With the sun low in the sky for most of the day, we had perpetual golden light
on many of our days, sun rise turning into sunset with not much in between.
on many of our days, sun rise turning into sunset with not much in between.
At the start of this month, Pete and I headed to Iceland for 9 days. We had spent quite a bit of time planning for this trip, knowing that we had a lot to pack into our time there. Little did we know just how much we would have to see. Iceland is an extraordinary country, every moment of our days were jam packed with the most incredible sights and experiences.
We were actually glad of the shorter days, with the sun rising around 9 am and setting at 4.30, as it forced us to stop and relax at some point in the day, rather than keep going to see more and more. I for one was very glad for the late sun rises, knowing its Petes favourite time of the day to shoot, as it meant we could rise at a leisurely time of eight (in the pitch black of course), to take out time over breakfast, head out and still see the sun rising over the epic landscape every morning.
We were actually glad of the shorter days, with the sun rising around 9 am and setting at 4.30, as it forced us to stop and relax at some point in the day, rather than keep going to see more and more. I for one was very glad for the late sun rises, knowing its Petes favourite time of the day to shoot, as it meant we could rise at a leisurely time of eight (in the pitch black of course), to take out time over breakfast, head out and still see the sun rising over the epic landscape every morning.
We travelled the loop road over the course of a week, starting with horse riding in the north, just south of the Tröllaskagi Peninsula. Our Icelandic horses were just as touch as the country they are bread in, short and stout but ready and willing to tackle anything. They don’t blink an eye when asked to cross an icy frozen creek, and their sure footedness will lead you safely over any icy path. This area of the country if full of the beautiful Icelandic horses, favoured by farmers for their work for all the above reasons.
On our second afternoon in this area we headed off on a loop driving through the Troll Peninsula, with the aim of getting to the picturesque town of Siglufjörour. To get there we had what was probably our most challenging driving conditions of the entire trip, as we followed the coast line gaining elevation to get to the tiny town, rain turned to sleet, the wind turned gale force and the roads started to ice up. When we finally made it to Siglufjörour we realised that most of these towns are better off visited in the summer, as everything was closed and it was virtually a ghost town.
Continuing along highway 1, our next stop was the geologically phenomenal region of Myvatn, full of active and extinct volcanoes, waterfalls, steaming vents, bubbling mud, geothermal baths and pseudo craters. We could of happily spent two days in this region (definitely recommended for future itineraries!), but packed in as much as we could. Our jaws were literally on the ground at every new sight we saw here, and we happily ended our day with a soak in the Myvatn Nature baths. We also managed to get our 4WD stuck in the snow here as we headed up to Krafla volcano, and dug ourselves out with the assistance of a few other travellers. Whilst we were in the process of doing this, another car drove straight past, ignoring me waving at them to tell them not to go further, got themselves even more stuck than us (not helped by the fact that their car wasn’t 4WD), and had to be towed out by and Icelandic monster truck.
East Iceland was no less epic, and as we arrived in our ‘cottage with a view’ we were rewarded with our first sighting of the northern lights! We’d had cloud covered skies all week, but finally they cleared and the lights appeared. After watching them at our cottage, we decided to rug up (was around -4 this night), and head to a more photogenic spot to set up for some long exposures. Of course as soon as we found the perfect spot on the shores of Lagarflòt the aurora decided it was done for the night. We later read that Lagarflòt has its own version of the loch ness monster, something had I knows earlier I probably wouldn’t have been so keen to stand on its banks in the middle of the night!
Litlanesfoss was the other highlight of this area, a stunning waterfall made up of dramatic basalt columns. Basalt is my new favourite stone after Iceland, the formations and natural geometries it creates are absolutely stunning. We climbed down to the base of Litlanesfoss where we set up cameras and battled with the ice spray coming from the falls. I stuck a bit further back while Pete ventured in as close as he could get, returning absolutely drenched…all in the name of getting a good shot.
Litlanesfoss was the other highlight of this area, a stunning waterfall made up of dramatic basalt columns. Basalt is my new favourite stone after Iceland, the formations and natural geometries it creates are absolutely stunning. We climbed down to the base of Litlanesfoss where we set up cameras and battled with the ice spray coming from the falls. I stuck a bit further back while Pete ventured in as close as he could get, returning absolutely drenched…all in the name of getting a good shot.
Our route next took us towards the fjords of the south eastern coast line. We crossed the only unpaved part of the loop road to get there, roads again getting icier as we gained altitude to cross the pass. Thankfully this time we didn’t have the rain and gail force winds to contend with too!
The eastern fiords were again a stunning contrast to everything we has seen so far, miles of black sand beaches with dramatic cliffs rising straight from the ocean. The bleakness of the landscape was incredible overpowering, leaving us to wonder how anyone exists in this part of the country. As we arrived at our lodgings for the night, the rain started to set in, and didn’t look like it was going to head off any time soon. With the rain came an enveloping fog, preventing us from catching any glimpses of the glacier fingers spilling down from the Skaftafell icecap that we were staying at the base of.
Luckily the rain didn’t prevent us from out ice caving expedition that we had planned for the next day. In fact, as the Icelandic girl who worked for the company we booked with said, its actually a great thing to do on a rainy day, its practically inside, right! Also, the rain actually washed the ice, and even though the light coming through isn’t as bright, the blue ice sill really illuminates.
The ice cave that was picked for us had turned into a gushing creek, with the small opening we had to crawl through ankle deep in water. The water was pouring through all the cracks and holes in the ice, and we were pretty instantly drenched dispute all our waterproof gear. No amount of water or cold though would disappoint us, as the sight we were greeted with as we climbed under the one thousand year old ice was astonishing. The blue glowing ice created patterns and formations all around us, and the two hours we had in there went incredibly quickly. The cave we were in only opened up this year, and will be gone again next winter as the glacier slowly retreats every year.
The eastern fiords were again a stunning contrast to everything we has seen so far, miles of black sand beaches with dramatic cliffs rising straight from the ocean. The bleakness of the landscape was incredible overpowering, leaving us to wonder how anyone exists in this part of the country. As we arrived at our lodgings for the night, the rain started to set in, and didn’t look like it was going to head off any time soon. With the rain came an enveloping fog, preventing us from catching any glimpses of the glacier fingers spilling down from the Skaftafell icecap that we were staying at the base of.
Luckily the rain didn’t prevent us from out ice caving expedition that we had planned for the next day. In fact, as the Icelandic girl who worked for the company we booked with said, its actually a great thing to do on a rainy day, its practically inside, right! Also, the rain actually washed the ice, and even though the light coming through isn’t as bright, the blue ice sill really illuminates.
The ice cave that was picked for us had turned into a gushing creek, with the small opening we had to crawl through ankle deep in water. The water was pouring through all the cracks and holes in the ice, and we were pretty instantly drenched dispute all our waterproof gear. No amount of water or cold though would disappoint us, as the sight we were greeted with as we climbed under the one thousand year old ice was astonishing. The blue glowing ice created patterns and formations all around us, and the two hours we had in there went incredibly quickly. The cave we were in only opened up this year, and will be gone again next winter as the glacier slowly retreats every year.
At the end of the glacier is a lake, Jökulsárlón, full of blue icebergs drifting into the ocean. By this time we really were taking a beating from the driving rain. Pete stuck it out for longer than me, but every time we got out cameras out now, the lenses were just instantly covered in the spray.
By the time we got to Vik that night we were pretty glad for a place to dry out all our wet gear, and as we turned towards the southern part of the coastline the rain started to relent too. We arrived in Vik thinking we were going to have slightly less jam packed pay, but no, Iceland doesn’t let you rest! We still had the the three rocks, Reynisdrangur, the epic plane crash on the desolate black beach, and Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfurábui waterfalls. Gljúfurábui, although neither famous nor epic in terms of an Icelandic waterfall, was such a find. Tucked in behind enclosing cliffs, this waterfall was a tricky one to find. When we eventually did though, we were happy we persisted. The light spilling through the opening of the rocks above filtered down with the water. A small overhang of cliff allowed us to shelter from the spray, while Pete could set up his camera gear, and I’d run out to be a prop for one of his shots. We could only get a few before once again, camera lenses became too covered with spray.
By the time we got to Vik that night we were pretty glad for a place to dry out all our wet gear, and as we turned towards the southern part of the coastline the rain started to relent too. We arrived in Vik thinking we were going to have slightly less jam packed pay, but no, Iceland doesn’t let you rest! We still had the the three rocks, Reynisdrangur, the epic plane crash on the desolate black beach, and Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfurábui waterfalls. Gljúfurábui, although neither famous nor epic in terms of an Icelandic waterfall, was such a find. Tucked in behind enclosing cliffs, this waterfall was a tricky one to find. When we eventually did though, we were happy we persisted. The light spilling through the opening of the rocks above filtered down with the water. A small overhang of cliff allowed us to shelter from the spray, while Pete could set up his camera gear, and I’d run out to be a prop for one of his shots. We could only get a few before once again, camera lenses became too covered with spray.
Our last day before returning back to Reykjavík was the area around the golden circle, where we eventually had other tourists to compete with! (although saying that, we were still the only people staying at our hotel). Even though the sights of this area are still absolutely stunning, they had a hard time competing with what we had come from, and I’d probably say by now we were becoming a little waterfall-ed out! We ticked off all the sights of the area, Geysir, Gullfoss and Landmannalaugar, and reluctantly came to terms with the fact we were at the end of the loop road and it was time to head back to where it all began, Reykjavík.
Excitement was far from over in Reykjavík though, ironically after a week of being in very remote parts of the country, the skies finally decided to clear, and we had our last chance of catching the northern lights. We headed out of town around 10pm, to a peninsula about 10 mins drive out. Gazing up into the skies, we though we could see a faint streak stretching over the darkness. We set up our cameras again, and as we did that faint streak got brighter and brighter until the skies were dancing with green and pink lights. The spectacle was phenomenal, and what we caught on cameras can only begin to describe what it was like, something that we are both going to remember for a very very long time.
Finally we ended with a relaxing day on Sunday, our main aim being the a soak in the blue lagoon on our way to the airport. Squeaky clean and warm to the bone, we headed off to Keflavik, for our flight back to London, which would feel pretty tame after the amazing adventures Iceland had to offer up. Iceland, we definitely hope one day to return! Enjoy the gallery below (click on the first image to scroll through the gallery).
GALLERY OF IMAGES
Here are plenty more photos from our trip!