My Trip to Iceland -Part 1

A bit late but nevertheless, here’s the post on my trip to Iceland which I took in September 2019.  Iceland was never on my list of must see places. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see it, there were just other places that I wanted to visit first. In my head, Iceland seemed to be a rugged and cold country that is all covered in ice. The truth is, it IS a rugged, cold country, with ice and very few trees, but this is only seen in the winter. Iceland is more known for its most extraordinary landscapes & natural beauty with waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, geo thermal pools, volcanic craters, pastures, and moss fields all within one beautiful country. Amazing! I am so glad I took this trip.

 

 

We were a group of 4 couples who decided to explore as much of Iceland as possible in 7 days around ring road. Ring road is a national road, also known as Þjóðvegur 1, or Route 1, that runs all around the country connecting all the major towns and cities. Being a circular route it’s easy to drive the Iceland Ring Road in either direction. The first day we stayed in Reykjavik at the Radisson hotel 1919 and did some sightseeing.  There’s a lot to see and do in Reykjavik – from visiting attractions like the Hallgrímskirkjachurch on the hill, Sun voyager, Harpa Cultural Center, and National Museum. We walked around the harbor throughout the day, ate lunch at Glo and dined at The Lobster house. It’s a quaint little place so make sure you have a reservation if you are going in a group. The staff was pleasant and the girl who served us was very knowledgeable of the dishes. Everything that came to the table was presented to the highest standard and tasted amazing. When the server poured the langoustine soup to my husband, I had to fight the urge to eat. Being gluten intolerant I couldn’t try everything but the GF dishes I sampled were well prepared and delicious.

 

 

Day 1 –  Exploring the Volcanic Snaefellsnes Peninsula

After breakfast on the second day we all picked up our fully equipped camper-vans with automatic transmission (which we booked 5 months ago). Traveling by a camper van allows you to make stops where and when you want, to enjoy the views, cook and eat a meal like at home, regardless of where you are and also save a little money on staying in a hotel. We grabbed some products like olive oil, pasta sauce, naan, salt, and a gas canister from the shelf at their office which the previous travelers had left. Then we headed to the nearby Bonus store to stock up on produce and other supplies that we would need for the next few days.

All set we then began our epic road trip on the ring road towards Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

 

 

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is a scenic peninsula in the west region that’s often referred to as “Iceland in Miniature” because of the way it highlights so many of the country’s natural wonders.  There are abundant gas stations on this stretch of the drive and most gas stations have convenience food and a couple of them also carry gluten free sandwiches and dessert. Along the way you will find several natural mineral springs where one can drink fresh water coming straight from the ground.  While the area is incredibly beautiful you cannot drive through this landscape just by watching how beautiful it is, you have to take pictures as well. We tried not to stop every 10 minutes to get pictures but the views distracted us many times from our drive. The Snaefellsnes Peninsula has no large towns. Instead, there are a bunch of little fishing villages dotted along the coast.

 

 

Our first stop was the impressive Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. They are a series of waterfalls and rapids that flow through Hallmundarhraun, a lava field formed a long, long time ago, when a volcano underneath a nearby glacier erupted. There is a short hiking path around the area to see the different views of the falls.

The famous landmark of Snaefellsnes peninsula is the Búðir church. It’s a very striking black church in a magnificent setting. Ocean in front, mountain in the back, with lava fields on the other. It was so peaceful and beautiful for pictures. After our stop at Búðir, we continued driving west towards Arnarstapi and Hellnar. These are two tiny villages located at the end of the Snaefellsnes peninsula. Our plan was to see the sunset at kirkjufellsfoss and spend our night in a camp near the falls but due to a shortage of time we decided not to go, but I did take a picture of Mount Kirkjufell at some point on the drive. Probably every person with a camera has taken this photo while passing this mountain.

 

 

Next we stopped at Saxholl Volcanic Crater. This is a cone shaped crater located within Snaefellsjokull National Park in West Iceland but is indicated by a very small sign. It has a very unique set of metal stairs with no railing, which climb up to the rim and blend in with the crater. It was super windy up there that day; we feared that we would be blown away but the view was spectacular.

After a good exploration of the area, we saw the necessity of going to a campsite. In Iceland, you can’t just camp freely or park a camper-van anywhere at night. By law, you will need to park in a campground. There is a nightly campsite fee depending on the level of service provided.  We spent our first night at Hellsandur camping site. This campground is in the middle of a lava field with ocean views. The sunset lasted for hours and we loved seeing and taking pictures. I prepared dinner for us as we had decided that each night one couple will treat all. I made fish curry and stir-fried zucchini with rice.  It was fun cooking for a group in a camper with limited grocery items.

 

 

Day 2 – Scenic Drive to Akureyri

We had to say farewell to Snæfellsnes. This was too early and we felt that we could have used at least another day to explore more of the peninsula, but we got a good taste of it nonetheless. We had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread, along with Icelandic skyr and hot cup of masala chai in the morning before hitting the road again to our next destination of Akureyri. The drive from the western side of snafellnes peninsula is around 5 -5.25 hours to akureyri.

With a population of less than 20,000, Akureyri is a charming town, in northern Iceland. Beer brewing is a big business here and fishing has been a staple occupation for countless generations, but its tourism, that is the main earner. There are many hiking paths and interesting recreation areas including swimming pools, botanical gardens, cozy restaurants and cafés. Several local stables operate horse riding tours around the Akureyri countryside too.  We spent a little time wandering around the town, and needless to say it is very beautiful. The town has many museums and galleries. The guys wanted to tour the motorcycle museum so they went in and we enjoyed the coffee while waiting for them. Also, almost every streetlight in Akureyri has a heart instead of a red circle.

 

 

The weather wasn’t bad when we started but as the day progressed it started to get worse. The hefty rain showers with strong winds made driving difficult. There was not much visibility so we had no choice but to stop at a safe place and hole up in the camper-van to wait for the rain and wind to stop. We parked our camper-vans in such a way that all four doors opened in the center. We took a short nap, and afterwards made tea to freshen up. The wind had slowed thus we immediately hit the road towards our campsite. As the evening progressed the sky cleared and the rain finally stopped.

 

 

We reached our planned camping site at Hamrar. It was a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains and comforting nature all around. The campground was also very large with lots of different sections to choose from with good shelter from trees and bushes. We found a nice spot overlooking the lake. Much to our delight we spotted lots of bunny rabbits frolicking in and around our camping spot which added to the charm.  It had hot showers, clean bathrooms, a place to clean dishes and a main building with tables chairs and a kitchen. After dinner we planned our next day and went to sleep comfortably in our camper.

Day 3 – The Mývatn area

We were greeted by sunshine when we pulled the curtains of our camper in the morning. We sat there wrapped in a warm blanket for a while, looking at the lake and enjoying our tea. Then we had breakfast, washed the dishes with hot running water, enjoyed a lovely hot shower and headed to the lake Myvatan area.

 

 

Out first sightseeing stop was Goðafoss. This is one of those waterfalls that happens to be right next to the ring road and is visible from quite a distance.  It isn’t the biggest waterfall, but it’s very scenic, as it is split into a few falls by rocks. The shape reminded me of Niagara Falls. I wanted to walk around the perimeter and shoot the waterfall from both sides but my husband said we can’t spend the whole day at one place and make others wait for us. These are some sacrifices one makes when traveling in a group.

After Goðafoss we drove on and got onto the ring road towards Mývatn. Obviously, the impressive waterfall was the first stop but the Icelandic ponies grazing on the nearby green fields drew our attention and we stopped by to take some pictures.

Mývatn is a gorgeous lake to drive around and plenty of photo opportunities come along the way. Though, we didn’t spend a great deal of time exploring the lake in itself, but the Skútustaðagígar (pseudo craters) were interesting. We also made a short stop on the way at Hverir, a large geothermal area of mud-pools and steam vents with orangy-red landscapes.

 

 

It was mid afternoon and the men in our group suggested we all go to nature baths. We welcomed the suggestion and were so excited to indulge in the hot baths. There isn’t much privacy in the shower area and you’ll be changing in front of others and taking a mandatory naked shower. If you are someone who feels uneasy there are a couple of showers where you can bathe behind a curtain. As I braved the chilly corridor from the shower area to the hot baths the first thing that hit me was the strong Sulphur smell. I quickly became used to it as the geothermal water touched my body. It was pleasantly warm. Myvatn nature baths is man made, and the water comes direct from a nearby borehole. The baths are split into two main areas with different temperatures, one being warmer than the other. The warmer pool has a mini water fall with some rocky niches and seats built into it where you can sit down to soak and let the heat relax your muscles.  The bottom of the pool was gravel which felt nice under the feet.  Some parts were slimy, but that’s all part of the experience. I really enjoyed the view from the baths; the area around Lake Myvatn is just so beautiful. After we had soaked and relaxed for a good two hours it was time to head to our campsite.  The campground was called Camping Myvatan. This was a nice and spacious place, had everything one would need – hot showers, restrooms, taps and sinks to wash dishes.

Day 4 -Höfn,  Jökulsárlón & Skaftafell

We woke up early and this day too, started off with sublime weather. Thus our drive up to Hofn and along the east fjords was terrific. The eastern part of Iceland is made up of many fjords, and the road follows these fjords by winding around in the curving zig zag fashion. I have read people usually skip this part because this place has nothing special to offer beyond peacefulness and quietness. Although, this is true and there aren’t as many famous sights to stop at, this entire section of the road is absolutely breathtaking. We took several quick stops to take photos and stopped for a little while at seydisfjorour and Djúpivogur. From Djúpivogur, we drove for 1.5 hours, winding along the coastline, and reached Höffn around 1.30 PM.

 

 

Höfn, also known as Höfn í Hornafirði, is an adorable coastal town in Southeast Iceland. The town is known for its delicious lobster and sigh-inducing views of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. We were super hungry by now but couldn’t decide on a place until we walked past Kaffi Hornid. The wood cabin type feels immediately grabbed our attention and we went in. Before sitting down, I checked in with the kitchen to see if they could provide a safe gluten free meal. A very nice waiter came over and helped me make my food choice. He was very knowledgeable about the foods and how they were prepared. Most dishes on the menu featured fresh, locally caught seafood and all of them looked quite good. I ordered oven baked red fish with potatoes and root vegetables. The meal was delicious and beautifully presented. I would say it was the best I had eaten in the Iceland.

 

 

From there we headed further south east to our next spot, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon.

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon is a large glacial lake on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park.  It is one of the deepest lakes in Iceland, being more than 600 feet deep, and is full of blocks of light blue icebergs floating in the bright waters. There are hike trails along the side of the lagoon and boat tours which provide different views of this amazing location. We felt no need to go for a boat ride and were happy to just absorb the views of the lagoon. We spent about 45 minutes walking around and taking photos of the lake and ice formations then we drove a little further and parked near Diamond Beach.

 

 

Diamond Beach has black sand. It got its name from the stunning white icebergs that wash up on the shore and appear like diamonds on the back sand.  We loved lifting and playing with the ice on the beach and my husband climbed on one huge block of ice for a quick photo. With this being the last stop of a long day of driving we didn’t spend as much time here as we would have liked. However, we were lucky to experience beautiful weather for this part of our trip

From the diamond beach we drove straight to Skaftafell national park.  Skaftafell is a nature reserve and a campground located in Vatnajökull National Park, in the south-east of Iceland. It’s a very large campground that has a very well stocked information Centre, a cafeteria and laundry facility for washing your clothes if need be. There’s no kitchen, but there are picnic tables. They have a clean bathroom facility with free hot showers, as well as sinks with cold and hot water for washing dishes.

The park offers many hiking trails (from easy to strenuous) which offer an amazing views of glaciers and natural wonders but since we were there only for one night, we chose to use our time to hike to the Svartifoss waterfall next morning. Skaftafell National Park has a very well-stocked Centre from which one can obtain a huge amount of knowledge about the geology of the area and the history of Iceland.

 

 

Day 5  Svartifoss hike, Fjadrargljufur canyon, Sólheimasandur plane wreckage and Secret Lagoon

We woke up quite early to do the Svartifoss hike. This proved to be a very good idea, because we did not encounter many people on the trail. Thus, we had the famous waterfall completely to ourselves in perfect solitude which was an amazing experience. It is mostly uphill but the path is well maintained and not too steep. It takes about 30-40 minutes to reach the top and there’s a big open area with great view point of the falls. The waterfall is surrounded by black basalt columns and the trails going around it offer wonderful views. You have a choice to walk down to the falls and continue on other trails or turn around depending on how much time you have.

The waterfall wasn’t as big as I expected. My husband and his friends walked straight down to the falls to see it up-close. We (women) stayed back. It’s a bit challenging to go on the slippery rocks if you do not have hiking boots.

We got back to the campsite at around 9:00. The sky was a rich blue and one could see that it was going to be a great day. We made breakfast, took showers and set off on the 5th day of our journey. It happened to be a special day for one of our friends who were completing 25 years of their marriage together.

We continued our drive in the south-eastern direction and soon reached Fjadrargljufur canyon.

 

 

Fjaðrárgljúfur is a magnificent and massive canyon in Southeast Iceland. It’s only a mile or so off the ring road and there is no fee to explore this canyon & waterfall.  There are two parking lots- the main lot at the bottom, that has toilets and another lot at the top, no toilets but less stairs to climb. We parked in the lower parking lot and walked along the trail up the canyon. There are several viewpoints along the path up, and each one provides a different view of the lush green cliff sides and the river below. The weather was great and it was nice walking in the emerald green mossy surroundings.

After spending about an hour in the canyon we planned to take our friends to Secret Lagoon in the evening to mark their milestone anniversary. We made an online reservation, and picked up champagne from Vik.  But before that we stopped to see the abandoned plane at Sólheimasandur plane wreckage.

 

 

When I first saw Shahrukh Khan (Indian movie star) in his signature pose in a movie ‘Diwale’ near the wreckage of a white plane on a black sand beach, I was under the impression that it was all a work of the special effects. But when I came to know it was real, I had always wanted to see it. Back in 1973 a US Navy DC-3 was said to have run out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing near the sea. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and everyone survived but the plane wreck remained on the beach. It was never removed and lent itself to countess travel photos and backdrops for movies. It appealed to me a lot because it all sounded so amazing. However, my visit to this place was somewhat disappointing.

First, there weren’t any signs on the road pointing to the exact location. Secondly, in order to experience the wreckage, you have to walk from the parking lot through a completely barren black beach. The plane site seemed to be far, far away as we couldn’t see anything but black sand all around. Apparently, they had a shuttle service which costs 2000 ISK for a round trip per person. The men decided to walk but we still preferred to take the shuttle. Once we got there, we saw people all over the plane, some even standing on top of it. We waited there for one hour but didn’t find a chance to get good photos.  This all made it unenjoyable.

What was worse was that there were no restrooms in the parking lot so make sure you visit a toilet before heading to this place. When you are in the open cold weather for a long time you do get the urge to go.

As per our earlier plans we headed towards Secret Lagoon to soak in warm water.

The Secret Lagoon is the oldest and naturally heated pool located near the village of Flúðir. We drove for two hours through some beautiful scenery over the mountains and then flatter roads with great views of the countryside. This lagoon is an amazing place to stop by. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but you will get a real hot springs experience in natural surroundings. Upon arrival we were told to wash fully without a swimsuit. The pool was gorgeously warm and inviting. It has a gravel bottom and stone seating around the inside of the edge to the pool. We were in the water for about an hour and it was incredibly relaxing and therapeutic, especially when you find the really hot pockets of water that were almost too hot. We enjoyed the champagne while in the water and the lifeguards were friendly in taking our pictures. It was the most beautiful, warm and nice experience for us and probably for the anniversary couple too.

 

 

At this point it had gotten pretty late and it had also started raining heavily. We made our way to Vik for the closest campsite. When we reached this place called, Vik camping it seemed pretty crowded but luckily, we found spots to park our campers. The facility was clean and organized. Hot showers were available for a small fee but there were only 2 showers for women (with 4 shower heads) which were not enough for a busy place like this. On the plus side this facility had all the amenities (kitchen, WIFI, washer-dryer) which one looks for in a place to camp for 1 or two nights.

I have so much more to tell you but it can’t fit in one post. I had to put it into two parts. So, stay tuned for another post.