Iceland - Part I of IV - The Highlands
This was to be the final stop in our round the world trip. One last hurrah, and we found ourselves once again, at the changing of the seasons. We would spend an entire month on the spicy Ísland; first in a 4x4 vehicle and rooftop tent, traversing the much less touristed interior of the country, the Highlands; and then in a regular vehicle, around the Ring Road and into the Westfjords. One final adventure.
We landed in Keflavík International two hours after departing the Faroes (nobody checked our IDs!), excited and eager to see how Iceland would be different from the other Nordic country. Of course, we had a little bit of an idea of what to expect -- it's hard to traverse the internet for long before running across a blog or travel website espousing Iceland as an insta-worthy, must-see, bucket-list destination.
We began searching for the representative who would pick us up and take us to the car rental place. We headed outside and were pretty shocked by the cool temperatures -- in the mid-40s. We waited around for awhile, slowly getting colder and colder until finally -- the man with the sign walked up -- and he told us he needed to find another group and that we would have to wait a bit more. So we did, hoping the salvation of a warm vehicle was moments away.
Eventually the dude showed up again, this time with a gaggle of people. The van he brought was somehow not big enough for everyone -- but not to worry, we were here first, so the man assured us we wouldn't have to wait.
We loaded in and headed towards the rental area, getting our first look at the landscape around the airport. Flat. Lava-y. Very little vegetation.
Geologically, Iceland is a protuberance of the mid-Atlantic ridge, the meeting of plate boundaries of North America and Europe, and as such, is constantly undergoing dynamic earth processes. Blessed with this bounty of planetal heat, the island is almost totally run on geothermal energy!
Iceland has around 30 active volcanic systems, thirteen of which have hosted eruptions since the settlement of the island. Quite impressively, over the past 500 years, Iceland's volcanoes have produced a third of the total global lava output.
From wikipedia:
The most deadly volcanic eruption of Iceland's history was the so-called Skaftáreldar (fires of Skaftá) in 1783. The eruption was in the crater row Lakagígar (craters of Laki) southwest of Vatnajökull glacier. The craters are a part of a larger volcanic system with the subglacial Grímsvötn as a central volcano. Roughly a quarter of the Icelandic population died because of the eruption. Most died not because of the lava flow or other direct effects of the eruption but from indirect effects, including changes in climate and illnesses in livestock in the following years caused by the ash and poisonous gases from the eruption. The eruption is thought to have erupted the largest quantity of lava from a single eruption in historic times.
Amazing! Living under the threat of volcanic eruption. With such badass names as Vatnajökull and Grímsvötn, I wouldn't mind either.
Historically, Iceland is very similar to the Faroe Islands -- it was first settled in 874 AD by Norseman, and just like the Faroes, have their parliamentary Althing, and they too claim it is the oldest in the world! Iceland was self-governing for a time before acceding to Norwegian rule and then to Danish rule. Black death killed around 50% of the population in the early 1400s and then later in the mid-1450s killed another 30%. In the 1500s the Danish introduced Lutheranism to the island. In 1944 Iceland voted to become a republic. Today, Iceland is ranked the third most developed country in the world and ranks first in the Global Peace Index. Wow!
Once we arrived at the car rental place we had to wait a bit more. But, they had high-def drone footage of Iceland playing on a loop interspersed with videos of people accidentally purchasing rental cars by stranding them in rivers...
We had originally reserved an automatic 4x4 so I could drive too but it turns out the window came back broken so we accepted a manual, filled out the paperwork, was given the 20 degree bags we had rented, and was shown how to operate the tent. Warning stickers dotted the interior of the vehicle -- warning of F-road conditions and opening doors in high winds. F-roads are unpaved tracks that are only maintained during the summer and only traversable (legally) with a 4x4 vehicle. It is also illegal to off-road anywhere in Iceland; you can be ticketed if a ranger or officer sees even one tire off the track. Unfortunately, we saw a lot of tracks in places that indicated people were disregarding this.
Our rental car was pretty beat up but that meant it would probably not be scrutinized upon return.
We had downloaded the entirety of the island for offline use in google maps (although TBH google maps ended up sucking in both the Faroes and here).
Before long, we found ourselves on our way!
I had planned an easy afternoon -- picking up food and supplies in Reykjavik, and then heading towards a campground on the ring road, which would set us up for launch into the Highlands the next morning.
When we realized how cold it was however, we decided to stop by the mall first, to pick up some thick tights and another sweater for me as we only had our fleeces and waterproof shells for outerwear. We found an Icewear Iceland store which is apparently the most mainstream wool clothing brand in Iceland, and I found a ton of beautiful things but could only afford to buy the hats we needed to keep our brains toasty.
After that we headed to another Bonus where we loaded up on canned, dry, and shelf-stable goods. A few bananas were all the fresh produce we could muster.
One thing that was different both here and in the Faroes was that where in an American grocery store the dairy/eggs/cheese/meat are typically in refrigerated displays (with or without doors), here, the entire refrigerated section was in it's own chilled room with sliding doors, and the products displayed on shelves inside. This seems much more energy efficient. Maybe other grocery stores were not that way but every Bonus was.
We headed towards Gesthús Selfoss, a campground and guesthouse inside the town of Selfoss, named after the waterfall. We parked, just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, and walked in and inquired about camping. Fortunately, campground reservations are not common here and we were able to pay 4,000ISK (about $30) to camp in the grass. The best part about Iceland is a byproduct of sitting astride an active volcano -- endless hot water. Sure it smells a little bit like boiled eggs, but so does everything else!
So we took two long luxurious hot hot hot showers, and made dinner. The communal kitchen was full of travelers just like us.
We cleaned up and climbed into our roof top tent; it was surprisingly comfortable! The canvas on the tent was thick and offered more protection than a regular ground tent. You could sit up inside and move around. I pulled out the thick wool blanket we picked up in the Faroes and wrapped myself like a burrito. I had strong doubts about the ability of a 20 degree bag to keep me warm at night. My wonderfully toasty 0 degree down bag was over a thousand miles away...
Vitali came back from the house and said "Look, there is an aurora", in such a casual way that I assumed he was merely joking. It did touch me as odd that he used the word 'aurora' though. After several minutes I asked Vitali what he was doing outside -- and he repeated -- There is an aurora! So I leapt out of the tent, gathered my tripod and camera, and frantically searched for my glasses.
Only then did I look up.
Directly below the big dipper was the most ethereal phenomena I have ever witnessed. Green light danced in the night sky, tendrils extending and morphing and rippling in the lightest solar breeze. An almost imperceptible purple fringed the edges. I was mad at Vitali for not telling me sooner. What luck! We saw the aurora borealis on our first night in Iceland. They were not that common after that.
After about 15 minutes the lights faded, and we climbed up into the tent for real this time, and went to sleep.
It got down to about 25 overnight and I was a little cold towards the morning but it wasn't unbearable. We boiled some eggs for breakfast, huddled inside the car to eat, and then drove off.
Today, our adventure would begin. We would travel into the Highlands, heading for Landmannalauger. Along the way though, we had several stops to make -- there were waterfalls to see, and trails to hike!
We turned off the paved road and onto a dirt road, and stopped first at Þjórsárdalur, a beautiful valley featuring Hjálparfoss, a twin waterfall, hiding in the lava.
We made it to the waterfall where the morning sun was hitting just right.
Nearby was Stöng, a Viking age farm.
The roof is not original and has been added to protect what remains of the longhouse -- mostly the foundations.
Below, you can see what remains of the walls of the longhouse -- substantially thick turf layered on top of a rock foundation. There were smaller rooms off of the main longhouse for various purposes.
Next on the stop was Gjáin, another valley, this one replete with multiple waterfalls where I died and, although I was cold, went to waterfall heaven. Vitali on the other hand, was cold and quite grumpy. It was windy too, which is enough to make anyone question all the choices in their lives that had led them to suffering in that moment.
The valley was crossed with wandering paths so we followed them around, climbing over rocks and hopping over water.
There were a few people around but it was very peaceful. What was most amazing to me was the contrast between the featureless landscape surrounding the valley -- and the explosion of water and life within.
We continued on the dirt road and headed for Haifoss.
We parked in a gravel lot where we there about 10 other 4x4 vehicles already parked. We eventually worked up the courage to face the cold and wind again and walked to the overlook.
Haifoss is the waterfall in the front and Granni is the second waterfall in the back. They are both about 400' tall, fed by surface and spring water, averaging 7 cubic meters per second. The strata you see in the photo is close to 2 million years old and made of old lava flows. Below that are layers of tuff which first emerged under the last ice age glaciers. Wow! Even though the annals of history were clearly visible around the waterfalls, it is wonderfully impossible to fully grasp the scale of time that has shaped our planet.
We saw that there was a trail down to the bottom so we decided to walk down a ways to see how the view changed. It was something like 1000' of gain so we didn't want to walk the whole way as we still had many things to see and a ways to drive.
As expected, the view from lower down was quite pretty but we turned around after this point. It was too cold to be misted by a 400' waterfall.
I used to collect rocks and minerals when I was a kid. I had a homemade box separated with compartments and lined with tin foil where my collection was housed. I thought this rock was worthy of "collecting".
We made it back to the car and then drove a ways before stopping at Sigöldugljúfur, ANOTHER stunning waterfall! This one had turquoise water. One challenge I noticed immediately in Iceland was the light. Being sooo far north -- Reykjavik sits at a sub-arctic 64 degrees north, the angle of light was very low. Being so low, there was also less light available and the light that was around -- direct into your retinas. The visors in the car weren't adequate!
After goggling at the moving water we accidentally headed up the wrong dirt road. We quickly realized though and headed back down.
Our last stop for the day was Hrauneyjafoss. Google maps showed a parking area right next to the road but we had also read that you could drive right to the overlook with a 4x4 vehicle. So we found the spur road and followed it, parked, and walked to the edge.
Unfortunately it was the wrong time of day but the view was still spectacular. The waterfalls were flowing directly from vertical rock, which was amazing to see. For a time, we were all alone.
The sun was getting low as we left the regular roads and joined up with F-26.
As we approached Landmannalauger, we passed one of the big heavy duty busses you could take a tour on if you didn't have a car.
We passed endless fields of lava, lava hills, lava craters, and other evidence that LAVA is LIFE. I loved the variety of lava that I saw -- in various stages of being processed into usable topsoil by magical lichen.
We were finally getting close to our destination as the colors of the landscape began to change.
We switched to F-208 and followed it to F-224 which we only traveled on for a short time before approaching camp and coming upon our first river crossing. That's the thing about the F-Roads in Iceland. You need a 4x4 not because of the quality of track -- but because of numerous unavoidable river crossings.
There was a parking lot before the water for smaller cars but we felt we could cross, based on what we were seeing. Fortunately, we were here late in the summer when the rivers are flowing at their lightest.
Safety dictates you to walk across the water to test its depth before crossing; but it was so busy here that we just pulled over to watch others cross before proceeding ourselves.
There were other people watching us now, as Vitali carefully pulled into the water in the manner we had learned from an educational youtube video...
The water got deeper and deeper until the front swell felt like it was nearly as high as the top of the tires! We felt the car lose traction a little bit but it recovered and we emerged on the other side victorious. Then we had to cross a second, smaller stream, and arrived in Landmannalauger (the People's Pools). We had crossed -- and I hesitate to call it wilderness, because in my mind, wilderness involves forests and large animals -- here we had a primeval landscape -- a vision of the earth millions of years in the past -- and now found ourselves in a tiny outpost of civilization.
We paid a few thousand ISK to camp for two days and paid an extra 500ISK per shower to use hot water, which we later learned was EGREGIOUS, given the plentiful hot water most places on the island. We then inquired about purchasing electricity for our only battery and power source. The guy quite curtly told us 'none is available'. We were worried about our battery lasting for the 2 days we were going to be out here.
For dinner we had rice and cracked open a can of the chili tuna that we had bought a bunch of. Inside the can we found two perfectly placed chili peppers. The tuna ended up being seasoned perfectly for mixing with rice. We should have brought some home...
It wasn't too cold overnight -- it only got down to 35, but when we woke the next morning it was dark and overcast. We sat in the car waiting for the day to warm while eating breakfast, and could see other folks doing the same.
We watched as the sun slowly burned off not a layer of clouds but a layer of thick mist.
As we gathered courage to step outside we watched as more and more people came floating into camp in their rented 4x4 SUVs. Of note, we also saw maybe 10 SUPER JEEPS, which is a term used to identity a vehicle that is outfitted for deep water crossings and overlanding. These things were insane, huge para-military monstrosities with tires as tall as I am, and having the look of being totally assembled by hand. Most of the plates were from Germany, Austria, and France. We also noticed that our car had HEATED SEATS!!! Salvation. But they would only run on the 'low' setting.
As the morning progressed the sky gradually cleared. It then accelerated into a gloriously clear day, and the high reached a balmy 11C.
Vitali was still grumpy from yesterday though as he was still feeling the cold. I donated him a pair of my fleece tights and finally convinced him to put on his waterproof shell. The look of surprise on his face as he realized the thin material actually helped was priceless.
We wandered around camp for a bit and then prepared to set out.
Today we would explore one of the trails in the area, Brennisteinsalda.
We set out behind the main building and found a sign pointing to where we wanted to go. We first crossed an open field that was marked by lush grass and steaming water.
Then we climbed up over the leading edge of the lava flow and found ourselves on top -- the land all lava -- looking like freshly tilled earth in places and like obsidian in others.
We made our way towards the reddish mountain, passing by steaming vents, fumaroles, and ponds full of hot water.
Then we began to climb.
It was extremely steep and slippery at a few points but soon we found ourselves on the summit with wonderful views to the other nearby peak, lava flows, and pastel colored hills dotted with spring's last snow. The variety of colors were unlike anything I had seen before.
As we continued over the rounded top of the mountain and to the other side the colors in the hills became more intense, with reds, oranges, and greens mixing in the hills over a dry meltwater plain.
Amaze! We descended the back side which was even steeper than the front -- a poor group of unprepared Asian tourists came up and asked me if the rest was like this -- and I told them unfortunately yes. They turned around after us.
We headed back towards camp along the dry plain and witnessed a childhood trauma unfolding. A little boy, maybe 7 years old, was standing alone about 15 feet behind his mother, who was yelling at him that he needed to come on the hike. He didn't want to, so his mother told him they would leave him behind and she and her group began to leave. The little boy walked off the trail to sit on a rock but thought better of it after a minute before running to catch up.
Once we made it back we went to check out the Mountain Market, which was a trio of school busses painted green. There was a girl stocking inside and I went up to go inside the bus. She stops me and says "We are closed." So I ask "When will you open?" and she responds, quite drily, "June." The guy at the camping desk was a little short too but the internet suggests that Icelanders are more direct than Americans are used too.
We went to explore the area around the public bathing pools too but then saw the safety sign saying "Swimmer's Itch has been contracted here"....
In the morning we packed up and headed out -- we had an epic drive across the frozen heart of Iceland, on a route that passes between two of the largest glaciers on the island. F-26, Sprengisandsleið, the longest F-road in Iceland, at over 220km.
We read that it was remote and that hardly anyone drove it. Perfect.
But not before watching someone get stuck in the river we had forded yesterday!
We turned onto F-26 and embarked on an epic journey across lunar plains and alien landscapes.
Black sand and ash dominated our views as hills and mountains appeared, changed, and dove back into the earth. We passed small lakes and large lakes, and at one point, we came across a beautiful gorge.
We continued, eventually coming through the high valley between the glacier Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull, which is actually considered an ice cap. Below, some photos of the shield-like hulk of Hofsjokull.
Did you see the picture of the cairn? Several routes, including the ring road are still marked with cairns, some still standing from all the way to the settling of the island.
As we drove, we bet on how many people we would pass on the route. I guessed seven cars, and Vitali guessed nine. We ended up passing four bicycles (!!!) and three cars before the Nýidalur Hut, and two bicycles and five cars after, for a total of six bicycles and eight cars.
We ended up fording 18 different rivers and streams, even coming across someone working on their van right after a crossing. I walked through the deepest three (the others were clearly so shallow as to be safe. The water was ice cold.
We continued, reveling in feeling like the last humans on Earth.
We made it to Vatnajökull National Park and the Nýidalur mountain hut, where we had planned to camp originally, but found it already closed for the season.
As we travelled the northern half of the route the landscape gradually shifted from glaciers and lunar plains back to mountains and vegetation towards the end.
We stopped at a waterfall, Hrafnabjargafoss, whose name looks like it was typed mid-sneeze. There were cute outhouses at the parking lot and no one else.
What a beautiful area. Then we stopped at another waterfall, Aldeyjarfoss, which had SPECTACULAR basalt column action.
Wow! We eventually found ourselves approaching civilization again, and here on the north side of the island, fall colors were out in full force.
We found the campsite we intended to stop at tonight but found it had closed for the season a few days prior. After some searching and another hour's drive we found another campground that listed on the website that they had a 'hut' available for only 7000ISK. This was enough to carry us through after having driven 7 hours already.
We rolled in an hour before sunset and talked to the owner who was super friendly and found that YES! The hut was AVAILABLE! So we gladly paid and went to inspect our indoors accommodation. We had only spent 3 nights in the cold but we already needed a break!
The hut was adorable and isolated as the camping area where the hut was was closed for grass rehabilitation. We enjoyed copiously hot showers and eating a meal inside four walls.
There was a little bit of aurora around 9:15 that night but it only lasted for a few minutes before disappearing into the ether. Every day we'd check the aurora forecast expectantly, but usually cloud cover hampered looking on high activity nights.
The next day we had another epic drive into the heart of Iceland, to Öskjuvatn and Víti, two lakes in volcanic craters. It would be about 8 hours of driving even though we were only traveling 340km total due to the varying quality of track, which would take us directly through fields of lava.
But first, coffee. We located a place and went inside but unfortunately found that there was NO coffee, because there wasn't any power. Vitali left dejectedly. Then we found a different coffee place where Vitali watched a little girl pour a jar of toothpicks onto the ground before running away.
Now adequately provisioned, we set out, leaving the paved roads behind and getting onto F-88.
We quickly came upon a river crossing which Vitali volunteered to cross today. He found it shallow, but complained extensively of the cold.
The landscape today was surprisingly quite different. There were lunar plains, sure, but you could also begin to identify separate eruptions by the color and shape of the rocks and sand on the ground. Some areas were older, partially eroded, with clear basalt columns and cracked hardened lava; some areas were fine sand with rocks strewn from the belly of the volcano in buffs, grays, and browns. We passed folded lava, crumbled lava, pahoehoe flows, like in Hawai'i, and even several miles of deep sand.
We did come upon one other car, the driver of which was outside looking across the first big river crossing of the day. Vitali went up to talk to him; he had never forded a river before and was reluctant to wade the river. Vitali told him it would be fine and flung off his socks and walked across the river. We saw more than one sock that had been left behind on either end of a river crossing...
Having deemed the crossing safe, we passed and waited for the other couple to make the crossing. We did this dance as a caravan four more times.
Eventually we made it to the ranger hut nearby the crater.
We turned right and continued up another gravel road to the trailhead. It was a short walk to Viti crater (which you could supposedly swim in!) and Askja crater. We had towels armed in case we decided to take a dip.
We read about the geological processes before setting out across the ashy field.
As we approached the edge of the crater the brilliant water filling the bottom revealed itself to us. It was a perfectly mixed, pale robin-egg blue surrounded by orange cliffs. A sign at the top of the trail down said that volcanic activity had recently increased in the area and that the area was being evaluated for safety. Swim at your own risk!
It was an extremely steep walk down to the water which only felt lukewarm.
We walked around Viti and then to the edge of Askja and then headed back. It was already getting late in the day and we had to drive another four hours to get back.
On the way back down we were able to get a good look at all of the geological formations in the area, which were quite striking. There was also a waterfall up a valley behind the ranger station but we didn't have time...
The clouds gradually broke as we drove back to the ring road.
I did convince Vitali to stop at a cascade we had passed on the way in. We pulled off into a small gravel area and headed towards the river.
It appeared that flowing water had shaped the sand and mud into beautiful miniature dunes. We crawled over some more rocks and found a spot where you could stand directly above the water as it pounded down from the cascades.
We made our way back to the car, eager to get back to our hut.
As we approached the ring road and final leg of the drive, the sun began to set.
Finally we made it back on paved road.
We stopped for some snacks and then made it home. Guess how much skyr I consumed while in Iceland? The answer is in kilos.
In the morning we tried to use the wifi at camp but it didn't work well so we left and headed for Godafoss. We parked in the lot but the sun wasn't great so we left (we'd stop by on our ring road loop later).
We were headed west to the Skagi peninsula because we felt like we had some extra time to wander. There were fall colors all around and temps were mild, a warm 15C.
As we drove west along the ring road the landscape opened up and suddenly we found ourselves along the ocean and outside the second largest city on the island.
Cute AF! But we'd stop here later.
We turned north onto the peninsula towards Kálfshamarsvík, a beautiful cove with basalt columns, a lighthouse, and the remains of an early 20th century fishing village. Before long we found ourselves once again alone in a gravel parking lot.
We wandered out onto the criss-crossing trails of the headland, enjoying light rain and slippery conditions on the rocks.
We sat and watched the sea for awhile.
We headed for some natural hot springs but found the road being worked on -- so we just headed to a campground for the night. This campground had trees, which was notable, and awesomely clean new showers and even paid laundry.
We went to bed after dinner but shortly after heard a van pull up near our car and then loud voices. We peeked outside at the offenders, who had set up seats right in front of our car to converse loudly -- and watch the aurora!
Unfortunately it was partially cloudy and the aurora wasn't very strong.
In the morning we did some laundry, bounced on the huge colorful ground trampoline which seemed to be ubiquitous in campgrounds and playgrounds across Iceland, and then headed back into the Highlands. We had one more journey across the heart of Iceland -- south to Hveravellir.
But first, skyr! We stopped for gas and groceries and found the convenience store mobbed by a huge group of old people on a package tour. We quickly gathered what we could find and checked out before the line got clogged...
As we drove the sky darkened, creating an incredible mix of clouds and color across the sky. We eventually arrived at the geothermal hotspot, where we paid to camp in the gravel parking lot of the guesthouse. It was very cold and very windy -- but eventually we plucked up the fortitude to jam our hats on and investigate the geysers in the area and the natural fed hot spring pool. Even though we had seen more geothermal features in two years than most people see in a lifetime -- we were still eager to see.
Amaze. After cooling down sufficiently we decided that the geothermally fed pool was our next destination. Unfortunately, the toilets and showers were in a shipping container across the parking lot from the pool which meant we'd have to endure cold temps in the sprint from the changing room.
We changed, ran, and eased into the murky water. I quickly found that the far tube was feeding straight from the source, around 125F.
We floated around for awhile and before long others joined us and we made the sprint back to the showers.
We peered into the windows of the guesthouse, envious of how cozy and warm the restaurant appeared. We decided to treat ourselves, and splurge on traditional Icelandic meals. We ordered cod stew, shepherd's pie with lamb, and seafood soup. It was about $80 for the meal (with one beer) but it was very good. Comfort food, which was perfect for the miserable weather outside.
We ate slowly, luxuriating in sitting at a table in a warm room. Eventually we left and parked our asses in the car for the evening. We watched as some poor soul had to set up a tent in the wind and light rain.
It began to rain in earnest in the evening and our car was buffeted by the wind all night. It was so windy that we actually moved our car away from a tall trailer that seemed a little too light...
In the morning the rain had ceased but it was still mostly cloudy. Today we would drive to Kerlingarfjöll, another geothermal area, and just two rivers crossings. Although we found the river crossings had been bridged!
As we approached the area the skies seemed to cloud up, which was disappointing.
We stopped along a river to see yet another waterfall that we had spied from the road.
As we neared the trailhead the sky cleared up, at least marginally.
We found a construction site at the resort that operates here -- they must have been upgrading for the next summer.
Looks expensive! We spied the trail behind the resort and made our way over.
Spirits were a little low as the cloudy weather and cold temps were beginning to wear on us.
As we trudged up the side of the hill we debated on turning around. Neither of us were particularly thrilled about the overcast skies and miles ahead.
Before long though the ascent leveled and we saw orange colors peeking out in the distance and our hearts were bolstered.
Once we arrived at the edge of the Hveradalir valley we knew we had made the right choice to continue. Steam wafted up from folds in the earth, snow clung in depressions of the mountains, and everywhere was so. much. orange. clay. In the distance, we saw a parking lot full of 4x4s... apparently there is a road back here but we didn't know about it!
As we walked our boots accumulated mud like never before!
We headed down to the valley floor, which was warmer because of the steam, and smelled strongly of sulfur. There was a loop around the entire area but we elected to walk only the one half as it was too muddy to be enjoyable.
After that, we decided not to retrace our steps back down the trail but to follow the road back down.
As we walked through the parking lot we saw an erected roof top tent with the mattress hanging half out, and no one around! Hmmm.
We continued on the road, satisfied with our choice -- not only did we avoid hiking back down a steep and rocky trail, but now we had a wide open panorama of the surrounding landscape. We could see a shitload of lava, an ice cap in the far distance, and a tantalizing gorge...
The road continued right by the gorge where we peered over the edge.
The rock had an unbelievable texture and geometry. Nowhere did we find this gorge mentioned in our research! A place of great beauty we had stumbled upon by chance.
We continued down the road.
Further along the gorge reappeared, this time surrounded by bright green and warm orangey browns.
Stunning.
We made it back to the car and headed back to Hveravellir for the night. I ate some pineapple before bed which triggered a bout of GERD which I am still fighting 4 months later!
The morning dawned with more rain as we departed the Highlands and headed back to the ring road for the final time. Fortunately, the rain stopped rather quickly and the weather turned decent.
We decided to make a short detour to a waterfall, Nýifoss (which means new waterfall, only being several decades old) which involved a little bit of route finding as we made our way up the disused track.
We parked and walked the rest of the way.
We continued on the trail up a small hill to get a better view of the area. In the direction we had come from was dark hills of sand and in the direction beyond the top of the hill was a huge glacier and meltwater flow.
Phew! We headed towards the Reykjanes peninsula where there was an actively erupting volcano. One of the reasons we had decided to come to this part of the world was to see an active volcano, and boy were we excited to look.
Eventually we made it to another Bonus, where we noticed the Icelandic logo's pig appeared much more sober.
After scarfing down some more skyr we found ourselves back on the shores of the sea. We found a small parking lot off the ring road and walked out onto a beautiful black sand beach.
Further out on the beach was exposed lava, which was quite beautiful.
We walked back to the car and headed for the final stop -- the Krísuvíkurberg cliffs, down a short gravel spur to the edge of the sea. It was stunning.
We headed towards the campground for the night, enjoying unbelievably hot, long showers before tucking in early. In the wee hours of the next morning, we planned to wake and hike up to the volcano for sunrise.
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