Iceland: I Love a Good Waterfall

 From Sunday, September 19th

I took my time getting going this morning because I didn’t have a lot of mileage to cover today.  But that didn’t mean I didn’t see a lot.  Today was all about waterfalls.  I started out with Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui.  But while there are just two waterfalls that they specifically advertise about, there are really like 4 in a 700m stretch.  Seljalandsfoss is a big one.  You can even walk around the back side of it (and see the back side of water).  Down at the other end of this area, is Gljufrabui which sits back in a little nook that you have to go back into to see (because of course you have too).  I’m so grateful for waterproof hiking boots because they kept my feet dry even while walking through some bits of the stream created by the waterfall.

Seljalandsfoss on the right, with two other falls (foss) to the left)

From there I backtracked a little and went to where the ferry leaves mainland Iceland to travel to Vestmannaeyjabaer.  I kind of regret not taking the ferry, but I don’t have time.  I did the math and the one place I have to be at a specific time (on Tuesday) is too far and there was too much I wanted to see in the meantime.  Maybe I’ll have to come back some other time and hit a few of the things I missed.  But I did see the island from afar and enjoyed sitting there watching waves crash for a bit against the rocks and the beach (soft black sand).

Up next was the Skogafoss Waterfall.  The water drops a whole 65m there so this is a tall waterfall.  And of course next to the waterfall is a set of stairs which I felt the need to take up.  The stairs lead to a viewing point above the falls, but also to the Fimmvorduhals trail.  The trail follows along the river that creates Skogafoss for 26km.  Obviously I wasn’t going to go the whole way (they recommend up to 4 days to do the whole thing).  I said I’d do up to 1 ½ hr out and then turn back, or if it started sprinkling.  Well, instead I made it a half hour and 1 mile in and then ran out of water because I hadn’t double-checked how much was in my water bladder.  Turns out it wasn’t a lot.  So I turned around and went back, disappointed I hadn’t made it a little further along the trail.  However, I did we lots of waterfalls in that 1 mile so it wasn’t completely terrible. 

One of the many falls along the Fimmsvorduhals.

Yesterday I got to see my first ever volcano and today I got to see my first ever glacier. This was just a small finger sticking out from the 4th largest glacier on Iceland. Due to melting ice, it has recently started to form its own glacial lake. It wasn't a pretty glacier. Lots of volcanic ash on top of it. Like other glaciers it has greatly receded back in the past 3 decades.

From there it was back in the car for one last stop for the day.  This was to see Dyrholaey (definitely don’t know how to say that either).  I couldn’t remember what Dyrholaey was exactly, but it was on my list of things to see so I stopped.  It was this island connected by causeway to the mainland.  There was a lighthouse up on top of these huge cliffs, and some neat rock formations.  It rained twice while I was there and I was given a rainbow for each rain to enjoy.  I have now seen 5 rainbows since hitting the road.  I’m pretty sure that is more than I saw in Hawai’i.

The light house at Dyrholaey.
(I'm switching this picture out as soon as I transfer a new one from my camera)

From Dyrholaey it was a short drive to Vik, where I’m spending the night.  I tend to get to a campground usually somewhere between 5 and 6, which is fairly good timing to cook supper, eat, get the bed ready, shower (maybe...depends on how sweaty I got and how much they charge for a shower), and then read or write this blog.  Still waiting for my Northern Lights.  It’s raining again so I don’t have a lot of hope for tonight.