Last day!

Well this is my last full day in Iceland, and I'm glad that I left a "spare" day at the end, because I've been able to go and visit Skogafoss waterfall which I missed out on when I was hurrying to Vik to avoid the storm.

The weather today has been great too, the best I've had all week! It was 0°C for most of the day, but weirdly has felt much warmer without the wind and the rain.

Anyhow, Skogafoss photos and video below.

Always a rainbow here apparently thanks to the huge amount of spray.

I'd also heard about a thermal swimming pool which was out in the middle of nowhere. As it turned out, it was only a 45 minute hike from where I'm staying, so off I went.

Interestingly, you may remember a certain volcano in Iceland that erupted in 2010 and caused all kinds of havok with air travel across Europe. The ice-cap in the photo above, sits over that very volcano!

I didn't go for a swim as the water was only lukewarm and I was concerned about getting out again into the ice cold air, so I gave it a miss. The place was built in 1928, and has seen better days, but it is so far off the beaten path I guess it's not worth maintaining. 

A beautiful walk in the winter sun though, and this was the view on the way back:

And finally, my one and only sunset (at 4.30PM!) as I think about packing before before I drive back to the airport tomorrow morning ☹️

Two days, another 260 miles and a whole lot of awesome.

So yesterday, I drove the 144 miles further east to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Horrible wet and windy drive, but the rain more or less stopped once I arrived thankfully. 

Icebergs from the glacier in the background.

At the base of the glacier. 

Gonna need these on the ice. 

Entrance to the ice cave. 

I am inside a glacier! 

Another cave back at the base of the glacier. Darker ice because of all the layers above with trapped volcanic ash and rocks. 

Back at the lagoon, more 'bergs. 

Then off to nearby "Diamond Beach", so-called because the icebergs eventually make their way to the sea, melt and break down into these chunks of ice which get washed up on the beach:

Today, I drove to Vatnajökull National Park. The weather was much kinder today. 

I had come here to see Svartifoss waterfall, which was one of the main sights I wanted to see on this trip. It was a mile hike uphill to see it, but it was well worth it as you can see below. 

Finally, I drove a 112 miles back to the west, retracing my steps, stopping in Lambafell, where I'll be for the final two nights of the trip. 

View from my bedroom window in Lambafell. 

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday I went on a tour of the Golden Circle and the Secret Lagoon.

Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park which was the site of the old Parliament until 1798, and is geologically important because it is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart at a rate of about 2cm per year apparently, meaning Iceland is getting bigger!

This cliff marks the edge of the North American plate:

There are fissures in the landscape all over the place:

This plain and lake is the "new" plate forming between the North American and Eurasian plates:

Next we went on to see the Great Geysir. The videos below should say it all really:

And the next eruption in slow-mo:

Next stop was the Gullfoss waterfall:

It was bloody cold and windy!

Apparently, it would take just one second to fill six shipping containers with water. 

Final stop on the tour was the "Secret Lagoon", a natural hot spring, which was approximately 39°C.

It was the perfect end to a cold and busy day as we were here for an hour and an half soothing our cares away.

Please note, I've spared you images of my half-naked flesh. In any case it would have seemed weird taking a camera into the pool. Not that it stopped anyone else!

Today i had planned to pick-up the hire car around 9.30 and then make my way to Vik in the south, stopping at the Skogarfos waterfall on the way. It was meant to be done at a leisurely pace as I was a bit anxious about driving in Iceland and I wanted to take my time. 

Yesterday, the tour guide warned me from making the journey today, because a storm was coming with gusts up to 90mph!

This was a problem because I had accommodation booked in Vik and the following day accommodation booked further east, with another excursion already paid for. Obviously if I didn't make it, it would throw all my plans in the air.

I waited until the morning to decide.

This morning the forecasts were much the same, but the worst of the weather looked like it would be in the afternoon, so I went earlier to pick up the car in the hope of getting to Vik much earlier than planned.

Two and an half hours later I made it to Vik in one piece! It was windy and wet but not as bad as it could have been. I skipped the stop at Skogafoss, but I did see it from the road and it looked mighty impressive from a distance. Hopefully I'll be able to see it on the way back.

Anyhow, I don't normally post pictures of accommodation, but just look at the view from my apartment that greeted me when I arrived:

I thought it probably just about safe enough to visit the nearby Reynisfjara Beach, otherwise known as the "Black Beach":

And just to finish, a quaint little church on the way back from the beach:

I'm so pleased I got here early because it sounds like a proper hurricane outside now. Glad to be safe inside in the warm. Tomorrow things should die down for my trip to Jokulsárlon. 

Second day in Reykjavik

Started the day by going to Hallgrimskirkja. This Cathedral was built in 1986 and is the main landmark in the city as it can be seen from just about everywhere.

Inside:

Views from the top of the tower:

From there, I went for a stroll through the park by Tjörnin lake (which is partly frozen over!) 

This fella wasn't too chatty though:

At the Saga Museum, depicting some of Iceland's bloody and violent Viking history. 

... well, it had to be done!

The street was painted for the Pride festival some years back and appears to be a permanent fixture now. Apparently around 100,000 people attend the summer pride event, which is astonishing when you think the population of this country is only around 360,000. Hallgrimskirkja (the Cathedral) is lit up in the background. 

Harpa Concert Hall again; this time at night. 

Yes it was windy!