ICELAND II

YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST PART OF THIS TRIP HERE

Day 8. EGILSSTAĐIR – MÝRAR (08.26)

One of the advantages of staying in a farmhouse is the silence, how well you sleep. Instead, in a guesthouse all that relaxing ambient disappears. People get up early and make noise without consideration. So we have to wake up, wait our shower turn and have breakfast. We planned to stay here one more night, but the bad weather makes us change our minds.

We make reservation for tonight in another place and start the route. It’s raining, cold and windy… and the track is full of curves, so we cannot go as fast as we would like to.

We go down Suðurdalur Valley, there are impressive views of the spire peaks of Mount East Horn and small waterfalls everywhere. We end at Barufjördur, near to a village called Djúpivogur, where we stop to have a snack and take some photos of a small lighthouse.

The access road to the pier is flanked by big stone eggs, carved and polished. The road runs along the fjord, with the sea on our left and towering hills that melt on our right. In this area, called Djúpavoghreppur, there are some amazing colours contrast between the blue sea and the dark slopes.

The weather in getting better, letting the sun shine and raising the temperature to 15ºC. We’re getting close to the Icelandic coast and landscapes has changed radically: now we see more rivers and plains contrasting with the high walls of fine volcanic material.

We get to Halvanes Natural Reserve, where a huge number of geese are enjoying the warmth. There is a black pebble beach, so we had a good time enjoying the pleasant place.

We go to Höfn for lunch (delicious pizza and spiced chips). Stop at a gas station to clean the car… with all that mud of this morning it doesn’t look white anymore.

We continue until we find the accommodation place: Brunnhóll, a beautiful farmhouse with views to one of the Vatnajökull glacier tongues from the bedroom window.

Afeter leave our stuff, have a little rest and see that there are home made ice creams, we decide to go to Jökulsárlón, the glacial lake, to spend the evening walking around and taking photos. It’s 6:30 pm and there are still some hours of light, so we can enjoy an unforgettable time.

We are shocked when, after half an hour down the road, we begin to see icebergs floating in the lake. Absolutely excited, we cross the metallic bridge knowing that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world. An uncountable amount of coloured icebergs (from pure white to blue sky with black stripes) float in the lagoon that drains in the sea.

We go to the left shore to take the first pictures. There are some sails swimming everywhere and little seagulls perched at the top of the icebergs.

After, we go to the beach, cause the icebergs are going towards the sea and many of them are getting stranded on the shore while the tide is going out.

It’s startling to walk among these little pieces of ice (they’re really small compared to the ones floating in the lagoon) and see how many others go out to the sea with unexpected speed.

We really enjoy taking pictures jumping among the stranded icebergs. Everybody is getting crazy at the beach, some even eating ice!

The sunset is starting, so we go back to the lake right shore. It’s not too crowded, so we have the opportunity to take dozens of pictures from all the angles.

When the sun is behind the glacier, people are going and we are practically alone. We know the best is yet to come. You have to be patience… A little while later all the sky turns pink. This place is absolutely indescribable.

Greatest moment of the day: the Icelandic killer sheep that suddenly appeared in the middle of a straight line on the road, when going back to the farmhouse. She appeared out of nowhere, standing there as she was dissected, and all I could say was “SHEEP!”. Miguel tries to slow down, but we dodge her so fast that she is unmoved. We’re still doubting if she was real or piece of cardboard when a local man comes in the other direction, so we flash the lights to warn him, but the guy seems puzzled. We look in to the rear mirror to see how the sheep flies away, but the Icelander makes a super braking and stops the car just in front of the sheep. Now he knows what it means when someone flashes the lights.

Distance covered: 344 km.
Accommodation: Brunnhóll Farm Holidays, Mýrar
www.brunnholl.is

Day 9. MÝRAR – MÝRAR (08.27)

The sun shines so bright. We’ve slept well, but as ii begins to get light so early, at 7:30 am we were already awaken. We find pancakes for breakfast, but they’re cold and there is no syrup or anything.

The first stop of the day is at Jökulsárlón again. Today the light is completely different and the ice block are in other places. In fact, while we are at the lakeshore, we hear and strange sound… and a huge iceberg emerges from the bottom of the lake just in front of us. It’s enormous in size and completely blue due to the water inside the ice.

This lake is a very special place. Not only for the 200 meters in deep, but because, being in contact with the sea through its mouth, salt water mixes with fresh water, causing iceberg melting, changing position and even go afloat after sunk.

Just where we’ve parked there are two Nissan Patrol of a company called NatureExplorer.is, they’re taking people in a photographic tour. Miguel gets distracted with the cars while I enjoy the landscape.

There are not icebergs in the beach, cause the tide has dragged the pieces we saw yesterday. Most of the blocks are trapped on the mouth of the lake and there are some people in zodiacs getting crazy from one place to another and even putting the boats up on the icebergs.

We follow a track on the left side of the lake to go as closer to the glacier as we can. It’s impressive how all that mass of white ice is falling into the water in blocks, making an indescribable sound.

The iceberg of this area are much bigger that those floating in the “touristic” part of the lake. The glacier, literally ends in the water, is breathtaking. 

Not far from Jökulsárlón is Breiðarlón, another glacial lake less known and visited. Here there are the Nissan Patrols again, with their photographers group. We talk with them for a while, joking about now expensive is to be there, at “their private place” because they are surprised that we’ve arrive to this less known place by our own. Our secret is just our cartography.

NatureExplorer.is guys tell as that tonight will be fireworks at Jökulsárlón (that’s the reason why there were zodiacs trying to stack icebergs). This party is made only once a year to collect founds to help maintaining natural parks in Iceland. We cannot lose this opportunity, we must stay here tonight, so change our plans and will spend one more night at Brunnhóll.

The weather changes, it’s getting cloudy and it seems is going to rain. As the route we planned for today is postponed until tomorrow, we have to improvise… so we go to Skaftafell Visitor Centre to see which are our options.

The sky is getting darker so we don’t risk to go trekking to the waterfall, it will be tomorrow. Going back to the farmhouse, we take a dirt track that goes to Ingólfshöfði, a rock where puffins nest in summer.

Sadly the place cannot be reached, but in the way we come across a Spanish couple and their daughter, members of the Madrid Alpinist Club. They’ve been in Island during 6 weeks making 200 kilometres trekking. 

Bad weather in Iceland always has beautiful things and people are used to see tourists stopping in the middle of the road to enjoy those things. We had never seen such a rainbow of bright colours, so vibrant. It’s a complete rainbow and, at times, becomes double.

We go back again to the farmhouse and warm up for tonight’s event. Have dinner at Höfn before the party.

We arrive at Jökulsárlón at 10 pm., pay 1.000 isk (6’5€) per person as a donation and we park. It’s clear that this is one of the most important events of the year, the line of cars on the roads is endless… as if the whole island had come to see this. It’s full of local people partying and they don’t care if you are taking pictures, they pass in front of the camera without caring.

We try a couple of places and finally we are situated on a hillside from where we can see the icebergs illuminated by torches in the middle of the black immensity.

After 11 pm. The show begins. Although Icelanders have not the expertise of Valencian pyrotrchnists, it’s really impressive to see the icebergs floating in the black lagoon illuminated from above with colourful lights. They’re doing a great work, keeping in mind the organizers are using zodiacs in the dark to move among icebergs and light the fuses.

 

Halfway through the show, the bridge is illuminated with a strip of giant flares and we can see the silhouette of hundreds of people who have gathered there tonight Some of the explosions generates such a loud noise that, seconds later, we can clearly hear how some pieces of the glacier tongue are falling into the water. As everyone goes very warm in winter clothes (because it’s really really cold), they cannot clap with gloves, so Icelanders have the habit of howl instead of craping.

When it ends, it takes a while to get on the road because of the amount of cars there. The sky clears up for a moment and, for the first time in our life, we can see the Milky Way in all its glory as we never had seen it before. But it’s so cold outside and the cars go so fast that it’s dangerous to stop and take a photo.

Greatest moment of the day: the dirt track to death we explored in the morning trying to reach a glacier. Miguel asked me to find a track to get closer to a glacial tongue and I find one of only 16 kilometres long. When we are 5 kilometres from the end we have had to turn around because it was so foggy that the track became considerably more dangerous with the heavy slop and curves. It’s not that we are a couple of chickens, is that the situation was getting really serious. In the afternoon, when we came across the Spanish alpinists, we talked about this failed trip and they told us they’ve followed until the end where there is a kind of bar with a guy renting snowmobiles at good rates.

Second greatest moment of the day: the flying camera. When we arrived at the farmhouse my camera decided to fly from my bag and crash into the ground. Fortunately it has survived, only the display screen is broken, but it still takes pictures and I can see all the info I need in the LCD screen. 

Distance covered: 430 km.
Accommodation: Brunnhóll Farm Holidays, Mýrar
www.brunnholl.is

Day 10. MÝRAR – KIRKJUBÆJARKLAUSTUR (08.28)

We wake up at our usual hour, have breakfast, pack our bags and start the stage.

We make our first stop at Jökulsárlón to say goodbye and see if the big pieces of glacier that went down into the lagoon yesterday night are closer. They’re still a little far, although everything here is constantly changing. 

Miguel still wants to see a glacier close, so I look again in the map for a dirt track that let us approach to a Vatnajökull tongue and I find one, of only 2 kilometres, to see Svínafellsjökull.

It’s a little scary to see the warning of danger signs, the recommendations (talking about quicksand) and plaques in memory of those who have died or disappeared there.

The glacier tongue ends in a small dark lagoon, due to shallowness and sediments that ice drags. There are some icebergs completely different to those of Jökulsárlón but still impressive.

There is a path to approach the glacier. We think it’s the one that have used three groups of hikers who are making “ice walking”. The truth is that, even if they go with a guide, they’re running a very high risk.

We take some pictures and get closer, but just until we consider safe. A French couple comes and, ignoring all the warnings, enters the glacier without minimum equipment. 

We go to Skaftafell Visitor Centre to start the trekking to Svartifoss. The weather is nice, even hot, so the easy path takes only 1’5 hours. There are many tourists, including a big Japanese group that advances without caring for the environment. The waterfall is stunning. Although the flow is not very abundant, its incised position in a small canyon of basaltic formations makes this waterfall exceptional. If you have a little patience, you can take a beautiful photo without people involved.

On the way back, we stop at a beautiful meadow overlooking the Vatnajökull, take some photos jumping and enjoy the landscape and the good weather. It’s nice to be in t-shirts sunbathing with the largest glacier in Europe at our back.

We have had a snack at Svartifoss, but back in the park lot we are hungry. We decide to go directly to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where we will spend the night, and have lunch there. In the midway the Ring Road crosses a plain called Skeiðarársandur. Actually it is the biggest sandur in the world, it extends from the glaciers to the coast; it’s a zone consisting of fine fluvial sediments originating from the glaciers.

It’s incredible how the finest sand and volcanic ash rise by wind action creating a kind of storm that envelops everything and even covers the road. It’s no easy to photograph, but we tried for a while as the sand on the asphalt runs like water of a river.

We make a stop and have lunch with a delicious ice cream covered in chocolate. Go to the accommodation place, 1 kilometre far, and the great surprise is that they have nice cabins well maintained and full equipped. Although the weather is changing again and the sky begins to be cloudy, we went to the Visitor Centre in the village to get some information to do a couple of short hikes.

 

We first go to a nearby waterfall, Stjórnarfoss. It’s not too big, but it’s pretty nice because it’s between rock walls covered by moss and falling into a little turquoise pool.

The second place we visit, quite close to the cabins, it’s a huge rock canyon through which flows river Fjadra. The interesting thing about place called Fjardragljufur, is not only the height of the walls, but that you can walk inside the canyon and also see it from above.

 

It’s getting late and cold, and although the place is really worth it, we have no choice but to return to the cabin.

The accommodation is located in the middle of a lava field called Eldhraun, extending from Lakagigar (a line of craters 25 kilometres long) in the inside, almost to the coast. This huge are of lava was created during an eruption in 1783 and is considered one of the largest and most poisonous eruptions on Earth. Currently the whole area is covers with Wooly Fringe moss, creating an indescribable visual spectacle.

Greatest moment of the day: warning sign in the dirt track. Every time you abandon a gravel road to enter a dirt track usually there is one of these posters indicating, among other things, that off-road driving is prohibited because the terrain of the island is very delicate and requires decades to grow plants in it. It also warns that, in case of rental cars, only 4x4 have authorization to travel on these tracks, it’s completely forbidden to other vehicles because there are dangerous areas.

The plan for tomorrow is to go to Laki Volcano, and it will take all the day. So we decide to book one more night in the cabin and spend the rest of this afternoon enjoying. We take a sandwich for dinner, edit some videos and try to upload them in the web, but the switch off the connection when they go to sleep.

Distance covered: 217 km.
Accommodation: Hunkubakkar (cottages farm holidays), Kirkjubæklaustur
+354 487 4681 / +354 865 2652
www.hunkubakkar.is / hunkubakkar @simnet.is

 

Day 11. KIRKJUBÆJARKLAUSTUR (LAKAGIGAR) (08.29)

After a restful sleep, a refreshing shower and a great breakfast (orange rolls, hot rolls with melted cheese and homemade gooseberry jam), we fill the tank and head Lakagigar.

F228 track is indeed suitable only for 4x4 cars and, in addition to the first warn sign, we find some more posters, each more curious. 

 The first stop is Fagrifoss, a waterfall that falls into a canyon and can be seen from above. It seems the walls are about to melt and, although there is a cord to avoid people get to the cliff (this is quite unusual in Iceland), some people goes to the limit and look to the 20 metres fall.

The landscape is impressive and we’re starting the route. We can see the canyon in the distance and can guess that, after the immense lava field, we will find the craters.

Although the sun doesn’t shine, at least is not raining. There are some clouds giving an even more dramatic appearance to the scenery, which is composed of black sand, rock formations and green grass so striking that almost hurts the eye.

Just after this stop is the first wading. We see how a couple of cars cross the river at full speed and then we pass with that calm that requires this situation (specially when you are in a rented car) and, from the other side of the river we see that a 4x4 bus full of people come toward us.

The track is slow with many stones, potholes and hills, but worth it not only for what awaits us at the end, but for the path and the experience itself. As it takes a whole day to go to Laki and come back, there are not many people.

We start to rim Eldhraun, the lava field, without leaven the black ash path. Wading is increasingly scariest and even at some point the track has been invaded by the river and we have to go upriver.

We stop where it’s possible, because it’s prohibited to leave the track with the car, and we explore the surroundings. Everything in front of us is a beautiful smooth and green moss carpet growing on the lava with little black ash islands.

After much clattering, we get at the foot of Laki crater. We park in the indicated lot and start the hiking over the steep slop as bundled up as if we were to climb K2. Views from the top really worth the effort: a whole row of craters, getting smaller one after another getting lost in the horizon.

It’s impossible to walk the 25 kilometres of craters of the fissure that begins in Laki… it is clear when, form above, we see the small paths around the closest craters and the tiny people walking along. We can also see the lava field and it’s easy to imagine the destruction resulted in the eruption.

Back into the car we go to Tjarnargígur crater and take a walk along an ash path. What a surprise to discover it’s filled of water.  The crater walls, the ground and all around is covered by moss and we can understand why it is so fragile and how easy is to damage it. We walk among the lava, admiring the surreal environment around us, knowing that nowhere else you can find such a place.

Soon after we stop to make a light picnic. The kilometres go by slowly because we are a little tired.

After more than 8 hours tour bumping along the lava field we are exhausted… so we go to have a rest in the cabin. We download the pictures, upload some videos and see that Toi Vido (an Icelandic photographer we follow in the internet) has uploaded some photos of puffins. We thought they would have migrated). We find out he is at Vestmannayjar island and that there is a ferry to go there. The plan is to go there in a couple of days.

We have dinner in Systrakaffi: marinated grilled chicken, vegetables, baked potato and garlic bread. All incredibly tasty. Viking beer, served with lots of bubbles and without foam in a glass full to the brim.

Greatest moment of the day: crazy warn signs before wading. We think they’re really appropriate and explicit. “Crossing requires caution. Where is the crossing? – Rivers change. Tire tracks do not tell the entire story. Has your engine waterproofed? Is somebody watching the cross? Probe the crossing yourself. Use a safety line. Wear warm clothing in bright colours.”

Distance covered: 143 km.
Accommodation: Hunkubakkar (cottages farm holidays), Kirkjubæklaustur
+354 487 4681 / +354 865 2652
www.hunkubakkar.is / hunkubakkar @simnet.is

Day 12. KIRKJUBÆJARKLAUSTUR – HELLISHÓLAR (08.30)

Fog today is impenetrable… and soon we assume that we won’t enjoy the scenery the same way. The route planned for today is not very long, so we take it easy.

After breakfast, we take the Ring Road and start crossing Eldharaun lava field. We stop in a rest area (= picnic table in the middle of nowhere) located is a field full of milestones called Laufskálavarða. It’s a lava crest covered by lime green moss, between rivers Hólmsá and Skálmá where all travellers crossing Mýrdalssandur desert for the first time built a milestone with volcanic rocks to bring them luck on the trip. Judging by the number of milestones many people have been here.

We’ve spent several kilometres looking for Kirkjugolf, also called Church Floor, a basalt formation that looks like a hexagonal floor tiles. We don’t find it and I guess I have marked the map wrong… and it is not in the map we got at Kirkjubæklaustur Visitor Centre and the lady forgot to tell us that it was right there.

We continue the route and get to Reynishverfi to see the basalt columns formed at the cliff foot. There is a cave in the rock, everything in a huge and impressive size. But it seems a bit dangerous and the information signs in the area say so, although most people don’t respect the warnings.

Beach sand is completely black, which makes the sea foam look even whiter. With this fog, rocks of the coast have a ghostly appearance.

There is a violent undertow, because we are in an area of strong currents and, as indicated in the warnings, waves are unpredictable and dangerous in this zone and the tide comes very quickly.

There are a dozen people with their tripods and cameras, taking pictures of the rocks. I look at the cliffs, as there are many birds flying around the area. They seem gulls… but I realize that these birds are chubby, black and white, with their legs and beaks orange. They’re puffins! I almost can’t believe it. Puffins!

They are quite high, throwing themselves from the cliff and it’s complicated to take a good picture, even using the telephoto lens. We try to capture them flying, but with this light is almost impossible to focus. 

The tide is rising and soon it won’t be possible to stay at the beach, so we go towards Dyrhólaey, only 5 minutes by car. 

It is still foggy and the rocks are barely visible, but from the car we sense this place is a treasure. More puffins!! And this time they are very close going throw a path that climb the cliff. Puffins in the foreground. They’re really comical.

We spend a good time taking pictures of the birds and the landscape, which is impressive. There is a river, a current surrounding a black tongue of sand on the beach that can be seen from the cliff.

We take some drinks and delicious freshly made garlic bread we buy in the supermarket. But now we need to urgently use the bathroom. o_O

We continue the route until the next stop: Skógafoss. It’s a pity that the weather is so bad, because the fog, the rain and this horrible cold don’t allow us enjoy this stunning waterfall.

At the foot of the waterfall there is a kind of bar and there are a few people having hot coffee while waiting for the weather to get better and have the chance to make the trek that runs parallel to the river and let you see the 20 cascades before the great waterfall. We take a couple of pictures and continue our way.

 

We haven’t seen any visitor centre on this area but suddenly, on a side of the road, there is a house with a huge picture of Eyjafjallajökull eruption. So there we go! There is a dog lying on the door that has no intention of moving and we have to jump over. Although we make questions to the lady, the only thing she answers is “Wanna watch the film?” Repeatedly. The “film” is a documentary about the eruption and costs 800 isk. per person. No comment. But at least we go to the bathroom.

A few kilometres later, we stop at Seljanlandfoss but it’s raining so much and there is so much fogg that we can hardly see the waterfall. It’s a pity, because there is a path up to the waterfall and runs behind, making this place unique and special. We have one more reason to come back to Iceland.

We go to new Bakki harbour, from where the ferries go to Vestmannaeyjar, but the weather forecast for tomorrow on the island is pretty bad and, as we have already seen puffins, we decide not to go.

Stop to have lunch at Hvolsvöllur, in a pizzeria that although seems to be abandoned, it turns out a great place with a wonderful chef. We order a chicken sub with bacon, sweet peppers and sauce, and also a pepperoni pizza with blue cheese and banana. Wonderful!

As the weather doesn’t get better, we go directly to the lodging. We’ve booked a cabin at Hellishólar. When we arrive, we discover that breakfast is not included in the price and that we have to pay for the bed sheets… and they don’t inform about this in the web or by telephone. We have to pay for the cabin before see how it is and once there we discover that it’s quite dirty and it seems to have been playing tetris with bed and furniture. But we focus on the good things: there is washer dryer and hot tub in the camping.

We leave our things, do the laundry (previous payment for the soap at reception) and we get into the hot tub.  The water is not too clean but 39ºC left us very relaxed.

We have some problems to calculate how long to leave the clothes in the dryer, so we have to go two or three times until it’s completely dry. We plan the route for tomorrow and go to sleep.

Greatest moment of the day: destroyed road. In the morning we saw a part of the road that had been destroyed during 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. There were a few workmen removing the remains of the parapets because, apparently, the floods caused by the glacier melting devastated almost everything else.

Distance covered: 123 km.
Accommodation: Hellishólar (cottages farm holidays), Hvollsvöllur
+354 487 8360 / +354 898 2735
www.hellisholar.is / hellisholar @hellisholar.is

Day 13. HELLISHÓLAR – HEIMALAND (08.31)

Despite the cabin was filthy we have slept like a log because we were really tired. We have a little breakfast and fill the cabin with post-it marking everything that must be cleaned, replaced, fixed or thrown away. Probably they will never see this, because we are pretty sure they won’t clean the cabin after our stay… so next people that rent this cabin will have the surprise and they will probably freak out.

We start the route by a bad dirt track and with 3 wading. The weather is not very good, it’s sparkling, with fog and rain in some places. The first stop is Þjófafoss, a beautiful waterfall of green water. The river bed is covered by moss.

After, we follow another track that takes us to Háifoss, a towering waterfall (actually 2 waterfalls) falling into a deep canyon near Búrfellsstöð hydroelectric plant. The sky gives us a break and we have a good time taking pictures.

Thjórsá river can be crossed only in two places, so we have to make a long way to reach our destination today. Next stop is another waterfall: Hjálparfoss. It’s a double waterfall in a lava field north of Hekla volcano. It’s not very big but the basalt columns and large volcanic rocks that surround it make it very special.

After lunch we arrive to Gullfoss. It’s raining cat and dogs so we wear waterproof cover pants and wrap ourselves in coats and go out to see the waterfall. 

On the way down, we visit Geysir hot springs, where it was the original geyser that gave name to everyone else. Although nowadays this geyser is extinct, there is another wan that springs every few minutes. It doesn’t reach the original Geysir height, but is is impressive anyway.

The weather gets worse, so we take road 26 to go to the farm house where we will sleep tonight. Heimalad is a beautiful house, with clean and spacious rooms (and free wifi!). We look the forecast weather and it will not improve in the coming days. So we decide that under these conditions we cannot go to Landmannalaugar. Another one to “next time list”. 

Greatest moment of the day: geyser shower. There is always someone who doesn’t consider wind direction when is waiting to see a geyser… you can imagine. Anyway, when you’re already drenched in rain, who cares for some more water?

Distance covered: 332 km.
Accommodation: Heimaland(farm holidays), Landsveit
+354 487 5787
www.heimalad.is / heimalad @heimalad.is

 

Day 14. HEIMALAND – STEINDÓRSSTAĐIR (09.01)

Breakfast in the farm has been a little odd because we were in the large kitchen of the family while the owner and his daughter were talking in Icelandic just in front of us. Just a bit awkward.

When we said goodbye to the family, the man shake our hands and almost break them in two, how strongly! Our theory that he is an artist, a sculptor, is confirmed not only because there are many beautiful paintings and sculptures in the house, but also a huge metallic work in the garden.

Yesterday we realized that the sump guard is coming off, so we buy a couple of zip ties in the gas station.

We go to Gullfoss again to buy some gifts and take some more pictures because the weather is better than it was yesterday. There is a path going to the border of the waterfall… it’s really scary.

 

As Geysir is on the way down, we stop here too. Today, without rain, it’s even more impressive how high it erupts.  

On the way to our destination today, we pass Kenio crater. It’s not very big but the colourful soil, vegetation and water that floods the volcano make it very interesting. We take a few pictures, the sky is starting ti get cloudy and it’s quite windy.

We pass by Lake Þingvallavatn. Al the lava around the lake is covered with moss, small plants and flowers, giving the area an amazing and surreal look. How did not we see this the first time we were around here? As soon as we find a track off the Ring Road, we stop.

It’s almost lunch time but there is no where here to stop, so we have to make a sandwich and eat it while we visit Barnafoss rapids and Hraunfossar, a waterfall formed by many springs that flow among solidified lava. 

Next stop is Deildartunguhver hot springs, known to be the longest on Earth. It’s amazing to see how boiling water comes gushing everywhere. 

Although it’s only 6 pm. We stop for an early dinner at a roadside grill. Then we find the house where we will spend the night. Steindórsstaðir i son road 517. They have a guest house completely new, very clean and with a wonderful hot tub where we spend the afternoon at 40ºC. We deserve a little relaxation.

Greatest moment of the day: the tomato cart. Beside the hot springs there was a nice cart full of tomato bags, 200 isk./bag. Just a cash box, the price in a small poster and lots of tomatoes grown in greenhouses heated with thermal water.

Distance covered: 407 km.
Accommodation: Steindórsstaðir Guest House, Steindórsstaðir - Borgarnes
+354 435 1227
www.steindorsstadir.is / steinda @emax.is

Day 15. STEINDÓRSSTAĐIR – KEFLAVÍK (09.02)

Breaking records. We’ve slept until our bodies could no more. We have breakfast and we are on the road at 9:30 am. We head Þingvellir National Park to visit Oxarafoss waterfall (we didn’t see it at the start of the trip).

After seeing so many amazing waterfalls, this is just a nice cascade. We take a walk by the wooden path that goes through one of the crevices of the ridge. There are several caterpillars that we put in the grass, safe.  

We rim Lake Þingvallavatn by a dirt track, enjoying the scenery quite unlike the rest of Iceland, not only by the lake craters or rock formations, also by the vegetation.

This is such a beautiful place that although we’ve been here before, we are amazed again with this spectacle of nature: an emerged oceanic ridge that separates more and more so you can walk inside.

We go to Hveragerði, a nice and small village where visit the Geothermal Park, a hot spring almost empty because it was the first to be exploited for human benefit.

There is a sort of visitor centre with interpretive signs on the use given to the geothermal areas and operation of the greenhouse, they even have some huge tomato plants that grow right there.

We have lunch and finally find out that this Icelandic we love (and they put in everything) is just a mixture of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.

We have the whole afternoon ahead, so we take the road again to go to the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Again by dirt track we cross Heiðinhá lava that extends at the foot of Bláfjöll or Sulphur Mountains and close to Lake Kleifarvtan, where we find Seltún hot spring (also called Krísuvík).

This is impressive not only by the size, all across the hill with several fumaroles, but also because it’s located in the middle of nowhere, far from every human thing.

We take a ride and continue toward the coast. Past Grindavík there is another hot spring, with an exploitation plant. The area is awesome; the ground smokes everywhere.

Reykjanestá Lighthouse is very close. It’s the oldest in Iceland. The sky is getting dramatic, but it seems the storm is still far… so we enjoy the area without rush.

In this place, the sea crashing against the rocks creates amazing shapes and scenery. We stay here for a while, watching the waves breaking.

Nearby is the bridge between two continents, and although it sounded very promising, is a bit disappointing. We make a brief visit and go to the b&b for tonight, cause we feel a little queasy with so much boiled egg smell.

We’re going to spend our last two nights at Keflavík bed & breakfast, and this time we have a huge room with two large beds, rocking chair, sofa and table.

We go to Keflavík village to take a walk. It seems there is a party. The intention was to explore the area… but we see an American style cafeteria and we follow our stomachs to there.

We get into bed still thinking about the amazing ice creams we’ve eaten and the incredible amount of toppings you can put on it: fresh fruit, liquid chocolate, nuts, candies…

Greatest moment of the day: boil it yourself. At Hveragerði geothermal park you can by an egg (100 isk. each), put it inside boiling water flowing from the earth.

Second greatest moment of the day: zodiacal monument. In the morning we found a strange area close to the road. There was a sort of monument or zodiacal map made with stones. The place, called Karlminni rock, is a memorial to Karl Sighvatsson, musician and organist.

Distance covered: 370 km.
Accommodation: B&B Keflavík
+354 426 5000
guistihus@internet.is
www. bbkeflavik.com

Day 16. KEFLAVÍK – REYKJAVÍK – KEFLAVÍK (09.03)

Thankfully we have a bedroom far from breakfast room, so we’ve slept really well, without a noise. We get up not too late, have breakfast and go to Reykjavík unhurriedly, because in this country people don’t get up so early as we think.

Our first stop is the promenade, where the famous metal sculpture of Viking boat is. We are lucky there’s no one around when we get there and we can take a lot of pictures with a beautiful sky.

When we are about to go, a local comes, gets his fishing gear and, without caring, starts fishing right there. Looking how long the promenade is, it seems that this man like to be in tourists’ snapshots. :)

We visit the surroundings by car, and then we go to the old town walking. Reykjavík is a small city that invites you to walk its quaint streets filled of small shops.

Like many other European cities, the capital of Iceland shows absolute respect for urban art and there are many samples of originality found in "abandoned walls" as in private homes, shops, etc.

We visit the cathedral and take some photos with the mackerel sky. There is no traffic, people enjoys the sun sitting on the terraces of the cafes, footing or lying on the grass.

Pass 2 pm. We are in Bláa Lónið (the Blue Lagoon). First we take a walk around, amazed by the turquoise water that winds through piles of black lava.

Then we enter the spa. They give you a bracelet with computer system that applies both to come and go as to charge the drinks that are paid on departure. We left our stuff in separate lockers (also open with the wrist) and wrapped in a bathrobe that we have requested, we go to the water.

There are not many people and one can relax, swim and float without touching anyone. It’s an unexplainable feeling to be in that turquoise, hot and salt water…

Besides the large main lake, there are several sauna rooms, cold showers, indoor pool, beaches and even a small bar in the middle of the water (where we have some ice cream).

We spent four wonderful hours, floating from here to there (you have to make a real effort to not float), putting "silica mud" all over the body and drying in the sun.

This experience so unknown and special to us, seems to be the most common for locals who come here very often.

The facilities do not have a single bad thing: showers, changing rooms and toilets up with a hairdryer. Everything is well thought out and well maintained, although the entry may seem a little expensive, the experience really worth it.

We leave with absolutely relaxed body and mind, thinking if we will ever come back here. We have only a few hours in Iceland and we start to get nostalgic.

Before returning to the b&b, we go through the airport a moment to ask where and how to recover tax free (upon request in an office at the boarding area). Also stop at the rental car office to see how we return the car tomorrow (just leaving it in the airport parking with keys in the glove because, as they say, if someone steals the car, he cannot escape the island driving).

Once in the b&b, we take a good shower, left our bags and we're ready for dinner in the village and, of course, to take the last ice cream.

Greatest moment of the day: the Icelandic hot dogs. We’ve eaten the typical Icelandic hot dogs at Reykjavík. Icelanders call them pylsur and they’re reputed to be the best hot dogs in the world. The sausage is crispy outside and tender inside, made with pork, beef and lamb, they add both raw and fried onions and two or three kinds of sauces.

In Iceland this is almost a national sport, is considered one of the pillars of its food, so we could not leave without tasting this delight. Caution! They are filling.

Distance covered: 130 km.
Accommodation: B&B Keflavík
+354 426 5000
guistihus@internet.is
www. bbkeflavik.com

Day 17. KEFLAVÍK – MADRID (09.04)

In the morning, although we arrive at the airport early, the chaos there is incredible. There are queues everywhere, even getting out of the building. It’s a complete disorganization. Our advice? Go to the airport at least three hours before the flight.

On the plain, although we are tired and partly wishing to get home, we cannot help thinking we’ve never been in a place like this and it will be very hard to beat the experience of this trip.

There we leave the vertiginous waterfalls, the endless lava fields, the volcanoes, the glaciers, the imperturbable calm the icebergs floating in the lagoon, the silence and solitude on many remote places, the feeling that this earth is so alive… so captivating and unfathomable…

The immeasurable beauty of Iceland has been recorded in our souls.

And although we do not know when, we will be back.

Coming soon (you can already take a look to our Spanish blog): NORDKAPP, SLOVENIA, MADEIRA, CALIFORNIA, MOROCCO… and  more.