Friday was our open adventure day, so I planned for us to drive down the south coast to explore what Iceland had to offer on its south side. It was amazing! We planned to go to 2 waterfalls and then down to a black sand beach that has basalt formations on the coast. We got all the and much much more!

Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, this was a tall, but light waterfall, that we were able to walk behind. I’m very glad we took the recommendation to take waterproof gear because it was much needed.

Within this area were two smaller waterfalls, and then a larger waterfall that falls into a cave like area. We were able to go back there and take some photos.

Next was Skogafoss , a much more powerful waterfall that receives water from two different glaciers. When the sun shines, you can catch some rainbows stretching their way across the waterfall. Here we tracked up 500 stairs to get the views from the top. To much our surprise, we got to see several more waterfalls, and the snow capped volcanoes.

Our last destination was Reynisfjara. This is a black sand beach with powerful churning sneaker waves, but it also bordered by a cliff containing basalt formations. We climbed them a little and took some photographs. Even though I was the person reminding everyone about the waves, I ended up being the person running away and ended up getting wet up to my thighs.

On the way back we ate at one of the most delicious restaurants.

Today we got to “sleep in” and by that I mean it sounds like the neighbor is using a jackhammer to the center of the earth.

We started out the day with a walk to a local bakery, but the food was definitely not as good as the others. My mocha however, made up for the less than desired, over cooked croissant.

Around noon, we tracked back to the Bus Hostel for our next adventure. We were picked up in a heavily modified Mercedes Sprinter van with 54” tires. Just by seeing this vehicle, we knew we were in for an interesting day.

The van drove us down the Golden Circle, past some familiar places we had seen the days before, until we arrived to what is considered an F road. These roads are not drivable by the common rental car.

Being the land of Fire and Ice, we drove across a shield volcano to get to our glacier. We geared up at a hut on the side of the volcano, and then went “off-roading” to the glacier. We drove on the glacier to the location of the snow mobiles. I let chad drive the snow mobile around the glacier. It was snowing, so we actually got to drive across some of the fresher snow about 15 minutes away from where we took off. We learned pretty quickly how easy it could be to roll the snow mobile, so we made sure we were leaning as hard as possible.

In the open area we got to pick up some speed at some times. Once visibility dropped from the snow, we grouped up and headed back to our vehicles. Before we left the glacier, we all got to try fresh glacial water.

We drove back all the bumpy roads and made it back to the Air Bnb. We are now waiting in the Thingvellir parking lot in hopes of seeing some northern lights.

We woke up from a nice a cozy nights rest in the Buubble. There were no northern lights and barely any stars, but it was amazing to wake up surrounded by nature.

Our guide took us to a nice bakery on our way back into town. I went for the more savory option this time and got some sort of cheese bread, and Chad got some sort of cinnamon roll.

We got back and settled a while in the Air Bnb. The rest of the group decided to go for a hike about 20 minutes away and I stayed back because I wasn’t feeling too well.

The remainder of the day we walked around town, shopped, and checked out the large church that you can see almost anywhere from the city. The church has a 5000 pipe organ.

Today was great because we got to sleep in a bit. We did a quick stop at the bakery (Bakarameistarinn) for some croissant and donuts and picked up some snacks from the mall. We did three different events today as part of a tour. We started back at Thingvellir, where we snorkeled the day before. This time we got the tour from above. The driving rain today sort of killed the awe, but it was still neat to see where we snorkeled from above.

Following the rift, we headed to the geysir, also fondly known as Oden’s A-hole aptly named for its sulfuric smell. It was neat to see the geysers going off and all of the surrounding hot springs. The geyser Strokkur goes off about every 5 minutes, so we got the opportunity to see it several times.

The next stop (chad forgot to write about this one) was Gullfoss or Golden Falls. This is a wild and raging waterfall. It is not nearly the size of Niagra falls, but just as majestic. Upon approaching the waterfall, it seems as though the earth is swallowing all of the water falling off the side. We were able to get a view from above, as well as follow a path down to see it much closer.

Final stop for the day was the secret Lagoon. Interestingly on the way, our van driver ended up dragging the side of the van along a one lane bridge. The Secret Lagoon is a naturally heated lagoon, by hot springs near by. Occasionally, a small geyser goes off next to the swimming area.

After an hour and a half of floating in the warm water and a fair bit of nudity in the showers, we went to eat. Kayla had pizza while I ate pregorie, or something. Lamb in a ravioli. After dinner and conversation with two neat people from Lebanon (the country), we arrived at the bubble! It’s pretty cloudy so not a great chance of seeing the northern lights, but maybe we’ll see them around the city. It’s been a long day, it’ll be a really cool night.

We started the day by being picked up at the Bus Hostel to go on an Arctic Adventures snorkeling and horseback riding tours.

First up was snorkeling in the 32 degree waters of the Silfra Fissure. This fissure is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are separating. A melting glacier north of the fissure takes 37 years to trickle its way through the lava rock and fills the fissure, which ultimately makes it way to Iceland’s largest lake.

When you’re snorkeling in 37 degree water you have to wear a dry suit. After putting on the first warmer layer, we were all squeezed into the dry suits like little sausages. To keep from getting wet, they put elastic bands around the wrists and neck – if you don’t feel like you’re barely breathing, then it probably wasn’t tight enough. A head piece, some gloves, mask and flippers later and we were ready to go.

Getting into the water wasn’t too bad, the suit really did keep you dry and warm (unless you’re chad and have a leak in your suit – then probably very cold) .

 

 

 

It was amazing seeing the formations in the super crystal clear water. At some points you can see up to 100m (300ft). The best part was that there is a slight current and the gear is buoyant so you didn’t have to put in much effort to swim.

Much desired cookies and hot chocolate awaited us at the end of the tour.

Next was horseback riding at Laxnes Horse Farm. We were welcomed with coffee to warm up a little from our frigid outdoor adventure.

The guides assigned us our horses (mine was Golden), and off we went.

The trail riding here is like no other place in the states. The scenery is beautiful, but the pace of riding is what differs the most. Sporadically, the group of horses would start to run together, and I would just try to remind my horse that we didn’t have to win the race and I was perfectly fine getting last place.

The scenic views were amazing and I wish I could have captured photographs of how beautiful it was. Most of the time there was a constant drizzle, but those lead to riding under the most picturesque rainbows. They say there is no bad weather in Iceland, just bad dressing. I would say that is so true, since we borrowed some extra waterproof gear, we were able to stay dry and enjoy every moment of the ride.

Half way through we stopped to take a break and peer over a cliff at a raging waterfall.

 

 

 

All in all, it was a jammed packed day of adventure. To end the night, we came back to our place and ate some Dominos pizza with weird ingredients. Looking forward to the Golden Circle and stay at the Bubble tomorrow.

Today has been a Looooong day! After our drive to Indianapolis, we had a 4+ hour layover in Toronto. Thankfully, our terminal was filled with iPads to keep us occupied.

With an average of 3 hours of sleep between the group, we arrived on time around 8:30am. Checked out the cars and made it to the place our first attempt!

Both got free upgrades for the cars so fitting luggage was a non issue (although I think we agree that Team Drew got the better car).

After arriving at the AirBnb, we all power napped for an hour and made the 45 minute drive to the Blue Lagoon. The 100 degree warm water was the perfect way to spend our first day.

Our tickets included two face masks, a drink in the lagoon and a drink at dinner. Followed it up with an excellent dinner at Lava.

Back at the apartment we went to the corner market to get some breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Pretty sure half of our food isn’t going to make it to tomorrow before we eat it. Now we are just hanging out and longing to hit the bed to get the adventure going tomorrow.

Drive from NKY to Indianapolis was uneventful. A few closed roads, but easily rerouted. Went to check bags using the kiosk, however the lady informed us air Canada didn’t open until 1:30.so we got some food and waited for the half hour for it to open. Funnily enough, the same lady was the one to check our bags. Now about a 2 hour wait for our plane to board.

On our last full day in Ireland , we had a couple hours to spare before our long ride back to Dublin. After some searching Doug found a place where we could get information about riding bikes around the Burren National Park. The guy at the store in Ennis informed us that it would be best to check into it in Doolin. So off we went. 

A couple passes through the town of Doolin and we found some parking, just barely peeking over the line onto the road. We walked up the street and saw a sign with info about the cycling routes. The shortest loop was about 1.5-2 hours and very steep. After inquiring about the bikes it was learned that you would only be able to go 15-20 minutes before you would encounter some steep hills. 

Fortunately, there was a tourist information booth with advertisements for a Cliffs of Moher boat ride. We checked in on the price which was reasonable enough so on the boat we went. It was cool to see them from a different perspective. We also finally got to see the Puffin bird that is popular around the Cliffs. 

Famished after the ride, we stopped at a local pub where we had great food and the best service yet. With our bellies full, we started back to our point of origin, Dublin. 

We said goodbyes to driving on the left side of the road and checked ourselves into the hotel. Nearby was a McDonalds, so we tried that one out to see how it compared to ones in the US. 

In the morning we woke up to a delightful breakfast from Toni. For the first time this trip I didn’t have something with potatoes as a part of breakfast. I had pancakes that were very thin like crepe, super delicious. 

After checking out and saying goodbye to Toni, some went to attend mass at the St. Mary’s church. While myself and others walked about the town of Killarney. Once mass ended we all met up at the designated location and headed off to the Cliffs of Moher. 

This drive was one of the longer drives we have had on the trip. Therefore needless to say we were ready to walk about when we arrived. The visitors center section of the cliffs are fenced in with a stone wall about 10 feet from the edge. Just a little bit past the Tower, you can begin walking along the open section of the cliffs where there is a path that will take you all the way to Doolin.  We walked along this path a while to get some other views of the cliffs.

After we had enough views of the cliffs, we made our way back to Ennis where our hotel was.