decided to park for the night in a legitimate campground at Skaftafell National Park, since we planned on hiking there the next day. Being holed up in the van because of the weather wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared: we had a few drinks, watched Game of Thrones, made a few calls home to friends and family, and attempted to play Bananagrams until several of the letter tiles went flying out of eyesight into hidden crevices of the van.

Back to Icelandic Honeymoon: Day Two (Reykjavik > Golden Circle)

Continue to Icelandic Honeymoon: Day Four (Eastern Iceland)

Icelandic Honeymoon: Day Two

Our breakfast plans of stuffing our faces with pastries from Brauð & co were dashed due to many businesses being closed for the merchant's holiday, but we were not disappointed by the croissant offerings at nearby Sandholt Bakery.

We had a few hours to kill in the city before our camper van would be ready that afternoon, so we took advantage of the immaculately sunny day to explore more. An eye-opening visit to The Icelandic Phallological Museum, the world's largest (only?) penis museum, got our blood flowing enough to take a pleasant walk over to the harbor.

We poked around at Harpa Concert Hall and tried not to smudge too many of the windows (that clearly take an army to keep pristine). The wind in the harbor is no joke, so we popped into quaint little Sægreifinn for a bowl of their incredible lobster soup to warm ourselves up. I could probably eat that soup every day for the rest of my life.

At long last, 1pm arrived and the CampEasy shuttle took us to get saddled up into our trusty steed for the rest of the week. We originally reserved their cheapest camper van, but they gave us a free upgrade to their 4x4 Volkswagen Transporter, which I lovingly named Jason Statham.

Once we loaded up the van with food and supplies (basically just snacks, pb&j materials, hot dogs, and giant water bottles to refill with the mouthwatering local H2O along the way) we set out to the first of our many scenic landscapes: Þingvellir National Park. (Note: You must pay for parking at the kiosk here, but all of the other natural landmarks we visited across the country had free parking.) It's easy to get lost in the geologic wonders in this park, as the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are visibly drifting apart here, but digesting the history of the place was the most incredible part for me.

The Althing assembly that gathered in this spot is the oldest parliament in history, formed in 930AD. These yearly assemblies decided on legislation and dispensed justice, and were usually the main social event of the year. For nearly two centuries, Althing's rule of law believed that blood was the only way to cleanse society's sins and 72 executions took place at Þingvellir in that period. As I marveled over the clear, refreshing pool of Drekkingarhylur I glanced up to read a plaque, noting that 18 women were drowned in the water there for various crimes of immorality (generally, incest or pregnancy out of wedlock). This is when I realized that among the immense beauty of Iceland, you can also find some very twisted history and legends.

The park is also home to Öxarárfoss, a lovely little waterfall where several children (and adults) were splashing barefoot in the pools of water below it. I also loved tiny Þingvallakirkja, one of Iceland's oldest churches, and the Nikulásargjá fissure, where the crystal blue water has become littered with coins that began being tossed back in 1907 in honor of a visiting Danish king.

After a quick dinner of gas station hot dogs, we stopped at one of the more hidden gems along the Golden Circle route: Efstidalur Farm. This is as locally-made as it gets: the dairy cows serving up the milk for their ice cream are in the barn adjacent to the parlor. I got mango with vanilla soft serve, while my husband opted for the decadent salted caramel. The homemade waffle cone was equally delicious, but the icing on the cake was the farm dog, who was a dead ringer for our own sweet white husky mix back home, Daphne.

I should mention here that we decided to skip the most popular destination of the Golden Circle, Gullfoss, just for the simple fact that we would be seeing plenty of other waterfalls on our journey, and we knew it would be teaming with tourists. (We skipped the Blue Lagoon for similar reasons.) That being said, we didn't want to miss one of the more unique tourist hotspots: the Haukadalur valley area, home to Geysir and Strokkur. Despite our intel saying that Strokkur erupts every 6-8 minutes, we nearly got drenched as we approached the "splash zone" because there should have been another five minutes til the next eruption! My iPhone camera only got a tiny bit wet, and we had fun oohing with the crowd with every burst of boiling water thereafter.

After a pretty full day of walking around the city, a World Heritage Site, and avoiding the spray from gushing geysers, we were ready for some relaxation. Enter nearby Flúðir's "secret lagoon", Gamla Laugin. The rugged charm of this natural swimming pool sets it apart from places like the Blue Lagoon, plus it's a lot more historical. Originally built in 1891, the pool sat unused from 1937 until being refurbished with new changing rooms and a small cafe in 2014. The water trickles in from a hot spring, and there is a small geyser that erupts every ten minutes or so. (Note: Leave your modesty at the door. All of the public swimming areas in Iceland require you to shower naked before donning your swimsuit and entering the pool. I was nervous at first, but it's really no biggie.) It's the perfect spot to float around and rest your tired limbs in misting, hot water with a cold beer after a long day of exploring. My husband voted this his favorite place we visited on our entire week-long trip (even over the Mývatn Nature Baths).

Feeling like brand new humans, we now needed to find somewhere to park our van for the night. We found a secluded road and drove (and drove and drove) until we were certain we were far away from any residences. (Note: unless you are in a designated campground area, the rule in Iceland is you must have the landowner's permission to camp there.) We didn't realize until close to midnight that we parked in the midst of a beautiful view of Eyjafjallajökull, the glacier volcano which famously erupted in 2010. I was nervous about how well I would sleep, given the potential discomfort of our makeshift bed coupled with the minimal hours of dark sky in the summer, but after a couple of gin & tonics, and thanks to the magic of the hot spring water relaxing my muscles, I dozed off dreaming of the waterfalls and black sand beaches we'd be seeing the following day.

Continue to Icelandic Honeymoon: Day Three (Southern Coast)

Back to Icelandic Honeymoon: Day One (Downtown Reykjavik)