Nov 27 - Day 4
I can’t believe I leave tomorrow already! But it’s been an incredible experience. I feel like my life has been changed. I’m truly blessed and lucky that I’m in a place in life where I’m able to come explore such a magnificent country.
God Bless America and our easy entry into most countries lol.
I was kind of on edge this morning because of the drive to your AirBnB last night. Rainy, foggy, up and down a mountain, it was scary. And I wasn’t even driving! I think that’s what was the most nerve wrecking. Like my dad, I like to be in control when driving especially if it’s in crazy conditions.
I think I was kind of holding a grudge against Snaefellsnes peninsula because of the conditions from the night prior. I was really hoping to see the lights again in such a remote area! Oh, well. Maybe tonight!
^--the inside of the volcanic crater--^ We started the day off right, by climbing up a volcano. Saxhóll had imploded 3000-4000 years ago. Very cool to stand in a place where once something so powerful lived. It gave me a newfound appreciation for lava rocks, because I could really see the lava remnants/indentations. Luckily it wasn’t raining either!
We drove 20min away to Djúpalónssandur beach which was incredible. I went to Reynisfjara my first day, so thought it would be redundant, but this beach was completely different. It wasn’t finely ground sand like at Reynisfjara, but rather larger black rocks. There were large rock formations in the water, a shipwreck from 1948 where 14 people lost their lives. WhoooaaAAH! I did a little bit of rock climbing which may or may not be frowned upon, and just soaked in the atmosphere for a while.
Just a casual walk to the beach lol.
As I was walking back to the car I saw that Dan had made a friend - an Icelandic sheep! It had dreads in its fur and was just living amongst the land. Lone wolf. Er, sheep. It had walked down the hill by the time I got there.
On our way to Londrangar basalt cliffs, we saw a rainbow. Cool!
Fun, sad fact: There was rope around the edge of this cliff to keep people safe and for the first time this whole trip I took a chance and broke the nature rule because there didn’t seem to be any moss growing, just regular wheat-looking vegetation. I NEEDED to take a picture of this damn cave that I couldn’t really see from behind the rope. So I walked a couple feet past the rope, took the pic, then headed back. And of course, being the first time I did this, an Icelandic dude came over and was like “Can you please respect our nature?” Lol. It’s funny because I had respected the nature the entire trip and the one time I didn’t, I get reprimanded. OH WHALE. I’m sorry, Iceland, I respect you.
The photo for which I disrespected nature. Worth it? Debatable. My guilty mood left when we made our way to Songhellir Cave - a hike up some mountains right near Snæfellsjökull. It was a pretty rough incline that took maybe 30min. Then we explored the cave and enjoyed an incredible view from the mountain. Wow wow wow.
This country has spoiled me, though. We drove to Kirkjufell which is probably Iceland’s most popular mountain and on the way saw so many waterfalls. I say the country spoiled me because while it was totally awesome to see these waterfalls, it kind of starts to turn into “oh, look, another waterfall.” “Oh, look, another volcano.” “Oh, look, more mountains.” Life is hard.
Before heading to Reykjavik for the night (my first time coming to the city since being here), we stopped at Grundarfjörður to see if we could find any whales. It’s a hot spot for orca whales in the winter months. We didn’t see any, which is fine…. But instead, we met a curious seal! It would pop it’s head up every twenty seconds or so for a few minutes. I’m glad I was able to see one pretty close, and it acknowledged us and then disappeared.
Tonight, we’re going out to eat to celebrate my birthday, then check out the aurora website to see a good spot to maybe wait for thirty minutes or so and hope to see the lights. Unfortunately, it’s been pretty cloudy. There are some clear spots though, so here’s hoping! I would love to see them again, with more intensity. I feel a little guilty because when I saw them, I didn’t spend enough time just looking up at them. I was on a long drive and was seeing them in multiple spots along the way and they were low intensity. I thought I would be able to see them at my destination but by the time I got there it was starting to get light out already. I definitely feel blessed that I was able to see them but I wish I had parked somewhere for longer than I had and watched them for longer while I had the chance.