Iceland 2021 trip - Part 4: Southern Iceland
Day 12 (August 4, 2021): Around Hofn (Day's driving distance: 192.9 km, Total trip distance: 2615 km)
When we visited Iceland in 2019, we really enjoyed Hofn, but we did not have much time there on that trip (it was a relatively short trip, for less than 10 days, and we had to circle around the country). For this reason, we booked two nights in Hofn on this trip and hoped to explore it and its surrounding areas more.
Alas! This time our stay was stymied by abysmal weather! On this day, it was foggy and rainy everywhere. So it was more or less a down day for us; which was just as well: after more than 10 days of driving and hiking, we needed a break.
In the morning, we backtracked to "Red Chair", a quirky "landmark" of sort in Iceland: apparently someone (I don't know who) decided to put a red chair on a rock, and it became an attraction; it even shows up on Google Maps. Whatever it is, we made a stop and checked it out (it's just a chair, as it turned out).
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Red Chair
We still managed to drive west and reached Glacier Lagoon, the sky was leaden, but it was good to walk around the ice-laden lagoon.
Glacier Lagoon
Gray seals were swimming in the lagoon, which made for good wildlife viewing.
Gray Seal
A few Snow Buntings landed on the rocks, just like in 2019.
Snow Bunting
On nearby Diamond Beach, we enjoyed more wildlife -- birds; the Great Skua being a new one for me.
Great Skua
White Wagtail
I took a picture of an "diamond" (glacier ice) on the beach. What's interesting about this picture is that it is a color photograph, but with the black volcanic sand beach and gray sky, there is almost a complete lack of colors (except for black and white) in the picture. It was a monochromatic world on Diamond Beach on this day.
Ice on Diamond Beach
We returned to Hofn and walked around the harbor. I took picture of "the globe" at the harbor, a stark contrast from last time.
Hofn
We found some painted pebbles (likely by town kids) on the ground.
Pebble
There were -- surprise -- Arctic Terns nesting on the grounds around the harbor.
Arctic Tern
The day ended with an eerie sunset in Hofn.
Sunset
Day 13 (August 5, 2021): Hofn to Vik (Day's driving distance: 414.6 km, Total trip distance: 3029.6 km)
What a difference a day makes! Actually it had more to do with location than time: eastern Iceland was still blanketed by fog and cloud, but we would make our way west -- for good this time.
We again drove to the Glacier Lagoon (but this time we would not return to Hofn). There were still some lingering clouds, but the sun was breaking through, and the colors of the sky and glacier sparkled.
Glacier Lagoon
Glacier Lagoon
Glacier Lagoon
When we made our way to Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon, it was fully sunny.
Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
Seeing the glacier ice standing at the edge of the lagoon, ready to tumble into the water, it was easy to imagine that we were in Antarctica.
Glacier
We stopped at Skeiðará Bridge Monument, the bridge ravaged by the 1996 volcano eruption and subsequent flood from melted glacier ice. Two years ago, I took a picture at the exact location.
Skeidara Bridge
Skeidara Bridge
"Across the street", that is, on the other side of the Ring Road (Route 1), there was Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe outside Greenland. Skeiðarárjökull, which is an outlet from the same massive glacier, also almost spilled down to the road.
Skeiðarárjökull
Vatnajökull
We made another stop somewhere (I lost track of the stops we made). This one was below Fjadrargljufur Canyon ("The Black Canyon"), which we visited two years ago.
Black Canyon
Black Canyon
Yet another stop was at Eldhraun Lava Field.
Lava Field
At last, we arrived in Vik. After stocking up on grocery, we headed to Reynisfjara, a place we visited in 2019, but we were rather in a haste. This time, we had time to stop at the church, Reyniskirkja, just before reaching the beach.
Reyniskirkja
Reyniskirkja
It was very crowded at Reynisfjara, even more so than when we visited in 2019.
Reynisfjara
Basalt Cave
After checking into the guesthouse just outside Vik, we rested for a bit, then headed out again. First we stopped at Skógafoss. It was cloudy, I took a picture, but it was a far cry from the rainbow-decorated one I took two years ago.
Skógafoss
We then headed to Seljalandsfoss, which we did visit in 2019, but we did not have time to visit for the sunset (in fact, the sun barely set at that time, it being near the Summer Solstice). This time, we atoned for our missed opportunities, and I walked behind the waterfall and waited until the sun sank low on the western horizon.
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss
Day 14 (August 6, 2021): Vik to Hveragerdi (Day's driving distance: 172.3 km, Total trip distance: 3201.9 km)
After an exhausting day the day before, we started this day near our guesthouse -- Dyrhólaey. We had a much closer look at the famous sea arch this time; however, it was backlit from where we were.
Dyrhólaey
Dyrhólaey
Dyrhólaey is a place we visited two years ago, but there is much to do, and we did not walk all the way to the lighthouse; we would make up for it this time.
Dyrhólaey Lighthouse
Dyrhólaey Lighthouse
From the headland, we had a bird's-eye-view of the black sand beach below.
Dyrhólaey
Dyrhólaey
There were quite a few nesting Atlantic Puffins there; Dyrhólaey was in fact the place where I had the first good picture of one of these lovely seabirds.
Atlantic Puffin
Looking east, the basalt sea stacks of Reynisdrangar could be clearly seen in the distance.
Dyrhólaey
Dyrhólaey
Dyrhólaey
The clouds thickened in thea afternoon. We made our way to Kvernufoss, another waterfall that you can walk behind of.
Kvernufoss
Kvernufoss
Kvernufoss
We ended our day in the town of Hveragerdi. We had dinner at Olverk Pizza & Brewery again, which I reviewed two years ago. As you can tell, I quite enjoyed it!
Olverk
Olverk
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