Our day began with a quick stop at the Kerid Crater. We walked around the front rim of the crater, but we knew there were more interesting places to see so we didn't linger for very long. Then we drove through the town of Selfoss and stopped at a Kronan grocery store to pick up sandwiches for lunch along with some Icelandic chocolate for souvenirs.
Now we were beginning to journey along the Ring Road which travels the circumference of Iceland. For me, the most thrilling view in Iceland was when Seljalandsfoss came into view as we were driving. There was a stretch of green mossy cliffs with several falls tumbling down. We parked and donned our hiking boots and waterproof clothes, ready for adventure!
At Seljalandsfoss you can actually hike behind the falls! Prepare to get wet. It is gorgeous (and those puffy clouds in the blue sky resulted in lovely photos).
A lot of people do not know that if you continue hiking along the base of the cliff that there is another hidden waterfall. The hike to Gljúfrafoss takes about 15 minutes and passes other small falls.
Above is the small opening in the canyon to Gljúfrafoss. You will need to cross uneven rocks and shallow water, so waterproof hiking shoes are helpful. You WILL get wet as you get close to the waterfall.
This is what happens when you put your iPhone in the pocket of your yellow raincoat as you are hiking - ha!
Next we continued along the Ring Road. We had views of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano which erupted in 2010. (At least we THINK this is the volcano, it might be another one!)
The next major waterfall that you come to is Skogafoss. There was a field of lupines across the road from this fall, so we first took some pictures from that vantage point. This location was very busy in the early afternoon! We only walked to the base of this powerful waterfall, but you can hike to the top if you wish.
The Ring Road now travels along the coastline. We stopped at Dyrhólaey Beach for a view of the ocean, arch, and sea stacks. We hoped to see puffins, but apparently, they are out in the ocean until the evening.
We continued down the road to Reynisfjara Beach, which is also known as the Black Sand Beach. The black sand is formed by lava which over time is broken down into sand. This location was also quite busy when we stopped in the late afternoon. The beach has a lovely view of sea stacks, but the most unique feature is the basalt column formations along the cliff and the sea caves. It is fun to climb and pose on the columns.
We drove up to the pretty village of Vik to get another view of the beach and the quaint church.
Then more driving, through miles and miles of fields of lupines as far as the eye could see!
After a while, the view changed to miles of bumpy little hills of mossy lava in an area called Eldhraun.
As we approached our hotel, there were limited dining options and the restaurant that we wanted was filled with a long wait. Our other option was a gas station restaurant called Skaftarskali where we dined on burgers and fries. (Our hotel had a lovely dining room and if we had known we could have made reservations to dine there.) Nordic Advisor had upgraded us to the beautiful Magma Hotel for this evening. This hotel was so special that I will share about it in the next post!
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