Day 12: Borgarnes to Reykjavik

The drive from Borgarnes to Reykjavik is about an hour but a bit scary when negotiating highways, traffic circles and still getting used to driving on the other side of the road. It became a joke as Gray was regularly getting into the passenger seat to drive off to the next stop.

We drove around the small village of Arkanes and explored Grindavik on our journey south.

We then explored the Reykjanes peninsula. Another area of stark lunar landscapes. ‘Dramatic’ sums up this area that is bisected by the mid-Atlantic ridge, emitting steam from its numerous cracks and crevices, and spouts gaseous bubbling mud from its craters. Then there are at least separate four volcanic zones. It’s no wonder Reykjanes is a UNESCO Global Geopark. You kind of feel the earth move beneath you…it could be … an earthquake… they are common to this area.

This afternoon we arrived back at our hotel in Reykjavik, Gray went to drop off the car and we caught up on some admin.

We took an early evening stroll through to the city centre, after attempting to use scooters to get us there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the app to work for 3 scooters but we had lots of fun trying.

Our last night in Iceland was super special, we had an incredible dinner the Hosiló Restaurant, I highly recommend this small, intimate local restaurant for its delicious food and wonderful service. Then we went pub crawling, until I managed to get my reprobate travel companions home, as we had a 4am shuttle to catch.

Day 11: Skagafjördur to Borgarnes

Today was snow, snow, snow and beautiful Borgarnes

We had planned to tour the western side today, visiting canyons and waterfalls, craters and glaciers. However, the weather had other plans, we woke up and it was snowing. The stunning views from our hotel room the night before were now just a carpet of white.

Being from Africa, snow is always a novelty, and we were happy to forgo todays plans to travel through the snow. Well Robs and I were, Gray was the one having to drive through the blizzard of snow.

The cow skin scenery of the mountains were now white. It was stunningly beautiful.

Half an hour out of Borgarnes, the sun came out. Borgarnes is a great town north of Reykjavik. It is one of the few coastal towns not dependent on fishing.

We drove around the town, or took about 10 minutes but the views are spectacular.

We visited the Settlement Centre, housed in two of the oldest buildings in town, it provided us with a fascinating insight into Iceland’s early history and discovery of the island and early Viking culture.

One of the interesting facts, when the vikings arrived, Iceland was teaming with birds and game. The vegetation inland was so thick it was virtually impassable. This in in stark contrast to the black landscapes covering most of the coastlines. It’s scary to see what the volcanos have done to the environment.

We had another great dinner in a wonderfully unpronounceable restaurant. I had ling, a type of fish, it was delicious.

Tonight was pretty much our last chance to see the Northern Lights. I know it was a long shot at this time of the year, but I kept vigil till around midnight in the hopes they might appear. Sadly not.

Day 10: Mÿvatn to Skagafjöròur

A day exploring charming and rugged Northern Iceland.

Our first stop, yet another waterfall. One would think by now we had done waterfalls, but here one never tires of them, each is different, special and unique. Godafoss, is called Waterfalls of the Gods, for a reason, it was stunning. Not the tallest we have seen, but the cascade is divided into horseshoe-shaped falls.

Although today was warmer and we were fortunate to not have rain, it was still chilly, and a lot of the lakes and scenery were still frozen over.

Next we explored the charming town of Akueyri, the unofficial capital of North Iceland. We wandered around the town, stopped at a coffee shop and I tried, apparently a must in Iceland, a hot dog from a food truck.

Robs, our navigator, then took us on a detour to Tröllaskagi (The Peninsula of the Trolls). The drive along the cliffs of the mountains and fjords was fantastic. We drove through a number of tunnels along this route.

Our hotel is in the beautiful wilderness area of Skagafjöròur, an area known for its abundance of purebred Icelandic horses.

After checking into our log cabin type rooms, we enjoyed the scenery and horses playing in the fields.

In late afternoon we visited the Grettirs Pools. The outside temperature was around 5 degrees but plunging into the warm geothermal pools of around 39 degrees was the best feeling. We took a walk down to ocean in our costumes and returned to warm up in the pools. We all felt so amazing after swim.

We had dinner in a village on the way home before returning to a spectacular sunset, around 9pm.

Day 9: Egilsstaòir to Mÿvatn

A cold and rainy day of incredible lunar landscapes.

After last nights Diner debacle I decided to go traditional for breakfast. Pickled herring, boiled egg and caviar paste.

Our first stop of the day was Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. We tried to access the falls from the east for a better view but the road was closed, fortunately we were able to access it from the west. After parking, we trekked for 1.5km through icy snow and biting winds to get to the falls. It was seriously impressive watching the enormous volumes of water cascade into the Detifoss gorge.

We travelled through incredible scenery today, stark and breathtakingly beautiful.

Unfortunately we were unable to visit Krafla and the Viti crater due to weather conditions and closed roads. We had to be content with views from the bottom of the volcano as we drove by.

Fortunately we were able to visit the surrounding area of Krafla, home to an active geothermal region of bubbling mud springs and fumaroles. The area has a Martian-like terrain, the ground being stained neon green, orange and white, due to various gasses escaping from subterranean vents.

We drove around the beautiful Lake Mÿvatan on our way to Hotel Laxa, our stop for the night. We had huge bedroom windows, affording us incredible views of the surrounding area.

I again went traditional for desert this evening. A delicious white chocolate caramel, made of skyr (Icelandic yoghurt), with berry granita and beetroot shavings, with oat topping. It sure beat the American Diners fake Belgian Waffles.

Today we explored the eastern part of Iceland. The breathtaking drive took us through tranquil fishing villages, spectacular fjords and sweeping landscapes.

South Africa has Chapmans Peak in Cape Town, USA has Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles and Iceland has it’s spectacular cliff hugging drive along the mountain sides with the sea below.

We were fortunate in that it was a beautiful sunny day enabling us to enjoy the full spectrum of colours of the sea and scenery. Apparently this area has around 60 days of fog a year, so not all tourists are so lucky. As this area is more remote we have come across very few tourists.

We stopped when we could to take pics of the sea, some of it still frozen, some of waves crashing onto the cliffs and in place it was calm like a mirror. Unfortunately, photos can’t do justice to the beauty of this spectacular place.

We were excited to see reindeer, harbour seals and lots of bird life, our favourite being the entertaining Whooper Swan.

We visited some of the small fishing villages. Djúpivivogur, was established by the Danes in the 16th century. Fáskrúòsfjöfòur, was founded in 1880 and has French connections.

Driving through the fjords was absolutely beautiful and the further north east we travelled, the more snow we encountered. We eventually reached a spot where the road became dangerous due to a snow slide and thankfully we were able to find a spot to turn back and take the road inland through a 6km tunnel in the mountains.

We are staying at a small hotel just outside Egilsstaòir, the biggest town we have come across, since Reykjavik. Most of the villages we have travelled through have only a few hundred inhabitants.

Robs went for a run in the late afternoon, she runs around 8km most days, when conditions allow. I went for a walk, thinking it would be fun to walk through the snow I headed out through a side door of the hotel and my feet plunged down about 1/2m into soft snow, I nearly saw my ass. So I headed off along the road through the pine forests, it was Christmas picture card scenery, like most of today.

For dinner we opted to go non traditional and found a pizza place with a brewery attached – a no brainer for Gray. We had seen an old school type diner on our drive through the town and I thought it would a nice idea to go there for milkshakes after pizzas. Omg, the ice cream machine was broken, so no milkshakes. I decided to have a Belgian waffle, the worst cardboard I have ever tasted, definitely not worth the calories. Lots of laughs later, I have been banned from choosing restaurants.

Day 7: Kirkjubæjarklaustur to Hofn

Todays trip along the south side of the island, through Vatnajökull National park was glacier day.

We woke up to a crisp, sunny day, the first time we have seen sun since arriving in Iceland.

We drove along the coastal road between the sea and huge snow capped mountains. The farmlands gave way to areas of black desert, remnants of the devastation of past volcanic activity.

The Vatnajökull Park boats 15 massive glaciers. We visited 3 of them. The first stop was Skaftell Nature Reserve, we hiked for around 1/2 hour to reach the glacial area. It was incredible to witness this vast slab of ice. The area is an oasis of diverse landscapes.

The next two glaciers we visited were even more vast than the first. They were fronted by lagoons with mini icebergs. We were able to see all the massive glaciers from the road, they were however not accessible by car due to the massive amounts of ground water.

We spent the night in Höfn, a cute fishing town. We have awesome views of the mountains and glaciers from our guesthouse.

We had dinner at the Pakkhus,a great restaurant in the harbour area. When in a fishing village…Gray had tuna and I had delicious cod, not Robs … she opted for vegan spring rolls – really??

Tonight was the first time conditions are optimal to make it possible to see the northern lights. I kept popping my head outside to see if we would get lucky but unfortunately not. Maybe tomorrow night.

Day 6: Selfoss to Kirkjubæjarklaustur

A day of waterfalls and black sandy beaches.

This morning’s drive took us South east through farmlands, with snowy mountains on our left and the sea on our right. There were herds of fluffy horses in the fields, the only form of livestock we have seen so far.

It was an overcast and rainy day but we were fortunate that at all our stops the rain stopped too.

The first waterfall we visited was the Seljandfoss. It was super impressive, plummeting 40m over a cliff face.it is a unique waterfall as it allows visitors to walk behind the falls. Unfortunately, due to the slippery and icy conditions this option was closed to us today. We were, however, still in awe of these majestic falls.

Further along our drive we stopped at the magnificent 60m free falling Skògafoss Waterfall in Skògar. Robs climbed up to the top of the falls to take pics of the water plummeting down. Gray and I were happy to snap the spectacle from below.

These were just two of the falls, amongst many that we saw cascading down the mountains today.

A definite highlight of our trip was a visit to Reynisfjara, the black beach. The black volcanic sands and unique rock formations give an overall moody atmosphere to the place, so unlike our sun soaked beaches in Africa, with all in bikinis and board shorts, here we were wrapped up to protect us from the elements. There were warnings to keep away from the dangerous sneaker waves.

From the shore there are also spectacular views of the Reyisdrangar and Dyrhòlaey sea stacks. These basalt columns are a sight to behold.

On the beach there is also a sea cave, with dark basalt columns that resemble a pyramid of organ pipes.

From the black beach we headed to Vík, Icelands most southerly village. Here we went the Icelandic Lava Show, again well worth seeing. We learnt all about the volcanic eruptions in Iceland and they made lava out of the basalt sand, resembling a real lava flow. The room heated up so much it was uncomfortable, we could just imagine the horror of being in a real volcanic eruption.

Vík is situated close to the active Katla volcano. Katla erupts on average very 50 years. It has not erupted violently for 105 years, so an eruption is likely imminent. In the last week there have been a number of earthquakes in the area. The lecturer gave us details of the evacuation procedures in case of an eruption. I would have loved to see an eruption while we are here. Gray and Robs not so much.

On the way out of town we stopped for afternoon coffee at the School Beans Cafe, in an old revamped school bus. It was supercool.

Tonight we stayed at the Magma Hotel. It was amazing, with awesome views overlooking a thawing lake.

Such a special day.

Day 5: Reykjavík to Selfoss

We woke up early, there is an hours time zone difference here, so we are an hour behind the UK and two behind South Africa.

Gray was picked up from the hotel to collect the hire car, then returned for Robs and myself and all our luggage. It was an interesting drive out of Reykjavík in our Hyundai Hybrid. Firstly negotiating highways and traffic circles in a left hand drive and then having a smart car beeping at you for everything it perceives as potentially untoward.

Car and driver (as well as back seat drivers) settled into a somewhat symbiotic relationship as the journey progressed on the classic ‘Golden Circle’ route. This region is famous and a big tourist attraction as it shows the geological diversity of the island.

We started at the Pingvellir National Park. It is a site of the continental rift splitting Iceland between the North American and Eurasian Continents. It is also a place of historical significance, the Icelandic parliament was established in 930 AD and in in 1944 Iceland celebrated their independence from Denmark at this site.

We walked through the rift of this UNESCO World Heritage site. It was beautiful but we also realised that, although it was spring here, we had to bundle up warmly each time we left the car. The wind and cold was like nothing I have ever experienced.

We took a detour to the Ljòsafoss Power Station. Iceland is very ‘Green’, in terms of renewable and sustainable energy methods, such as hydropower, wind and geothermal energy. Unfortunately the station was closed for visitors.

Our next stop was the exquisite Keriò Crater. The 55m crater is 3000 years old. The water at the bottom of the crater had iced over. Robs climbed down to the icy lake, while Gray and I braved the winds at the top.

Our next stop was just as impressive, the Stokkur geyser, in the Geysir geothermal area. The geyser erupts around every 10 minutes, giving us a couple of opportunities to witness the bubbling water shoot up into the sky, leaving a trail of steam as it subsides.

By mid afternoon we were weary and windswept and in need of warmth and sustenance. Friòheimar Tomato Farm was just the perfect place. We entered the warm greenhouse that uses geothermal energy to grow harvests all year round, producing 370 tonnes of tomatoes annually.

The restaurant in one of the greenhouses boasts an exclusively tomato based menu. I had the best Bloody Mary ever and Robs tried the tomato beer. We had the Icelandic burrito cheese with heirloom tomatoes, then their signature tomato soup, followed by cheese cake with green tomato jam. All was super delicious and for anyone visiting Iceland, this stop is a must.

Our stop for the night was guesthouse in the pine forest in Selfoss. Unique in that there aren’t many trees in Iceland.

Day 4: Edinburgh Scotland to Reykjavik Iceland

We had a rather early start, up at 4:30. We caught the bus shuttle to Edinburgh airport. Omg, we were clearly not the only ones traveling at this ungodly hour. It took two hours to check in, pass through security and board the 7am flight.

We were collected from Keflavik Airport and enjoyed our first views of an icy Iceland during the 50minute drive to our Hotel in Reykjavík. Reykjavík is larger than expected. Around 60% of the 388 000 population of Iceland live in an area twice the size of Paris.

We stayed in the ‘old’ sector; the shops and sights clearly geared for tourists. We left our bags at the hotel as it was too early to check in and wondered off for breakfast and to explore the town.

There is a lot to do in the city centre, with shops, galleries restaurants and museums, including a Penis Museum, no we didn’t visit it.

I had read somewhere that they had a great chocolate shop called Omnom in Reykjavík. Robs Googled it, said it was cute and they sold ice creams, that was Gray done, he loves ice cream. Me thinking it was around the corner followed Robs …. and followed Robs for another hour through the old harbour and Grandi district.

Only the Morrisons can trek through Arctic winds in minus zero degree temperatures to buy a flipping ice cream (they were delicious). Then an hour back to town. No Ubers here, can’t understand the bus system and not sure if there are taxis.

Back in the main centre we wondered around taking in the sights and visited the landmark Hallgrimskirkja Church. This rocket shaped church is the largest in Iceland and apparently was inspired by the basalt larva columns along the coast. The centrepiece of the courtyard in front is a large statue of Leif Eriksson, the Icelandic explorer, who is believed to be the first European to land in North America.

Gray had booked dinner at a delicious gastropub with some unpronounceable name, all names here are.

Cold and weary, after an early start, walking 16 km and lots of exploring, we were happy to drop into a warm and comfy bed.

Day3: Edinburgh

After breakfast at one of the cute coffee shops around the corner from our hotel, Robs headed back into the shopping district, there can’t be much left in the stores in Prince’s Street.

Gray and I took a walk up to the Meadows. It was beautiful, yellow daffodils were out in the park and I got a doggy fix, cuddling labs on their morning walk. We headed down to Grass Market, up Victoria Street, to the Royal Mile (linking Edinburgh Castle to Hollyrood Castle) and down to Princes Street Gardens. There is something so magical about this area, a place I can visit again and again and it still exudes immense historical charm.

This afternoon was the reason for our trip, it was Robs’s graduation.

She completed her degree at Edinburgh University during Covid and unfortunately, at the time, there was no grad ceremony.

The graduation today was so worth the wait. It’s hard to put into words how extraordinarily special the experience was. The ceremony was run with military precision in the breathtakingly beautiful McEwan Hall. This iconic Hall has been holding graduation ceremonies for more than a century.

This afternoon was Scotland at its finest and Gray and I burst with pride as our beautiful Robs was capped for achieving her MSc in Environmental Studies, with Honours.

We had a celebratory dinner at the Stockbridge Restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing.

Such a perfect day.