For the “road-trip preliminaries” and the places we visited on days 0-2, check it out here🙂
Day 3: Reynisfjara (Black Sand Beach); Fjaðrárgljúfur; Diamond Beach; Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon)
After surviving the crazy wind the night before at Vík, we headed to Reynisfjara, or Black Sand Beach. Notice I never got close to the water. Reynisfjara has dangerous sneaker waves (basically the waves appear without warning, have a lot of force, and usually come higher up onto the shore, which takes people by surprise and knocks them down…and often times sweeps them out😔). We did not want to even risk it so we stayed a very safe distance from the water.
After leaving Reynisfjara, we continued east and north along the Ring Road toward Fjaðrárgljúfur.
According to south.is, “the bedrock in Fjaðrárgljúfur is mostly palagonite from cold periods of the Ice Age and is thought to be about two million years old.” ok…I just think it is BEAUTIFUL! See for yourself.
Leaving Fjaðrárgljúfur, we continued north toward Diamond Beach. By the time we got there, it was raining and cold but that didn’t stop us from getting out and exploring. At Diamond Beach, pieces of the icebergs that fill Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon break off and wash up on the black sand beach. The contrast between the ice and the black sand makes the ice look like diamonds, hence “Diamond Beach”.
Jökulsárlón (“Glacier Lagoon”) is where we found the icebergs that contributed to the “diamonds”. These icebergs break away from Breiðamerkurjökull, which is part of Iceland’s largest ice cap, Vatnajökull. The lagoon has a mixture of bout salt and freshwater, which gives it the blue-green color.
Once we left Jökulsárlón, we headed to our stop for the night, Fossardalur campsite. This was probably our favorite campsite. The lady that took care of the guesthouse and campsite was Gunhild. She was extremely friendly and nice. I loved that she was knitting when we arrived. This campsite was located on top of a mountain and beside a brook/stream…and there were sheep. (I wish I had gotten a picture or video of the road around and up the mountain to the campsite). I should mention that this campsite had wonderful heated bathrooms and showers…and hot water…and the showers were free! (You will understand and appreciate how great a free shower is if you ever travel to Iceland!)
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| we saw a reindeer!!!! (look in the center of the picture) |
Day 4: Litlanesfoss & Hengifoss; Seyðisfjörður
The next morning, we headed north toward Seyðisfjörður. On the way, we stopped at Litlanesfoss and Hengifoss. The hike/climb to Hengifoss is 2.5km (~1.6 miles) one way. (Not going to lie…I struggled several times and I go to the gym twice a week and run at least once a week. Maybe it was the altitude….it really was a long ascent) About 1.2km into the hike, you get to the top of Litlanesfoss. Litlanesfoss is smaller, but still absolutely stunning waterfall at the bottom of Hengifoss. What makes this waterfall so stunning is that it is flanked by hexagonal basalt columns. The basalt columns were formed when lava cooled as it flowed down. Quite impressive!
Leaving Litlanesfoss/Hengifoss, we went through Egilsstaðir and up, around, over, and down a mountain. (I mention Egilsstaðir only for these beautiful flower “baskets”. Loved them!).
OMG!!! The fog! I have never, in my entire life, been so scared. You couldn’t see in front of you and you know you’re on a mountain so if you go off the road, it’s over! (Maybe a bit dramatic but I was terrified!. My mom was scared too. She was stressed trying to make sure we stayed on the road…and on our side of the road). Once we got out of the fog, it was such a relief!! I didn’t realize how scared I really was until I started shaking. The adrenaline was still pumping so I was shaking, like I was freezing cold but it was all from being terrified.) At the bottom of the mountain was Seyðisfjörður. (there is a video of the whole ordeal but it is too large to load)
Seyðisfjörður is a beautiful, relaxed town in East Iceland. It has cute little shops and cafes. It also has the “little blue church”. One of the cafes is Kaffi Lára/El Grillo. The food was delicious! The views were beautiful! Where we sat, we had a view of the town and the mountains (the foggy mountains) but on the other side of the room, were views of the Port of Seyðisfjörður and Fjarðará. After dinner, we walked all the way around the town, taking in the views and culture of Seyðisfjörður, before making our way back to the campsite (everything was within walking distance). We stayed at campsite Seyðisfjörður (or Tjaldsvæði Seyðisfjörður). It had hot showers (not free) and an area inside with tables and microwaves and outlets (because charging phones and tablets is important). It was a nice place to stay in a quaint little town.
Day 5: Dettifoss; Námafjall; Mývatn; aurora borealis
The next morning, we headed back up, over, around, and down the mountain (again in fog but far less stressful) and headed west and north toward Mývatn. On the way, we had made plans to visit Dettifoss and Námafjall. First was Dettifoss. The Ring Road travelled through parts of Iceland that looked like it would never have ice or snow…or even plants. Just another type of scenery along the Route 1!
The road from Route 1 (Ring Road) to Dettifoss was. not. paved. I think a drive on Mars might have been less bumpy. I should add: we were not in a 4×4 so we drove pretty slow at times. This road was not an F-road though so we proceeded. (F-roads are not allowed in non-4×4 campervans). The long bumpy drive was totally worth it! It was amazing to be so close to such a powerful waterfall. Quick science fact: Dettifoss has the greatest volume of waterfall of any in Europe-500 cubic meters per second [17657.3 cubic feet], is 45 meters high [~147.6 feet], and 100 meters wide [~328.1 feet]). Impressive, huh?!
Heading west, we were on our way to Námafjall and Mývatn. Námafjall is a geothermal area, with smoking fumaroles and boiling mudpots and mud pools, and the smell of rotten eggs (because… sulfur). *Science fact: Iceland is 99% volcanic which leads to **Random fact: the hot tap water in Iceland does not have to be heated. It is coming straight from the earth and is already hot.←cool, huh?! The soil is rich in minerals but also really acidic so no plants can live.
Next was Mývatn, or I should say Mývatn Nature Baths. The water in the lagoon is fed directly from the National Power Company’s bore hole so the water is literally come straight from underground and is naturally heated by the volcanic activity, i.e. lava. The water has a lot of minerals and feels amazing on the skin!
After the Nature Baths, we headed to Hlíð campsite, which is next to Lake Mývatn.
This is where we finally got to see…the Aurora!! This needs no explanation…just pictures😊
(these were taken with my mom’s Google Pixel phone. They were not visible with my phone.)
If you made it this far, thank you! Come back for part 3 next Tuesday!
