Iceland

Early this year we decided to go to Iceland for our vacation. Having done quite a bit of research (Google) online we chose a company called Hidden Iceland to organise a schedule, hire a car and book hotels and some of the excursions we wanted to go on. Our trip coordinator, Rita, was very organised and efficient and took onboard several suggestions and changes we made over the next few months as well as answering promptly the many questions we e-mailed over the period until it was time to go. She also keept us abreast of what was happing with the Blue Lagoon regarding the volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsular as we were booked to stay there at the end of the holiday. It closed then opened quite a few times before our trip.

We also decided to spend a few days at the beginning of the vacation in the UK where all the family met up together for the first time in many years, including Philip who came to the UK for a week to see his sisters and nephews. So we booked flights to London and stayed in Wokingham, then onto Iceland for 17 days before flying back to Cyprus via London Heathrow. The remainder of this trip report concerns the Iceland trip. so Day1 1s the day we arrived at Keflavik airport.

Many of the places we visited in Iceland were locations where the Game of Thrones TV series was filmed. The website Hey Iceland shows quite of few of these, many of which we went to. We visited a lot of waterfalls, several featured on the Iceland Falls and World of Waterfalls websites.

Lisa drove us (and Oliver) from Reading to London Heathrow terminal 5 very early in the morning so we could catch our British Airways flight to Reykjavik. Getting through was the usual pain: loads of passengers and the security systems identifying us as security risks thanks to Sue's artificial knee and Neil's artificial hip. When we checked in online we chose window seats on the same row, so had 4 other passengers between ourselves, but it meant that at least one of would get a spectacular view when flying along the South coast of Iceland. In the end it was Neil who drew the lucky straw, Sue had to be content with a sea view while Neil had the glaciers and lava fields.

Once we landed at Keflavik we went straight to the hire car counter and got the keys for the car and a pocket wireless router that later proved invaluable. We then spent 15 minutes looking for the hire car in the wrong car park (it was one over). The wind was bitter and that part wasn't very nice. Eventually we had the suitcases stored in the car, the satnav set for Hidden Iceland's office and we set out for Reykjavik. The route there was relatively simple and the traffic fairly light until we got to the outskirts of the capital. After about an hour we reached the office, but unfotunately Rita wasn't there as she'd gone on vacation herself. We were loaned wet weather coats and trousers and given various advice then we went to the Fly Over Iceland Experience, which was just across the road. This was fantastic, see the preview on their website.

Following the Fly Over Iceland experience we went to the Lava Show which was a hundred metres or so down the road. This too was a fantastic experience, being able to see real lava flowing in a safe, controlled environment. The young lady who ran the demonstration was an American who had studied geoscience at university and was very entertaining and knowledgeable. Afterwards we popped into the Omnom Chocolate Factory which was just across the street. Unfortunately they don't do tours any more, but we ate some lovely chocolate and icecream.

We then made our way to the hotel, the Reykjavik Saga Hotel where we were stying for one night. We pulled up outside, offloaded the bags then went to fing a nearby car-parking space. The car satnav was useless (a common theme throughout the holiday). Google Maps was better, but it still took 3 circular trips to find it - as it was underground with no real signage. Neil checked in on the Parka app and walked back to the hotel. That evening we walked around the corner and ate at the Reykjavik Post House Food Hall, Sue had sushi while Neil had fish and chips. Then it was time to get back to the hotel.

The second day we left the hotel after an excellent breakfast and started out to go to the Þingvellir National Park, which was the site of the Alþing, the annual meeting of the parliament of Iceland, from the year 930 until the end of the 18th century. The letter "Þ" is pronounced "th" hence THingvellir not Pingvellir. This Icelandic letter existed in Anglo-Saxon, where it was called "Thorn", as did "Æ" (lowercase: æ, called Ash) and Ð (lowercase: ð) (called Eth). The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.

The geology of the park is extremely interesting and after a bit of walking we came to Öxarárfoss, the waterfall on the Öxará river. There is also a flooded part of the rift called the Silfra Rift where you can dive (in a dry suit) and touch both the North American and Eurasion sides of the rift concurrently.

We then left Þingvellir to go to the Friðheimar Tomato Farm, where we booked in for lunch. Sue had their renowned Heirloom tomatoes and handmade Icelandic Burrata cheese, served with basil-olive oil and sea salt and Neil had the tomato soup which was the tastiest he'd ever eaten. Neil was tempted with the Green tomato and apple pie with whipped cream, but in the end pigged out by making good use of the endless tomato soup with bread refills and a green-tomato beer - yum-yum. Like almost everywhere we went in Iceland their homemade bread was amazing.

Leaving Friðheimar we put our next destination Brúarárfoss (Brúarfoss) into the car's satnav. This eventually led us to a rough track that petered out after several miles at which point we input " Brúarfoss Waterfall Official Parking" into Google maps, which led us back to the main road and a carpark near the waterfall several miles down the road. After this we always knew to take the car's satnav directions with a pinch of salt and use Google maps on Neil's phone instead. The falls were well worth the visit. After this we carried on to see Geysir in the geothermal area in Haukadalur. This is one of the very few places on earth, where one can closely observe active geysers.The famous Great Geysir, the geyser Strokkur and various kinds of hot springs, steam vents, and sulfurous mud pots can be explored. While the Great Geysir rarely spouts nowadays, the smaller geyser, Strokkur, reliably gushes its fountains of boiling hot water every 8-10 minutes up to 30 meters in the air. We saw this event several times. (tip: Stay upwind unless you want to get wet)

Our next destination was Gullfoss. The name means "Golden Falls". It is known for its powerful cascade, is fed by the Hvita River and plunges into a dramatic canyon, creating two distinct drops that total around 100 feet (30 meters) in height. It is very impressive and photogenic, especially for the rainbows that the spray produces. After Gullfoss it was a long drive to our next hotel, the Umi Hotel at Eyvindarhólar. We would be staying there for three nights. We signed the book to get a wakeup call if the northern lights showed and sure enough we were wakened about 11pm. We donned some warm clothing and went outside for an hour or so watching the spectacle - amazing. Unfortunately the naked eye rarely distinguishes the various colours of the lights that you see with a camera, rather they turn out looking like fast changing clouds.

After a hearty breakfast we set off back down the road we had driven along the previous day to take a trip into Thor's Valley. We went with Midgard Adventure. Our driver and guide was Alf, who was very friendly and chatty and looked after us when crossing streams and clambering over lava fields. There are signs along the "road" through the valley that warned not to drive cars, even 4x4s into the valley, yet still we saw several making their way there, even though it voided their rental car insurance. We first visited a cave that resulted from the famous Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 which disrupted air travel for a week, and caused our vacation in Grenada that year to be extended free of charge for 7 days or so. Most Icelandic placenames are simple descriptions of what you see and Eyjafjallajökull is no exception, it means the glacier on the mountain on the island!

Our next stop was the Gígjökull glacial tongue. There used to be a lake at the base, but during the 2010 eruption the tongue broke off landed in the lake, borrowed under it and lifted it about 30 metres, so emptying the lake. The ice is still there unde the ground you walk on and the tongue has grown back. Alf pointed out the stupidity of some people who where camped close to the glacier in the area clearly signposted "DANGER". Large chunks of ice regularly calve from the glacier and their tent would be right in the path should one do so. These chunks of ice weighing several tones would make mincemeat of anyone in their path.

After that we forded several rivers to get to the Langidalur campsite. Here Neil went with others on a trail up the mountain while Sue decided to give that a miss and take a nice little trail that went along the river. Neil decided to stop half way up the mountain and took some photos of the views that were spectacular. He went looking for Sue when he got down and the others of our party who made it to the top were back down about half an hour later. we had a small picnic then it was back in the super-jeep for the trip back. We stopped off at Stakkholtsgjá Canyon which is home to fantastic shaped rocks and the location was used in one of the scenes for game of Thrones.

Alf wanted to take us to a waterfall but it was rather crowded so he made a detour and took us to Gluggafoss instead. The name means "Window Waterfall" and when you get to it you see the reason why as it gushes inside and outside of the cliff itself. After Gluggafoss we were taken back to Midgard's base of operations and drove back to the hotel. we stopped off to visit Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrafoss (or Gljúfrabúi as it is better known). Seljalandsfoss is very large and you can walk into the cave behind it. Gljúfrafoss is about half a mile away down a small track.

When we finally got to the hotel we again put our names down for a northern lights call and were again woken at about 11 pm.

We were up early again for breakfast and then spent an hour or so down at the black sand beach at the hotel. Then it was back in the car to catch the ferry to the Westman Islands. The ferry boat is all-electric and took about 45 minutes to get to Heimae, the main island, sailing through towering cliffs. On arriving we drove off the ferry to the Eldheimar Volcano Museum which chronicles the major eruption of 1973 which forced the entire population of over 5000 people to evacuate the island on a moment's notice in the middle of the night. Many of whom lost their homes and belongings, some never returned to Heimaey. The museum is well worth visiting and the exhibits are a poignant reminder of the destructive power that can be unleashed at a moments notice. Next to the museum one of the houses that was buried under tens of metres of ash has been part excavated to show the type of destruction wreaked on the town.

After visiting the museum we had some lunch at the Gott Restaurant in the town. Sue had Wolf fish, which was excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and wanted to know what Cyprus was like as she and her boyfriend were hoping to go there for holiday next year. After lunch we made our way to the southernmost tip of the island to the Stórhöfðaviti lighthouse for some fantastic views. It wasn't worth going to the puffin lookout there though since these birds had migrated for the winter. We took a cliff walk near the Helgafell volcano which was responsible for creating most of the island about 5,000 years ago. We then drove to Eldfell, the volcano that erupted in 1973, and took a short walk along its side. We decided to give the longer walk to the top of the crater a miss since it wasn't long before we had to return to the ferry for the trip back to the mainland. On arriving at the hotel we again signed up for the northern light wakeup call and were not disappointed.

On the way to our next hotel we stopped off to see Skógafoss and nearby Kvernufoss, which is much less visited. Then it was on to the Dyrholaey Headland with its fantastic cliff arch and its lighthouse. Afterwards we went to Reynisfjara black sand beach with its impressive basalt cliff and cave. This is next to Vik, one of the larger towns on the South coast. If ever you do go to Reynisfjara beach be very careful: small "sneaker" waves can pull you out into the freezing sea and huge waves, as tall as a 10-storey building, have been known to hit this beach. There is also a risk from rocks falling from the cliffs. Don't let this put you off though, just take care and be sensible.

After Reynisfjara we travelled to the Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon which was a bit of an uphill trek but well worth it for the views, which were stunning. After visiting another waterfall, Stjórnarfoss, we arrived at our next hotel the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, which despite its name is quite a way away from the glacier lagoon.

The weather today was not very promising - it was raining as we were having breakfast. We contacted the company organising the boat trip and suggested that it might be better to postpone till the next day, however we eventually decided to put off the decision until we arrived. On arrival at Jökulsárlón we decided to go on the boat that day rather than wait for the next day as the forecast predicted stronger winds then. So we kitted up and boarded the zodiac RIB for our trip on the glacier lagoon visiting icebergs and the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier itself. It was amazing and luckily the rain mostly held off for the boat tour.

Some of the icebergs had probably calved from the glacier just overnight. There were some fantastic shapes and the glacier was very impressive. The wind blows the icebergs around and they slowly make their way to the outlet that leads to the sea. They pass under the bridge carrying the main road (route 1) and eventually break up, to be washed up as chunks of ice on the black sand beach. These sparkle in the sun and are the reason this beach is called "Diamond Beach". It truly is a magical sight to see.

After spending quite a bit of time photographing the "diamonds" we decided to make our way back, calling in for a short time at Fjallsárlón, another glacier lake. It too is amazing to see and we took yet more photos of icebergs. Before making our way back to the hotel, however we went just past the hotel and had a spot of lunch at the Cafe Vatnajökull. The food there was really very good. By the time we'd finished lunch it was pouring down with rain so we decided to skip our next destination, Skaftafell, and return to the hotel for a soak in their thermal baths instead.

Another hearty breakfast then back to the glacier lagoon and diamond beach. At the lagoon we noticed that there were no boats on the water proving that we had made the right decision the day before. After spending another couple of hours marvelling at (and photographing) these sights we made our way to Höfn then on to Stokksnes Beach and Vestrahorn Mountain. To get to the beach you have to buy a ticket in the cafe just before the barrier. There is also a replica of a viking settlement here. The scenery was amazing, in particular the views of the mountain reflected in the thin layer of water covering the beach.

Our next stop was Skútafoss via a short walk along the river, followed by a visit to Hvalnes Lighthouse. Next came the town of Djúpivogur followed by a drive to the waterfalls in the Fossardalur valley.

It was getting late by the time we reached Breiðdalsvík (or "Tiny Town" as it is also known) so we decided to have dinner at the hotel there before making our way to the hotel we'd be staying at for the next two nights, the Fosshotel Eastfjords in Fáskrúðsfjörður.

Need I say it? After a hearty breakfast we got in the car and drove off to visit Klifbrekkufossar, which invovled a magical trip above the snowline with frozen lakes and fantastic views. It took a while to drive slowly along the snow-covered road but it was well worth it. In places it was like a magical winter wonderland. After visiting the waterfall then made our way back along the snowy road to get back on the main road and drive on to Gufufoss, yet another stunning waterfall. From here we went to Seyðisfjörður a small town with a rainbow path leading up to the church, galleries, brightly painted house and quirky statues.

After Seyðisfjörður we called in at the Snæfellstofa (Snæfell visitor centre). The receptionist was very informative as were the exhibits. Then it was on to Hengifoss. Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived and the hike to the waterfall is a relatively long uphill one, so we viewed it from a distance and carried on to our next destination: the Vök Thermal Baths. These were brilliant and we spent quite a long time soaking in them and having quick dunks in lake Urriðavatn whose temperature was only 10°C, which was quite invigorating to say the least. Then it was back to the hotel in time for dinner.

We travelled back along the main road and past the turning for Klifbrekkufossar and eventually turned off onto a road leading to the Stuðlagil Canyon. You can see the canyon from both the East and the West side of the Jökla river. On the West side there is a viewing platform next to the carpark but you have to descend (then later ascend) a huge number of steps. On the East side you have a very easy 3.5km walk (and another back). We decided to do the West side, but if you have time you could do both. To get the iconic shot of the canyon you will have to take the East bank route then clamber down a very difficult descent using ropes to get to the base of the canyon. I'm afraid Neil's new hip and Sue's new knee would not have managed that.

Then, after a stop at a viewpoint for Möðrudalsöræfi, which is a desert plain and mount Herðubreið, which rises above it, we stopped at Möðrudalur Farm. This has turf houses, a quaint little church, a restaurant and some adorable arctic fox cubs running around chasing each other around. Needless to say Sue spent ages watching and photographing the cubs, so much so that we were pipped to the restaurant by a busload of tourists and rather than wait half an hour or so we decided to move on to our next stop, the Hverir Geothermal Area, a surreal landscape with its barren, steam-filled multi-coloured terrain of bubbling water, mudpots and steam vents.

Following this we went on to the Dimmuborgir Lava Field near Mývatn. Here there are caves, arches and fantastical shapes all created by the lava. There are several tracks that you can follow and the going is very easy. We then followed the road clockwise around Lake Myvatn taking in sights of the pseudo-craters, eventually arriving at our next hotel - the Fosshotel Mývatn.

Today we set off for Dettifoss the most powerful waterfall in Europe where the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river falls into a canyon. Close by is Selfoss, another imposing sight, and just on leaving the carpark we took a little known track leading to Hafragilsfoss. There were quite a few tourists at the first two, but at Hafragilsfoss we were the only people there and it was magical.

Next we visited Asbyrgi Canyon. There are several walks here that you can take. We took the easy short one that skirted the small lake, which was very pretty and photogenic. then on to Húsavík and the Geosea Thermal Sea Baths. The weather was a bit overcast, but soaking up the heat in the thermal baths watching ships and seabirds was wonderful.

Then it was a long trip back Mývatn. Rather than eat at the hotel we decided to get Fish & Chips instead, which made a nice change.

First stop today was Goðafoss, the waterfall of the gods. This is a lovely waterfall and there is a bridge across the river below the falls that enables you to see the waterfall from two distinct angles. Then, rather than take the toll tunnel to Akureyri we did a detour along route 83 towards Grenvik. This detour took us through some rather picturesque scenery.

We made our way to Hauganes where we had booked a Whale Wathching Tour. Our Oak boat was called "Whales". We saw the boat arrive back at the dock with the passengers from the first trip of the day. We asked one of them how it was and he complained that they only saw brief sightings of three whales. When we went out we saw well over twenty whales, many of them very close up, in fact one of them swam underneath the boat!

Our final destination that day was Iceland’s northenmost town, Siglufjörður. To get there we had to go through two tunnels. The first was 7km long followed immediatly by another that was 4km long. The worst part was that both these tunnels were single lane, which meant that every so often you had to pull over into a small cutout at the side to let traffic past that was coming in the opposite direction. When we got to our destination we stayed in the Sigló Hotel. Walking to the entrance we noticed that the hotel had an outdoor thermal bath that we made full use of later that afternoon.

We had a very early breakfast as we had our longest journey of the holiday to complete this day. Shortly after starting out we had another single-lane tunnel to drive through before we could visit the Sauðanes lighthouse, after which we travelled anticlockwise around the peninsular on route 73. This got a bit hairy at one point as the road was being resurfaced and it was extremely difficult to drive along it without sliding from side to side on the gravel. Nevertheless we completed that part and made for Kolufoss in the Kolugljúfur Canyon . Yet another impressive waterfall.

We then went around the coastline of the Vatnsnes Peninsular, to visit the Hvítserkur Sea Stack. This really is an imposing natural feature. Icelandic folklore says that it is a troll that has been petrified by the sun! Another reason for this detour was to see some seals, unfortuately the coast after Hvítserkur was covered by low-lying cloud and we could see very little. But we pressed on. The car satnav tried to take us on a route that would have taken 2 hours longer than the route we programmed into Google maps. You can guess which one's instructions we used.

After a long and tiring day we reached the Hotel Egilsen by the harbor in Stykkishólmur, a small fishing town. We had a bit of a shock on entering our room on the top floor. It was very small and because of the eaves it was impossible to get into the bed from the side furthest from the door. Also, we needed to wash a few clothes and could see that it was going to be very difficult to do. Nor were there any clothes washing facilitties in the town itself. Nevertheless we managed. The hotel did not have a restaurant so we ate at the Sjávarpakkhúsið (Seafood Packaging House) and the meal was fantastic.

Today we toured the Snæfellsnes Peninsular. We started off by visiting Selvallafoss, which is more or less next to the road, but totally hidden from it without any signage. It's quite pretty. Then it was on to Ytri Tunga Beach to go seal spotting. At first all you could see were a few seal heads bobbing up and down offshore, but gradually one or two of the seals would waddle onto a rock to sun themselves and pose in front of the photographers like so many catwalk models.

After Ytri Tunga we went to see Bjarnafoss, an easy waterfall to get to along the side of the river. After Bjarnafoss it was a short drive to see the black church of Budir, then on to Arnastapi Village. There is a cliff walk to Hellnar that takes around 2 hours round-trip. We did part of the walk to see the various geological features including Gatklettur - Arch Rock, we then took the car to Hellnar.

The next place of interest was Djúpalónssandur & Dritvík the black lava pearl beach. This is such a lovely place but it has a tragic history. There are parts of iron from a British trawler The Epine, which was wrecked east of Dritvík cove on the night of 13th March 1948. Fourteen men lost their lives and five were saved by the Icelandic rescue team.

Our next stop was Svöðufoss folowed by the most photographed mountain and waterfall in Iceland Kirkjufell & Kirkjufellsfoss. Then is was back to the hotel followed by dinner at Narfeyrarstofa, the food was excellent.

We got up very early and while eating breakfast the Polish waitress kindly made us up some sandwiches for us to take on our jouney - cheese and ham for Neil and smoked salmon for Sue. Then we drove to Húsafell were we were bussed to the endge of the Langjökull glacier. Here we were transferred to special coaches, converted from NATO missile carriers, to an ice tunnel bored into the glacier itself for the Into the Glacier Experience. Our guide, an Irishman called Ryan, was great and looked after us very well, explaining the various features in the tunnel and keeping us amused on the coach. If you get Ryan as a guide ask him how nearby Eiríksjökull got its name.

Not far from Húsafell is Hraunfossar and next door is Barnafoss. Hraunfossar are like no other waterfalls we encountered in Iceland. The photos we took of them are so vibrant with the autumn colours of the vegetation and the brilliant hues of blue in the water that people probably think we "photoshopped" them. We didn't. Leaving these behind we went to the Hvammsvik Hot Springs which has eight pools with differing degrees of heat, from "yikes that's pretty hot" to lukewarm, or if you really want to cool down try immersing yourself in the lake itself.

After soaking in the batch it was time to return to the Reykjavik Saga Hotel for one night.

After breakfast we drove to our first stop of the day, the Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel. The main tunnel, which we went in, is about a kilometre long and was formed over 5,000 years ago. The various colours and lava formations inside it are very impressive and the guide was very informative. After that we went to the Seltún or Krýsuvík Geothermal Area Here you can the multi-coloured landscape and mud-pools. Sue was an noyed by a man flying a drone close to her so she pointed him to the sign saying that drone flying was not permitted and he stopped. Close by is Grænavatn - Green Lake. This is quite prettty when the sun is out. We drove onto the beack of Lake Kleitervatn, the largest on the Rekjanes Peninsular. No streams feed into it, it is created solely by water percolating through the lava around it.

we decided to get to our next destination The Silca Hotel at the Blue Lagoon early. Well that was the intention but because of the recent volcanic activity there was a sign saying that the road to Grindavik was closed so we went the other way the satnav took us. After about 30 minutes driving we came across a roadblock and were told we'd have to go back to the road that had said it was closed and take that since it was only closed after you'd reached the Blue Lagoon. So we essentially wasted an hour driving when we could have been relaxing in the Silical Hotel's private thermal bath. When we did get into the water Sue gave a little shriek as there was squidgy white mud on the floor of the bath that felt strange at first oozing through your toes. We had dinner that evening at the Lava Restaurant.

After breakfast we walked over to the Blue Lagoon pool area. This was very nice but I think we were more taken with the thermal pool that was private to the Silica Hotel. Sue took full advantage of the facial treatment, basically smearing mud on your face and washing it off 10 minutes later. The color of the first was black, the second white and the third a kind of slimy green colour that looked as if someone had sneezed over her - yuk. Neil was more sensible and just got a cocktail instead.

We checked out of the Silca Hotel just before 11am but the receptionist said we could use the private for as long as we wanted, so we another few hours walking in the mud and soaking up the hot water before getting in the car and returning to Reykjavik. We stopped off on the way at the Perlan Museum. This is a really interesting place to visit with lots of exhibits, many of which are interactive. We spent several hours here before deiving back to the Reykjavik Saga Hotel for our last night. We had been there so often Neil could drive to the underground carpark with his eyes closed.

This last morning we drove to Keflavik airport for the first part of the journey home. We dropped off the hire car making our views about the uselessness of the satnav system known. We checked the mileage and found that we had driven a total of 3,500km on this holiday! We then spent what seemed like FOREVER to get through security. The experience was on a par with some of the worst of airport security in the US. Eventually was got to our window seats, Sue this time on the left side so she could see the glaciers this time, only to find she had a restricted view thanks to the plane's wing!

At london Heathrow we filled up our re-usable water bottles in the airport and having tasted the water almost spat it out. Having been used to crystal clear glacial drinking water in Iceland the over-chlorinated stuff coming out of the fountain at Heathrow was stomach churning - yuk! Again. going through security was a pleasure (not), thanks to artificial hip and knee. When we eventually arrived in Larnaca we phoned for our car to be delivered to us and it took quite a while - the driver parked in a car park while we were expecting him to stop at the kerb. When we finally got home over 2 hours leter in the early morning we went straight to bed without even unpacking, that cold wait till we got up.

We can honestly say that this was one of the best holidays we have been on. Iceland is such a beatiful country with friendly people. Admittedly it is quite expensive, especially dining out, our credit card took quite a hit, but you could not fault the quality of the food we had. The scenery is absolutely fabulous. We saw more waterfalls than you could shake a stick at and the tours that we went on were all interesting and well worth it.