Iceland Vacation 2024 - Part 1

Vacation time!

We decided it was time for a real vacation, and had the opportunity to take a week-long stopover in Iceland (while traveling from Italy to the US). The first half of the week we would spend near Hella, about two hours east and south of the airport. The second half of the week we'd drive another four and a half hours east to Höfn. Lots of driving, but lots to see!

Our first day, Tuesday, was a big waterfall day! We really lucked out with some great weather. First stop was at the Skógafoss waterfall, a huge waterfall featured in lots of national marketing for Iceland! Skógafoss is caused by the river Skogá falling off of the moor at the end of Skógargil canyon. At a height of over 200 feet (62 meters) and a width of nearly 50 feet (15 meters), it's quite impressive!

We decided it was time to warm up, so we stopped at a great little café we had passed on the way to Skógafoss called Faxi Bakery. We'd warm up with some coffee and stew before heading to our next stop. The bulding Faxi Bakery inhabits is also a memorial to the Eyjafjallajokull eruption (shown in the movie "The Secret Life of Walter Movie"). This is one of the few building that survived the lava flow.

Neil had taken a quick look at the map to see if there was anything interesting nearby. Sure enough, we were very close to the Seljavallalaug swimming pool. A hot spring-fed swimming pool a little hike away. So we headed there and hiked up the river to find it!

A sea of grass on the hillside:

Needing more waterfalls in our day, we then headed to Seljalandsfoss, just a short drive away. Seljalandsfoss flows over what was once a sea cliff. It has a height of over 210 feet (65 meters), and their are multiple smaller waterfalls easily accessible nearby!

A little slow motion of Seljalandsfoss:

Let's see that rainbow in action!

A nice walk down the path from Seljalandsfoss got us to the Gljúfrabúi waterfall!

After all that hiking and cold (for us!), we decided to head back to our cabin for the evening. But first, we needed some dinner!

After dinner, we arrived back to our cabin at the Sælukot farm, #4.

Sælukot 4 Interior:

We awoke early Wednesday nice and refreshed, and greeted by a beautiful sunrise.

Beautiful sunrise video at Sælukot 4:

Today we'd be driving a bit farther, heading to the small town of Vík í Mýrdal and the surrounding area. It was another beautiful day! Our first stop was at the Dyrhólaey Arches, natural arches carved into the cliffs by massive waves and tide changes.

Approaching the Dyrholaey region on foot:

We hiked around the Dyrholaey area for a bit. In the summer, this is a major area for puffins to come and find mates. While we were there, just some terns and seagulls were about.

We stopped for lunch at the Black Beach Restaurant before heading out onto Reynisfjara Beach.

Reynisfjara Beach is known for both its basalt columns that you can climb and for being right next to the Reynisdrangar Sea Stacks!

Some waves at the sea stacks

Our next stop was to visit the church in Vik. Built in 1934, it is considered the safest place in town if the Katla volcano ever erupts again. The congregation actually runs safety drills for the whole town to be prepared for that eventuality.

After a full day of sightseeing, it was time to head back to the cottage. On the way, we received a wonderful sunset and, after dinner, got our first Northern Lights show of the trip!

Dusk at the lake Eystra Gíslholtsvatn

Thursday was a driving day: off to Höfn for the second half of the trip! It was about a four and half hour drive, plus stops. And there was lots to see!

We drove through an area named the Eldhraun Lava Field. This is the largest known lava flow in the world at 218 square miles (565 square kilometres). It's covered in this fascinating Wooly Fringe Moss and stretched for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see.

Continuing on our drive, we found the Vatnajökulsþjóðgarðs visitor center, which had a rooftop view of the Systrafoss waterfall. And, free bathrooms!

Just have to see this one in action as well 🙂

As we drove, we saw lots of sheep (they're everywhere!) and more waterfalls (they're everywhere too!), and we got this excellent view of the Lómagnúpur rock formation.

Nearing the end of today's road trip, we drove through the Skeiðarársandur. This area was devastated by a flood in November of 1996. This was a glacial flood caused by an eruption in the Vatnajökull glacier. Huge icebergs broke off of the glacier in the floodwaters, causing damage to all structures in this area. Pieces of one of the bridges that used to stand in this area were turned into a memorial.

After a long day of driving, we finally arrived to our new hotel for the next few days. Check out what we did from Höfn in our next entry, and here's a pretty awesome sneak peak: