Kirkjufell
Iceland has been on my list of places to go to for many years. It seemed to be one of those places that you really want to go to but probably never will. Then one day I threw it out to Kyle and he agreed to go. We were so excited we booked our tickets nine months in advance! I spent about two months creating a very detailed schedule for each day. Even though we were spending two weeks in Iceland I wanted to make sure we didn’t waste a single minute. This was going to be our longest, most adventurous, unique and expensive trip we’ve done yet and it was definitely one of the best.
Camper
We took Wow Air from Detroit direct to Iceland. It left at 00:50 and arrived at 10:50 – a six hour flight and four hour time difference. We then took the FlyBus to Go Campers where we picked up our 4×4 SUV retrofitted as a camper. This would serve as our hotel on wheels for the duration of our stay. Kyle had made a joke in the time leading up to our trip that we would either have a great time or be divorced by the end of our trip since the bed was smaller than a twin size. On the first night as we got into our pint sized bed he added to the joke a third option – that he would be murdered. I am happy to say that he is still alive and we are still married! So once we got our camper we started driving. It was so overwhelming that we went back, parked it at the grocery store that was next to the camper place and walked across the street to Taco Bell for something that was familiar. Only the entire menu was in Icelandic. So we ordered by picture. We each got a meal and it came to $27! Holy cow! Next came the time to get groceries. It was a little challenging but we figured out enough so that we could make ourselves some ham and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jellies, cereal, including lactose free milk which we fortunately found, and Ramen noodles. Plastic bags cost $.20 by the way.
Kerid
Our itinerary said that we were to spend some time in Reykjavík but it was so challenging getting our bearings with all the traffic on a Saturday afternoon that we headed up into the countryside to start on day two instead. The Golden Circle is what it is known as and is the most visited destination since it’s so close to the city. We stopped first at beautiful Kerid Crater with its red volcanic rock and teal lake inside. Next was Thingvellir which is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic places have actually pulled apart and you can walk and snorkel/dive between them. Our next day we finished up the GC with Geysir and Gulfoss by morning and visited the waterfalls Hjalparfoss, Gjain and Haifoss.
Hike to Blahnjukur
Brennisteinsalda
The reason we rented the 4×4 was so that we would be able to venture into the highlands. The highlands are the central part of Iceland. 4×4‘s are required for these roads which are called F roads because of the terrains that you cross, such as very bumpy gravel roads, lava fields, gigantic rocks, sand patches and rivers, yes, rivers. On Day 3 we were headed to Landmannalaugar for some hiking and just before we arrived to the site we came to our first river. Many people had just parked and walked over the bridge but some people with the proper vehicle had drove through. We (I) were not prepared for this. There was a guy telling Kyle that we would make it no problem. I told Kyle to just park it but naturally he wanted to go through it. It was incredibly scary but we made it only to come to a second river! While at Landmannalaugar we did two hikes – Blahnjukur the day of our arrival and Brennisteinsalda the following day. Both hikes were climbing mountains which we had never done before. I didn’t exactly realize what I had signed us up for. Looking at the first mountain you would have thought we were insane it was so high up. I thought maybe I was just looking at the wrong one. Our hike started walking along a river, then climbing through a lava field, then crossing a river, and finally venturing up. It took us about an hour to climb it. Some parts were so steep that you couldn’t find a flat section to even take a break. The views were awesome though and I was so proud of us for doing it. The next day I would have skipped the second mountain climb but the guides there told us it was easier than the first one we did so we went for it. This one was not as steep but it was still challenging and seemed much longer. Brennisteinsalda is Iceland’s most colorful mountain and I think I said to Kyle 50 times, “wow, I can’t believe the colors!”
Gljufrabui
After Landmannalaugar we headed to the very popular south coast which happens to be my favorite area. The waterfalls and scenery there is amazing. We camped at the Seljalandsfoss campsite and had perfect views of it from our car. This waterfall is one you can actually walk behind and was pretty cool to do. The other waterfall at the site is Gljufrabui and is probably our favorite. It’s a waterfall inside a slot canyon that you have to hover close to the canyon wall and balance on rocks so as not to fall into the very cold river. Once you get to the falls the power is incredible. We wore our rain suits and thank god we did because we were soaked. The mist and wind was just awesome in there.
Fjadargljufur Gorge
Our next morning, Day 5, we ventured on to Skogafoss where they were actually filming the Netflix’s show Lost In Space. Tucked a few minutes drive away is a secret waterfall, Kvernufoss, that draws only a fraction of visitors that Skogafoss does. This is one of our favorite falls as well as you can walk behind it. We then ventured on to the Dyrholaey Peninsula where we saw a rock arch and then the famous Reynisfjara (Vik) black sand beach with its huge basalt sea stacks. The beach was incredibly busy and we really didn’t get the appeal. Lastly, our day consisted of the Fjadargljufur Gorge which is a beautiful gorge with a nice waterfall at the end. By this time, practically everything we had done involved an uphill hike and Kyle wasn’t sure why I kept putting us through that.
Diamond Beach
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon
Day 6 was special because it was Kyle’s birthday. He is officially able to run for president now! We started out with hiking (uphill) to Svartifoss. The hike was long and boring but the falls were pretty with the dark basalt pillars surrounding them. We then hiked to a glacier lagoon in the Skaftafell Nature Reserve. Our next stop was to Diamond Beach. Small pieces of icebergs break off and wash up on the beach which is black sand and it is absolutely amazing. I loved seeing this beach and we even got to see a few seals playing in the water. This beach combined with our next stop, the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, was my absolute favorite thing. The Glacier Lagoon is HUGE with tons of massive floating icebergs that have broken off from the glacier. Each iceberg looked different. Some were beautiful blue and some were white with black volcanic ash strips. We took the Zodiac boat tour where you cruise around the lagoon looking at everything. The sky was perfect for taking pictures and it was such an amazing experience.
Drekagil Gully
Day 7 we made a stop at the Hvalnes Beach which our friends the Jones’ coined M&M beach because of the way the rocks look. This day was a long driving day for us as we entered the East Fjords. We sopped at Hengifoss which was again, an uphill hike, but the falls were very pretty with red streaks in the rocks behind them. We then headed into the highlands on a three hour long F road journey. We got to our destination just short of nightfall. The next morning was incredibly foggy. We hiked through the Drekagil (dragon) Gully and the fog was perfect for it. The top of the canyon had interesting rock formations which kind of resembled gargoyles looking down at you. The end of the canyon had a nice waterfall. Next we went to Askja to see the Viti Crater. The fog, wind and rain really picked up here and you could barely see the next trail marker. The crater is extremely colorful and through the fog we could see it. I could only imagine what it would look like on a clear day. We then took the dangerous F88 road. The warden at the campground told us we would be fine to pass the rivers in our vehicle which made me feel slightly better but not when we actually got to them. The deepest river was about 2 feet deep. She told us to drive in like a banana and stay close to the rope because that is where it is shallowest. We survived it but it was very scary. At one point you could actually see the water splashing up on the hood. OMG.
Botnstjorn Pond
After our F road adventure we headed to Dettifoss, Selfoss (which is one of our favorites), Hafragilsfoss and ended at Asbyrgi. Asbyrgi is a beautiful U shaped canyon and is capital of the Hidden People (elves and such). They actually had some trees there! Iceland doesn’t have many trees and if you happen to see some, they are going to be pine. But here, we saw real trees with leaves and they were changing colors. It was really beautiful. We did a couple of hikes here.
Dimmuborgir Lava Fields
For Day 9, we continued on to another hike where we got to see some basalt sound cliffs and Raudholar which is a red faced cliff. It was in this area where we were introduced to the dreadful MIDGES. Midges are annoying flying bugs. They don’t bite but they get right up in your face and ears and are horrible. Fortunately, I knew about these and came prepared with head nets. We were pretty sure some people laughed at us and maybe even took our photo but we didn’t care. We didn’t spit bugs like they did. So along our midge journey, we went to a couple geothermal areas with mud pots and fumaroles, the GOT famous Grjotagja cave, the humungous Hverfjall crater, the Dimmuborgir Lava Fields which were awesome, Hofdi rock formations and finally the Skutustadagigar pseudo craters. We did a lot and quickly. We couldn’t get out of that area fast enough.
Aldeyjarfoss
Day 10 we went to Godafoss, Aldeyjarfoss (which is another favorite waterfall), stopped in Akureyi and then proceeded on to the Troll Peninsula. The drive around the peninsula was supposed to be scenic and lovely with the exception of the TUNNEL OF DEATH! Iceland decided it would be a good idea to make a one way tunnel through the mountain but with two way traffic. Yeah. I about lost my sh!t after our first near death encounter. They have pull outs to move over when another car is coming. Our lane was the pull out lane. It was incredibly hard to judge how close and fast a car is approaching in the dark with headlights blinding you until it’s too late and then you don’t have a pull out available. It was six kilometers of bladder holding suspense. So after the peninsula, we visited Glaumbaer which was a turf house museum. The turf houses were so adorable. Lastly we visited Hvitserkur which is rock formation in the sea that looks like a dragon drinking water. Legend says it’s a troll that turned to stone.
Dynjandi
Our 11 day was another long driving day as we headed into the West Fjords. Most people don’t venture there because it’s so far away. On our drive, we stopped at the Arctic Fox Center where we learned about the foxes and got to see two blue morph brothers. Most of the worlds arctic foxes are white but Iceland’s population is 80% blue due to their coastal diet. We then stopped at Isafjordur which is the largest town in the west fjords. We had lunch there at a pizza place/party store. They served ice cream and even had lactose free! Icelanders love ice cream and candy – black licorice being their favorite. They also love pizza and swimming. Our last stop of the day was to Dynjandi which is Iceland’s largest waterfall cascading at 100 meters. There are actually six smaller waterfalls leading up to it. We didn’t do much else this day. With how big the fjords are, you could drive for an hour and only gain one kilometer distance from where you originally started. It got pretty boring sometimes.
Raudasandur Beach
Day 12 we started at the Icelandic Sea Monster Museum. For as small as the country is, nearly every family has someone who has had their own personal encounter with a monster. It was pretty cool to learn about these creatures and how many people describe the same ones. Iceland has four main monsters. One of the fjords is the most widely known for spotting one and as we drove by we saw a road sign that said “Beware of Sea Monsters.” The last sighting was four years ago. Next, we went to the Latrabjarg Cliffs which are famous for birding. In the summer, thousands of puffins come here to breed. It’s also the western most part of Iceland and Europe. We continued on to a red sand beach that was basically just regular sand and then on to West Iceland. Our day wasn’t complete without catastrophe though. Despite all the F roads and gravel roads we had drove on, we got a flat tire on a paved road. We had to pull off to change it. Needless to say the jack was in the wrong spot and wouldn’t go high enough to get the tire off. Of course we had already taken the bolts off and they wouldn’t go back on. So, we had to let the jack down, the car was barely being supported by the loose tire, then the jack broke, oil spilt all over the ground, Kyle got the oil all over his coat and pants, the jack spot was actually behind the tire, Kyle had to reach in and put the jack in the right spot, we had to borrow jacks from two different people and then finally got the tire changed. It wasn’t a good situation.
Grabrok Crater
Day 13 was our last full day in Iceland. We started out very early that morning just in case we ran into car issues. There aren’t any car shops around other than Reykjavik so we wanted to make sure we were headed in that direction just in case. We first went to Kirkjufell which is Iceland’s most photographed mountain and was also featured in GOT. We then went to Djupalonssandur beach which was a very cool beach. There were huge lava formations and the waves were so volatile it made for a really cool setting. Next we stopped to see the statue of Bardur (protector of the Snaefellsnes peninsula) and then Grabrok Crater.
Hraunfossar
Then, we went Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. Hraunfossar was another favorite waterfall. What’s unique about this one is that all the water comes from the ground. It doesn’t fall from any river above and the water is so blue. After that, we went to see the Deildartunguhver geothermal area which is where the water comes out so hot it boils. There was a dog that just laid in the middle of the parking lot as you pulled in. We walked up to it and it started wagging its tail so we bent down to pet him and when we did, he rolled on his back so we could rub his belly and just stayed there. He was so funny. Then when we walked away, he rolled back over. The dog didn’t move for any car. We then stopped at a Troll Park where we got to walk around learning about trolls and seeing various sculptures.
Northern Lights
For our last night, we decided to spoil ourselves and booked a suite. It was 350 square feet of wonderful space! A private bathroom and shower! And a large bed! That was our treat to ourselves. We ended the evening by booking the Blue Lagoon. Not so funny story, there are actually two Blue Lagoons in Iceland….and we saw both of them. You have to reserve your time in advance. Fortunately, we were plenty early as we had to race back to the correct Blue Lagoon. We got there and it worked out. The Blue Lagoon was pretty cool. It was night time and the lagoon was huge. There were a lot of people but not the amount I had expected and it was nice that it was dark so you couldn’t really see people. The water was warm and you could see the stars above. It was a perfect ending. BUT THEN, just when we left, it finally happened. The northern lights. On our last night in Iceland we finally saw them and it was perfect. We saw the greens and the purple and watched them dance across the sky. I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting ending to our trip.
Lava Tunnel
Our last day we took it easy. We had lunch at the same place we had ate the day before because it was so good. Next, we headed into the city where we spent a time trying to find a spot big enough to park our vehicle and then just walking around and looking at all the cute shops and cafes. We then took a tour of a lava tunnel which was a tunnel created over 5000 years ago by lava flowing through it. The cave was pretty cool and you could see a lot of reds and purples from where the lava mixed with iron. It is also one of the biggest tunnels reaching 30 meters wide at some points and 10 meters high. It’s impressive to think that nature created it all on its own.
Iceland was truly an amazing and magical place. Between watching for sheep in the road, stopping to pet the horses, seeing rainbows nearly every day, and bazillions of waterfalls, Iceland was truly a one of a kind, unforgettable experience.
