Snæfellsnes Peninsula

We spent our second night staying in an AirBnB that was part of a farm.  This time we were in North Iceland along the small fjord called Hrútafjörður.  Our hosts have cows, sheep, and horses and grow hay.  We were gifted fresh milk straight from the cow that we used on our cereal.  A little thicker when you're used to 2%, but still very good.

For our penultimate day in Iceland, we drove through the Snæfellsnes Peninsula on our way back to Reykjavik.  We drove through some really beautiful landscapes through the mountains and around several fjords.  Even though we drove numbered "highways", many of the roads we traveled today were gravel.  There were also numerous one lane bridges to cross.  These were prevalent throughout the Ring Road as well as the other roads we drove.

The highlight of our day on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula was seeing Kirkjufell mountain and waterfalls.  We've finally ditched the rain from the last couple of days, and it was a bright sunny day for pictures.  It was a beautiful scene to capture and didn't disappoint.  We had hoped to see a few more sights including visiting a local goat farm, but as we continued our travels, we came to a complete stop in a long line of cars.  We thought it was road construction and we'd be moving soon, but that proved to be wrong.  We soon learned the road was actually closed and would be for several more hours.  We couldn't afford to wait so we had to backtrack an additional two hours for our return to Reykjavik. As a result, we had to forego other planned sightseeing.

In the end, it worked out fine.  We made it back to Reykjavik in time for dinner and went to a brewpub that served local craft beer.  We still have tomorrow to sightsee in Reykjavik before our evening flight home.  The time has flown by, but we're glad to still have one day remaining.

Scenes from North Iceland

We've spent two fantastic days in North Iceland while staying in Akureyri.  Even though it's been cold and rainy, it hasn't stopped us from doing and seeing all the things we've wanted to.  We even had some unexpected surprises.  Without further ado:

Dettifoss

Dettifoss is the largest waterfall in Europe based upon volume of water.  We visited the east side which is more remote but with better views.  We traveled a very rutted and pot-holey gravel road to reach it, but it was well worth the effort to see, feel, and hear the roar of rushing water.

Icelandic Horses

The first unexpected surprise was coming across a herd of horses being wrangled from one area to another.  They traveled a good portion of the same gravel road we traveled to Dettifoss, including having to cross over a one-lane bridge.  It was a sight to behold and we saw a number of beautiful horses.  Because we were driving right beside them, it felt as though we were participating even though we were in our car.

Husavik

Husavik is the whale-watching capital of Iceland although we did not take the time to do this.  It's a cute town that was the setting and filming location for the Netflix movie Eurovision starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.  It's a very funny movie that we enjoyed and would recommend.  This is the wooden church built in 1907 that is featured in the movie.

Myvatn Nature Baths

Myvatn is one of Iceland's most accessible geo-thermal areas.  We saw lots of steam venting from the earth, a more brown and desert-like landscape, and even drove through a geothermal power plant. The Nature Baths are a popular attraction for Icelanders and tourists alike to soak in warm, mineral-rich waters.  We didn't have time to take part -- we did this at a different location on our previous trip -- but we did stop by to see it.  It's funny to see all of these people outside in 40-degree weather wearing only a bathing suit.  Thermal baths are very popular and the locals partake year-round regardless of outside temperature.

and finally.......

Bonus Puffins!!

As we drove from Husavik to Dettifoss, we stopped at an overlook at Öxarfjörður Beach and saw more puffins!  This was a very unexpected treat.  While we weren't as close to the puffins as we were at Bakkagerði, it wasn't raining and we had the place to ourselves.  I stood out on a very narrow sliver of land along the cliffs so I could try and capture the perfect shot.  I took so many, I haven't had time to go through them, but I did get some really good ones.  Mona, of course, took a picture of me in my element.

Akureyri as a Local

Pippy Longstocking

We're staying two nights in Akureyri in northern Iceland about 2/3 of the way around the Ring Road.  It is Iceland's largest city outside the capital region of Reykjavik.  In our first visit to Iceland a decade ago, we spent a few nights here and saw the northern lights. That visit was in late winter and now we're here in the middle of summer, so we're able to explore more of the outdoors and natural surroundings.  

We spent our morning visiting two sites that tend to be more for locals than for tourists.  First up was seeing the fairytale figures of local folk artist Hreinn Halldorsson.  He has created his own private gallery in the garden and yard surrounding his house.  It's in the middle of a residential street in the heart of Akureyri.  He creates his fairytale figures out of various materials and leftover household items such as using old mops for hair.

Pinocchio and Gepetto

Hreinn was leaving his house to run some errands as we we arrived, so we had the chance to talk with him for a few minutes. His artwork and figures around his house are purely a hobby and one that he's been doing for about 15 years.  We saw his creations and interpretations of such characters as Pippy Longstocking, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Pinocchio.  We loved both his creativity and talent, and the way he repurposed materials for his art.

Our second stop was at the Akureyri Botanical Garden.  It was first started as a public park in 1912 and the botanic section was added beginning in 1957.  We are here at a great time as many of the flowers were in bloom. In addition to the myriad of native species of plants endemic to Iceland, there were also a lot of foreign plants including from Asia and North America.  One of our favorite flowers we saw was the Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis).  These grow well in this climate because of the northern latitude and cooler weather.

Himalayan Blue Poppy

Walking around outside and seeing parts of the City like the locals experience was a lot of fun, despite being 40 degrees and drizzling. Did I mention its the middle of summer?  It was over 90 degrees and humid back at home. Being outside here suits me just fine.

Puffins!!

We've been searching for puffins as we've traveled along the coast, but haven't had much success.  We did see one at the Dyrhólaey Cliffs, but were unable to capture a photo.  Now that we're in the East Fjorlands area of the country, we decided to visit the one of the largest puffin colonies in Iceland in the coastal hamlet of Bakkagerði. An estimated 10,000 pairs of puffins return each year to nest on the cliffs here.

The drive from Seydisfjordur to Bakkagerði was about 1 hour and 15 minutes on both paved an unpaved roads.  It was rainy, windy, and cold all day today, which caused the mountain pass to be quite foggy so we couldn't see anything but the road in front of us --- no great views today.  Once we got out of the "clouds" and closer to sea level, the coastal views were quite nice as we watched the waves crash against the rocks along the shoreline.

We were not disappointed!  We literally saw thousands of puffins along the cliffs.  A viewing platform has been installed that allowed us to get close to the puffins without disturbing them or their nests. Between ignoring us completely to viewing us with a bit of curiosity, the puffins continued with their daily routine of flying out over the sea to catch fish and returning to the nest with their catch.

They are fascinating birds to watch and we love their colorful beaks and the playful way they seem to move around. We could have stayed all day just watching them, but the weather decided for us that we would just spend an hour or so. It was well worth it.

Fields of Giant Marshmallows

We've seen fields and fields of giant marshmallows throughout our time here in Iceland.  If I didn't know any better, I'd think Iceland was the marshmallow capital of the world.

Of course these aren't marshmallows, but bales of hay.  But now that I've told you they are giant marshmallows, you can't think of anything else.

You're welcome 😁.

Dyrhólaey Cliffs, Glaciers, and Floating Ice

Our Farmstay in Hvolsvöllur

Our first night we stayed in a guest cottage on a local farm in Hvolsvöllur along the South Coast.  Our hosts raise sheep, grow hay, and have several horses.  It was such a peaceful setting with views of the nearby snow-capped mountains.  Given the excitement and late night yesterday, we slept in and didn't leave until almost 11:00 am.

Dyrhólaey Cliffs

Our first stop of the day was at Dyrhólaey Cliffs.  They have recently paved the road so that you can now easily drive up to the top without having to navigate a rutted road in a four-wheel drive. You can see for miles, and in both directions along the coast are black sand beaches.  We did see one elusive puffin nesting along the cliffs, but were not able to get a picture.  However, there were a tremendous number of terns flying in and out of the cliffs. We ate a picnic lunch while we admired the views.

The grand finale to our day was to visit the glacial lakes of Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón and see chunks of floating ice that have broken off of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Iceland and second largest in all of Europe.  The glacier covers almost 10% of the land area of Iceland.   Seeing this area was at the top of our list of things we wanted to do on this trip and it did not disappoint.  It was an incredible sight to see, but at the same time worrisome to know that the glaciers are receding due to global warming.

We finished our sightseeing across the Ring Road from Jökulsárlón at Diamond Beach. The beach gets its name from the fact that the melting chunks of ice wash up on the black sand and resemble diamonds glistening in the sunlight.  They soon disappear into the waves of the North Atlantic to be replaced by newer chunks floating down from the glacier.  Today's melted iceberg becomes next year's snow to add back to the glacier....or so we hope.

A Day of Waterfalls

We arrived safely, landing at 6:30am local time.  We claimed our luggage, went through customs, and were in our rental car before 8:00am, allowing us a full day of touring. We didn't get much sleep on the plane, so we're running on adrenaline.

Gullfoss

We're starting our Ring Road adventure in the south of Iceland, going in a counter clockwise direction.  Before starting, we took a detour to Gullfoss Waterfall, passing through Pingviller National Park along the way.  We visited both of these during our first visit to Iceland.

After Gullfoss, we made our way south to Route 1 -- the famous Ring Road.  We managed to visit several waterfalls.  First up was Brúarfoss Waterfall.  This was not on our list of places to see, but we happened to see a sign along our route.  It is not a large waterfall, but the color of the water was amazing.

Brúarfoss Waterfall

Two of the most popular waterfalls along the south coast are Seljalandfoss and Skogafoss. They are both right along Route 1 with ample parking and short walks.  Definitely popular stops with the tour bus groups.  Fortunately, we went after dinner so the tour buses were long gone and the crowds a lot smaller.  This made our visits much more enjoyable.  We could actually walk behind the falls at Seljalandfoss which was a lot of fun --- very wet with the mist -- but fun.

Perhaps my favorite waterfall of the day was Gljufrabui.  It's a few hundred meters away from Seljalandfoss and hidden in a small slot canyon.  Not as many people walk over to it and you have to hike through the stream to reach it, but it is so worth it.  At one point, I had the entire waterfall to myself.  Peaceful and exhilarating all at once. And wet.  Very, very wet.

Seljalandfoss Waterfall

Walking behind Seljalandfoss

Skogafoss Waterfall

Gljufrabui.Waterfall

Iceland 2 -- The Sequel

After having fun with Mona's family last week in the Poconos, it's now just the two of us for our Icelandic escapades.  We are waiting for our flight to depart for our weeklong adventure driving the Ring Road around the entire country.  This is our second trip to Iceland.  Our first time was 2013 where we visited Reykjavik and Akureyri and were successful in seeing the Northern Lights.

This trip will be filled with lots of hiking, waterfalls, glaciers, and coastline.  We hope to spot a puffin or two.  The majority of Iceland's population lives on the west coast in and around the capital, so lodging opportunities throughout the Ring Road are limited as we travel through rural areas. We're staying in AirBnB's most of the time, so we're looking forward to a lot of interaction with the locals.

Our host the first night is Guðbjörg and her husband and daughter.  They own a farm near Hvolsvöllur and have lots of sheep and a few horses.  She sent us a nice note with great suggestions of things to do in her area.  It's a good thing that we're going to have so much extra daylight this time around......we're going to need it to fit in everything.