Saturday we woke up semi-early, checked out
of Kex, ate a quick breakfast in the car and headed out of town. This time we
drove south east of Reykjavik along the southern Icelandic coast towards Hofn,
a small town on the south-east coast of Iceland. It was about a 5 hour drive
totoal, but we took made some pitstops along the way.
Again, rather by mistake, we stumbled upon
Sejalandsfoss, another famous Icelandic waterfall. We pulled over, snapped
pictures, explored the waterfall, climbed in and around it, and hiked up the
mountain a bit to see the smaller, but still beautiful waterfalls which
decorate the mountainside around Sejalandsfoss. We ate lunch and packed back
into the car to continue on to Jokulsarlon (the glacier lagoon).
After another 2 hours of driving past the
waterfall, and a brief nap for me, we arrived at the lagoon. The wind on this
part of the island was more punishing than we had yet experienced. Thank
goodness for windproof jackets. The icebergs floating in the lagoon were huge
and the most brilliant shade of blue. I had seen pictures of these types of
icebergs before, but didn’t really believe that they were actually that blue in real life. Again, more
photo ops, a seal spotting (whom we named Sven), and a bathroom break, before
we piled back into the car to warm up and continue on to Hofn. Jess napped for
a part of the way from the lagoon to Hofn. We drove around a misty mountain to
the coastal city of Hofn, about an hour outside of the lagoon. We checked into
our guesthouse, where we were supprised to be given ‘the apartment’ all to
ourselves. No more communal showering! We found a recommended restaurant near to
the hostel, and enjoyed a yummy traditional Iceland dinner of lamb and lobster.
Nomnom.
Sunday we slept in a bit, enjoyed
complimentary breakfast and then checked out of the guesthouse. We doubled back
the way we came, heading towards the Skaftafell National Park for some hiking.
On the way, we stopped at the lagoon again, but this time explored the
coastline and beach that connected to the lagoon. Ice had washed up on the
black sand beaches, which made for some good photos. We did classic beach jumping
pictures and then continued on.
Once we got to the Skaftafell National
Park, we ate lunch in the car to boost our strength before the hike up the
mountains to more waterfalls. Svartifoss, a particularly famous waterfall, lie
up in the mountain, about a 40-minute hike up from the parking lot. We passed
other waterfalls along the way before arriving at the rather picturesque and
impressive Svartifoss. The basalt columns through which Svartifoss has carved
its path make Svartifoss unique and recognisable. We took pictures and hiked
past the warning rope further up the river towards the base of the waterfall.
I’m really glad that we did, as we were able to see the most beautiful
blue-green pool that Svartifoss emptied into. More photos and silliness, then
we hiked back.
From Skaftafell National Park we drove to
Vik, a tiny village just past the halfway point between Reykjavik and Hofn. We
checked into our hotel (booked at last-minute due to a booking error not
realised until a week before departure…oops) and dined at the local restaurant,
which happened to be right next door to the hotel. Vik is famous for it’s
beaches and cliff faces. We decided to explore that a bit before showering and
hitting the hay. Along the way we had our first hands-on encounter with Icelandic
horses. Super fuzzy, stalky, and friendly, these horses came right up to us and
let us pet their noses and feed them grass from the other side of the fence.
They followed us on our path to the beach for a little while, before being distracted
by some delicious dandelions or something of that sort.
More black sand beaches on Vik beach.
Rocky, moss-covered cliffs covered in nesting birds high above, and the waves
crashing and spitting foam – this felt like a real beach. We played in the
waves, took even more photos, and just enjoyed the peaceful scenery. We were
the only people on the beach. It was nearly 10 when we went back to the hotel,
but judging from the sun in the sky one would have likely thought it was closer
to 6. Shower in the hotel and pass out on the beds.
