After working 3 days at the guesthouse/restaurant we were given 3 days off and a car to go checkout the countryside. A few of the other workers gave us some tips on their favorite spots so off we went headed to the south part of the island.
Just a few miles down the road we came across this gorgeous lake. We just stopped for a quick photo!
The landscape in Iceland seems to change dramically every few miles. We saw many scenes like the one below with cascading waterfalls over green or rocky cliffs
Iceland is known for its many natural hot spring pools. We were told about one called Seljavallalaug set back in the mountainside. We took a country road that wasn't marked so we had no idea if we were heading the right direction. After a few miles we could see several cars parked so we guessed we found it. Once parked we hiked about a 1/2 mile following a stream. It was worth the trip!
Back on the road and lots more interesting scenery. We saw many buildings and barns built into the side of mountains.
Our first sighting of a glacier. We passed by 2 glaciers on our trip. The Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Iceland and the 2nd largest in Europe.
The sun started setting on our drive and we had to stop a few times to photograph the sky. Pretty amazing!
We made it to our first destination near Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and stayed at this quaint little guesthouse with an awesome view!
On our drive to the glacier lagoon the next morning we had to stop for a few sheep in the road
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon - This lagoon is full of icebergs that have broken off from the Vatnajokull glacier and float off into the sea.
The black speck in the top-middle of the photo is a seal that swam by
What a view to have in a backyard!
We stopped in this little town called Vik to eat lunch
From the south coast, we headed inland to see the "Great Geysir". There are over 30 geysers and hot pools in this area but 3 that are named. One was called "Litli Geysir" (just a small hole that bubbled up), the next was called "Strokkur". This geyser erupts every 6-10 minutes. And then the "Great Geysir" that may go years before erupting.
This is Strokkur. It erupted as soon as we walked up close to it.
A short video of the next eruption we saw
This is the "Great Geysir". When it erupts, it can send boiling water up to 200 feet in the air.
We took a hike to get a good view of the area
A view from the top showing the eruption of Strokkur
We saw vehicles like this everywhere. Iceland is serious when it comes to their 4-wheel driving!
Our next stop was to Gullfross Waterfall. It has a total drop of 105 ft. and the average waterflow for this waterfall is around 29,000 gallons per second. Pretty incredible!
We were making our way to our next hotel when we came across this church. It is called Skalholt and was originally built in 1056. It was a Bishop's residence, a cathedral and a school.
Sunday morning, September 4th (our 35th wedding anniversary), we drove about 30 minutes from our hotel to a town called Hveragerdi where they have a "hot river". We hiked about 2 miles back in the valley called "Reykjadalur" which translates appropriately into "steaming valley". We could see the steam early into our hike.
Testing out the water tempreture....yep, it's warm!
Before getting to the main river, we came across this large hole with boiling water. There were cracks all along the edge of the mud...Can't get too close!
The river has hot and cold water flowing into it so you find a spot that is just right. The closer we got to the mountain, the hotter the water was in the river.
A little too hot for us here!
We started heading back to where the water wasn't so hot. David went to test the temperture of the river at one point and his foot went right down into some boiling mud. Luckily he was able to get out quick and he had 2 pair of socks on so he didn't get burned!
We found a perfect spot! We were only able to stay in about 20 minutes. It's a wonderful natural hot tub!
And such great views!
Hiking back out of the valley feeling refreshed!
We found a wonderful cafe and bakery that served Illy coffee and had these awesome chocolate, rasberry, coconut balls. We just happened to find it on our first day of driving. On our 2nd day, we were going to be about 10 miles from this town before we headed north so we took a detour to stop there again. Then, on our 3rd day, we drove right back through the same town....couldn't pass it up. 3 days in a row-Illy coffee and chocolate balls!
Our next stop was Thingvellir National Park. It lies in a rift valley that marks the boundry between North American and Eurasian tectonic plates; a place where the continents formed. Quite amazing!
It was time to start heading back and instead of taking the main road we decided to cut through on some secondary roads. We didn't realize they would not be paved. Great scenery though!
We came upon this tiny country church on the west peninsula along the coastline
Gorgeous reflections!
Upon returning to the Restaurant/Guesthouse where we are staying, we told Mathieu (the manager) that it was our anniversary so he had the cooks prepare us a special dinner of lamb shanks, roasted caramel potatoes, and stewed vegetables. Wonderful!
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