June-2022

With promising opened seats to Reykjavik, why not venture to another bucket list location. Nick and I decided to take a quick 3 day weekend to hike a glacier in Iceland. With a convenient overnight flight, I head to the airport after work to start our journey. All issues reported by local news on how airports are in a state of chaos were certainly true. Wall to wall travelers, no social distancing and it seems that proper travel etiquette no longer exists. Even the lounge we ate in was overfilled to its capacity. We board our flight and find ourselves Friday morning in Reykjavik.

Upon arrival, airport security was quick and after picking up our rental, we head to Reykjavik city center. As we were aware of how expensive the cost of living is in Iceland, we tried to lessen the blow by visiting the larger grocery stores……..Costco being one of them!

We walk around city center visiting their famous Hallgrimskirkja church, window shop their store front boutiques, and peek at their outdoor menus. 7$ for an espresso made us realize that the hotel lobby coffee will do the trick. We continue on the main road Bankastraeti to see their rainbow colored street followed by a quick drive along the old harbor water front to see the Grotta lighthouse. Very few people out and about made us retreat to our hotel for a late lunch.

Unlike Friday’s weather with drizzle and rain, Saturday was calling for beautiful skies. Just splendid with our Solheimajokull Glacier Hike tour. With the Skogafoss waterfall along the way, it was a must we climb over 350 steps for a view out over south Iceland’s coastline.

Every turn we’d take on the road, the scenery would only get better. It seemed waterfalls were perched anywhere and everywhere between mountains.

We arrive at the foot of the Glacier and gear up for an experience that we’ll surely never forget. At first, it was quite surprising seeing the top layer very dark. The guide further explained that the layer covering the ice blue glacier comes from the volcanic ash that constantly blows around. We were so lucky in that we witness a large chunk of ice detach and collapse in the water. The roaring sound of the rupture along with the splash in the water reminds us all that the ice is melting at an accelerated pace.

We continue the hike increasing our elevation and at one point, as we were ahead of schedule we had the opportunity to relax for several moments and take in the great scenery. We even drank straight from the mountain water source. Another interesting fact is that this particular glacier’s average ice thickness is roughly 200 meters with the core being over 600 meters.

One can take full advantage of the day as sunlight was prominent for over 20 hours. We treat ourselves to a gourmet panini with cold cuts, and continue for hours along the south eastern tip of the island. We stop by the cliffs of Reynisfjall for a nail biting ledge photo. Just spectacular views all around.

Reynisfjara beach (easier known as Black Sand beach) was next on our list and again with the combination of the blue sky, black sand and green mountain tops, we were constantly reminded of how Iceland’s landscape is so surreal.

With the sun never letting down, we continue for hours to Jokusarlon Glacier lagoon. An area in which all fallen glaciers from the surrounding area congregate in this bay floating around reflecting the sun’s rays. We were peacefully entertained with seals popping up from glacier to glacier. This bay area then funnels into the ocean to which some of the glaciers are then forced to shore at Diamond Beach.

As it was close to 12 midnight, and still a 3 hour to drive back home, we decided to look for an open bar for that expensive 7$ coffee to keep us awake. We stop at the remote seafront village called Vik and surprised they couldn’t sell us a coffee. Thankfully the sun silhouette still supplied enough daylight that the remaining drive wasn’t bad at all.

Short 3 hour sleep and the last day proved to be as busy as the previous. We had to see the Golden Circle drive for ourselves. The 3 main attractions along this particular round trip include Pingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss. All the smaller points of interest along the way are bonuses and one can venture practically anywhere and admire the landscape.

The first stop was the national park Pingvellir and was nice to see a rift valley separated by 2 tectonic plates. Bolstered by rocky cliffs on each side made the valley look quite impressive.

How does a hole approximately 250 feet deep contain water at close to 100 degrees Celsius and erupts every 8 to 10 minutes? Our next location was hoping to give us some answers.

The water was definitely hot, the eruptions were every 8 to 10 minutes and all we were thinking about was the nice hot spring baths we’ve booked for later that evening at the Sky Lagoon.

Having seen Niagara Falls many times, I was wondering on how Gullfoss Falls would compare.

A short hike was needed from the parking lot to the falls and as every step would render us closer, the roaring sound of such large volume of water would amplify. As the water would plunge deep down the valley, the mist would rise even higher. I was amazed on how close we were able to get to the falls. The more you heard the rushing water, the more your heart would race. One can’t really comprehend the force of nature. Hands down equally as impressive as Niagara.

In completing the Golden Circle road trip, we visit the Skalholt Church, whistle by the Kerio crater and ride along a mountainous road that the only vehicle present was ours.

The ideal ending to a very eventful and busy road trip was to relax in an infinity geothermal spa at the Sky Lagoon. With light rain trickling from above to hot spa-like natural conditions of the water we reminisced of our venture and discussed our next trip.

Despite our short stay, we have taken full advantage of every moment of daylight. Summer in Iceland allows us to visit more areas in which winter months may have road closures. The one important sight we missed ,which will force our return in the December, will be to see the famous Aurora Borealis!

June-2022