Iceland - Day 3 - South Coast

It is time to hit the road and explore this island a little bit.  We pack up, head downstairs for breakfast as Mister definitely wants his yummy pastry again, and are soon on our way back the way we had drove last night when returning from the Golden Circle.  As we approach Hveragerthi, we have an overlook view of the area and the same greenhouses from the night before can be seen in the distance.

Right on schedule, the sun begins peeking over the horizon and the colors around us begin their dance for the day.  The blues, oranges, and pinks are just amazing as they come and go.  It is spellbinding to us and we stop and snap pictures quite often just trying to savor those moments and take them home with us.  The one thing that we find is missing, though, is our ability to share the absolute silence that was everywhere when we stopped.  It was incredible - so peaceful and yet so solitary that it could make us a little nervous now and then.

Maps on my lap and we are soon arriving at the first of the waterfalls for the day.  It is Seljalandsfoss, a narrow waterfall that we spotted from the road.  As we drive up, we notice that it has a path that goes behind it, but is frozen and slippery.  That does not stop three adventurous young men who are quite soaked as they slide down the final exit path on their bums.  I laughed so hard at them and since it is quite cold outside they have to be soaked, but they call it "great fun" and are off towards their car to continue their adventure.  Mister has me stand in front of it to get a perspective of the size, but even still I am a good distance away as the ground had turned to ice and I am leery of walking any closer. It would be fun to take the walk behind in the summertime but I am not quite game in 28 degree weather.

We continue along the south coast for another 10K and arrive at a spectacular waterfall - Skogafoss.  It is so tall and just walking up to it is an experience in and of itself.  It is so beautiful and I want to stare for quite awhile but we have a good distance to go today and with our normal late start, it is soon time to continue on.

The road is barren and we can go for great distances without spotting another car or sign of life other than a lone building now and then.  Small churches appear now and that and we assume that they are used by small congregations of nearby farmers.  Many times we will see a church located on the same property as a farmhouse and once again make a guess that the farmer runs the church and other nearby neighbors worship there as well.

The road is very cool on its own as a sight.  With the appearance of it going on and on, the sun and its colors flowing around, the intense blue everywhere, and lava popping up in fields on the side of the road it is eye candy at all times.

As we drive along, we notice numerous waterfalls and spot a series of them right behind a farmhouse.  Wouldn't I love to see that out my back door?  Oh my yes.


The main road around Iceland is a two-lane highway, however each time at you come near to a bridge there is a funky little sign warning you that it will become a single lane.  We laugh and wonder what it must be like in the summer when there is actual traffic on the road.

As we come to one such bridge and are crossing it, we are shocked at how long it is.  It actually has pull-outs at regular intervals to stop and let others go by.  The bizarre part though, is that it is over what is called a Glacier River.  At this time of year it is simply a black sand riverbed that is vast and I am shocked at its size.

After the bridge, we round the corner and come upon Skaftafell National Park which is butted right up again Vatnajokull National Park or included it in?  Who knows.  The highest peak protrudes from Vatnajokulls icecap and we can see it from the road -- solid white.  We are also treated to twin glaciers in two small valleys near each other.  The ice is a gorgeous aquamarine in color and reminds me of our trip to Alaska where we were up close and personal with a glacier.

We have almost reached our destination now -- the sky is becoming a deeper blue and so we know that we have the lost the light that Mister wanted this evening, but we will work around it.  We arrive at Jokulsarlon (The Glacier Lagoon) and are the only ones in the parking lot.  Oh my, it is incredible.  So blue!  So quiet!  So unique!  We spend some time there and snap a few pictures and I tell Mister that I will let him have all morning here tomorrow with his camera.

 As we are leaving the lagoon, the bridge is silhouetted in the most vivid blue sky.  I cannot stress enough as to how much of a treat this trip is to the eyes.

We go just a few miles down the road to the farmhouse we are staying at for the night.  We get checked in and discover that it is a separate guesthouse and very modern.  It is delightful, clean (of course -- EVERYTHING in Iceland is clean), and welcoming.

Having spotted a restaurant near the road when we turned in, we set off on foot with the farmers dog leading the way for us.  The restaurant is also a gift shop and museum but is not ready to serve dinner until 6:30 but the owner visits with us for awhile and share the story of this family and its farm.  We walk back to the room and relax for a little while before returning for dinner.  We don't even have words to describe how wonderful our meal was.  We are in the middle of nowhere - in Iceland - in the winter - and we are served a meal better than we could get back home in a 5 star restaurant complete with an excellent wine selection.  Wow!  Everything is fresh from their farm including the produce and fish.  It is cooked divinely and we are so very impressed.  What a gem of a place to stay.

After dinner, it is back to the room for some much needed sleep and another magnificent day to remember.