Iceland

Iceland

What an other-world to land on. It almost felt like we were on another planet. We came in the summer, season of the midnight sun, but I want to come back in all the other seasons to experience the magic of those periods too. 

After picking up the rental car from the airport, we drove down south. There was a lot of driving on this trip - the landscape was so incredible to roll on through! - and also a lot of waterfalls. This was definitely my waterfall chasing era.

First waterfall up: Seljalandsfoss! So tall and so stunning. There was a little path where you could walk behind the waterfall and peer out from there. Very cool. 

A little ways farther from there was another, wider waterfall: Skogafoss. Here we saw a bunch of sheep! On the way to the waterfall. First, we went to the bottom of the waterfall, where we could see rainbows! Then took a bunch of stairs to the top of the waterfall, where it was quite windy, and got to see the view from above. Very beautiful. 

The first night we stayed in Vik, a cute little town on the southwest side of Iceland. There was a cool black sand beach called Reynisfjara that had unique rock formations of basalt columns (Reynisdrangar) that you could climb and sit on. They towered pretty high and were very striking. There were lots of warnings about dangerous "sneaker waves" that could drag you out to sea and to stay a safe distance from the water line. 

Very near to Reynisfjara was another black sand beach called Vikurfjara. A little quieter and didn't have the dramatic rock formations, but had pretty green cliffs leading up to it. Really enjoyed walking around here and hanging out by the rocks. Very serene. Obsessed with the black sand color!

Continuing on my waterfall chasing journey, I really loved this cute waterfall adventure. Nauthusagil is a waterfall tucked away in a little cave area off of a side road requiring certain vehicle clearance. I'm sure it was a popular waterfall, but it felt like a special hidden gem. Probably because it did involve climbing through water and into a cave to find it. I think we were the only ones there when we went.

After following a little river, you enter between these canyon-like walls and find yourself in a darker cave-like structure. You do get wet. You wade through water and there's a part where you have to use a chain to climb up the side of the cave to get to the area where the waterfall actually is. So fun to finally arrive and feel the magic of this waterfall peeking out of the ceiling of the cave, opening up to the blue sky. 

Kerid is a a volcanic crater with a lake in the caldera, which likely formed when the magma chamber emptied after an eruption, and the resulting in the formation collapsing and creating the shape it has today. The volcanologists (what a fun term that I didn't know existed!) believe that it used to be a cone-shaped volcano.

We walked around the top rim of the caldera and also went down to the lake and even got to stick my hands in the water. It was beautifully blue and quite cold to the touch!

Up next: more waterfalls! These were part of the "Golden Circle", which is a famous ring within Iceland that includes major natural attractions.

Above, this waterfall was Oxararfoss. 

Above: the waterfall Bruarfoss. I loveddd this one. The blue color was so stunning and mesmerizing to look at. How can the water be so blue?!

Above: Gullfoss waterfall (or "Golden Falls"). This was a GIANT two-tiered waterfall, complete with thundering water and lots of fine mist spray resulting in rainbows along the way. The path there was quite wet and a small trek, to get to different look out points. Very majestic and awe-inspiring. 

Also along the Golden Circle was the Geysir Geothermal Area, hosting the famous Strokkur geyser that erupted every few minutes. Very, very fun. We stayed for quite a while just watching the water erupt, over and over agin, trying to get the best videos of the sky-high water. 

We ventured a little up north from Reykjavik, looking for more pretty natural formations. We drove along the coast, and it was such beautiful landscape especially along the water paired with unique mountains and rock formations on the opposite side. 

Driving up to Arnarstapi, a little coastal village, we found the famous black Budir church, and also the archway rock formation, Gatklettur. Lots of seabirds. 

Surprise, more waterfalls! Driving further up the coastal line, found another waterfall off the side of the road (honestly, they were EVERYWHERE), called Baejarfoss. On the road leading up to it, there was also a rainbow road! Of course stopped to take pictures here, trying not to get run over by cars.

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