I had a massive day of driving today, 5 and a half hours to be precise which doesn't sound much but in the conditions it was a lot more than enough! I started my journey from Reykholt and headed south-east to the number 1 ring road. I was so excited to be on the main road, this is the road I follow for majority of my holiday! My first stop off was a little town called Hella, i had a bit of a walk around and took a few snaps of the "summer houses" that sit right next to the river.
I came across the island cluster of Vestmannaeyjar. Unfortunately this was down a icy/snowy road which made for a very slow, but safe trip. It was breath taking to see these few islands, Photos just don't do it justice!
I came across the island cluster of Vestmannaeyjar. Unfortunately this was down a icy/snowy road which made for a very slow, but safe trip. It was breath taking to see these few islands, Photos just don't do it justice!
After returning to the ring road, Iceland really turned it on for me, Amazing (but chilly) weather, snowy mountains with waterfalls and little farmhouses to my left and beautiful cliffs and ocean to my right! The first waterfall I visited was Seljalandsfoss, very high and very noisy (first 2 Photos below). This was also the place i got to FINALLY get a decent photo of the ridiculously huge Patrols they have over here, this is one of the smaller ones i have seen too! The second waterfall I stopped at was Skogafoss (The bottom three photos), a 62m high waterfall that is said to have a big "hidden" chest of gold behind it left from a guy called Prasi. There has been a few attempts of retrieving it but the only evidence is an Iron Ring that broke off because the chest was too heavy. Safe to say i was happy enough to stay far away from that freezing cold water!
The next town i passed through was Vik, a small but very pretty Village. I walked around for about an hour, went down to the black rock (they call it sand) beach. This is where i found, just of the coast, a cluster of sea stacks called Reynisdrangur, they are believed to be ill-fated trolls that got caught out in the sun. In town there is also a Church perched up the top of a surrounding hill, unfortunately the road to the church didn't look drivable so i did my best to get at least one photo.
By the time I was finished in Vik it was about 2pm and i still had 200km to drive, so i fuelled up, jumped in the car and was ready for a couple of hours driving, only stopping to take a few photos. It was the middle section of this trip that got a bit nerve wracking, the wind picked up and the roads were a bit icy, I stuck behind a car and drove slowly, 3 hours later I safely arriving at Hali Country Hotel for my next nights accomodation.
As i jumped out of my car, the ice on my door cracked off, I then realised how much ice was built up, I got the old hiking boots out and tried to kick some of the edge bits off but I'm going to have to get some help in the morning to get the remainder off.
I am currently waiting to see if i can get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, its still pretty clear outside but there is a 3/4 moon tonight which brightens up the sky a bit too much! My fingers are crossed anyway :)
As the icelandic say it, Góða nótt og dreymi þig vel
As i jumped out of my car, the ice on my door cracked off, I then realised how much ice was built up, I got the old hiking boots out and tried to kick some of the edge bits off but I'm going to have to get some help in the morning to get the remainder off.
I am currently waiting to see if i can get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, its still pretty clear outside but there is a 3/4 moon tonight which brightens up the sky a bit too much! My fingers are crossed anyway :)
As the icelandic say it, Góða nótt og dreymi þig vel