Day Three - Fire and Ice…and Rain
We got a great night sleep and geared up for a damp and cold day on the road. The hotel had a great breakfast spread that included skyr (Icelandic yogurt) and warm fresh bread (I had to limit myself to one slice because I could have eaten that entire loaf…). We enjoyed breakfast and then packed the car to head out.
We started off right around 8 am and the rain and wind had already started up. Since the weather was going to be pretty bad we made the decision to make sure we could hit the indoor activities for most of the day, with some outdoor side adventures sprinkled around.
The first stop was a little over an hour away, and though we had enough gas, everywhere tells you to get gas whenever you see a station since they are few and far between. We spotted the first gas station we’ve seen on the entire trip a little ways down the Ring road and I pulled over to top us off and get some snacks. I had gotten a pack of these cinnamon bites yesterday at the Bonus and I decided to get another couple of bags for breakfast tomorrow. They taste like Little Debbie pinwheels, so…awesome. I also got some chocolate McVittie’s digestives because I’m generally obsessed with them.
I’m not looking at how many calories are in these. I’m just going to eat the entire bag and not ask questions.
We continued on down the Ring Road to Vík with the weather getting progressively worse. The wind was getting strong enough to push around the car and every time we’d pass a large bus I had to fully concentrate between the spray and the wind that came off of it. We got to Vík a little after noon and decided to locate the black sand beaches before our show at 1 pm. We parked as close as we could and walked the rest of the way to the beach. It was exceptionally cold, wet, and tough going but we made it!
We fought our way back to the car (soaked) and drove the short way to the Lava Show, a few blocks away, for our 1 pm show time. We got there right on time and got good seats for the show. The presenter was a volcanologist and he told us about the various eruptions in the Katla Geopark (UNESCO world heritage site!) which is the area in the south of Iceland where several of the most active volcanos (and Vík) are located. The show was really interested and we got to see how the lava flows and the presenter showed us about some of the properties of the lava and how it interacts and cools under certain conditions. It was really fascinating and a lot of fun :)
After the show wrapped up we took one look at the line at their cafe and decided to look for lunch elsewhere. We stopped off at the Black Crust Pizzaria, which also had an impressive line, but the cute pub next door, the Strondin Pub had a table available where we could get food immediately, so I called the rest of the gang over and we grabbed a table.
I ordered the Icelandic fish stew while mom and Aunt Janet got fish and chips, and Aunt Vickie got a cheeseburger. My stew was amazing and I got a slice of skyr cheesecake to go to eat later. We had to get back on the road because it was a little after 3 pm and we needed to get to Skoga. We piled back in the car (all of us still damp from the beach adventure) and started back down the Ring Road to Skoga.
The weather was really picking up and the fog was covering a lot of the surrounding area so I was glad we got to see it on the way out. It took about half an hour to get to Skoga and we stopped at the heritage museum first to look at the preserved community of Skoga. They had collected tons of artifacts and cultural heritage items ranging from clothing and jewelry to entire fishing boats and rigging and crafts. It was really interesting and reminded me of the Blasket Center museum in Ireland. A museum entirely dedicated to perseving a single community. Outside they had carefully maintained and preserved several of the original turf homes and church, and we were able to go inside and see what the homes looked like. So amazing!
After visiting Skoga we drove the short way to Skogafoss, the beautiful waterfall nearby. It was misting a bit so we bundled up and walked down the path to the waterfall, which was roaring with all the rain that had come down during the day.
So beautiful. So so so cold.
It was getting a bit later so we kept moving because we wanted to try and fit in one more stop before we turned in for the night. Seljalandsfoss is a huge waterfall that drops over a cliffside and has a walking path that goes all the way behind it. It was still raining (but still daylight!) so we parked and bundled up one last time to walk to the waterfall. It was amazing and the water caught the wind so as you got closer you couldn’t help but get soaked. We got a lot of great pictures and piled back in the car to get to Hella for the night.
Tonight is glass igloo night! I was hoping it would be clear and we could get a chance at seeing the lights, but with the bad weather comes the clouds, so the chances were unfortunately slim. We made our way to our igloos and proceeded to wage war with the incomprehensible door locks. Seriously, it’s a miracle we got the doors open.
Rare picture of me writing this blog post!
We carried our bags down to our igloos and decided that since lunch was so big we were just going to snack for dinner and turn in for the night. We all got to enjoy some strawberries and (non-alcoholic) champagne in honor of mom’s birthday and settle in to enjoy our igloo for the night.
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