FestiBelt Adventures

Oct. 15th

We couldn’t even believe our luck! Our last day in Iceland was planned to be a drive along the south coast and when we woke up the weather was SUNNY and mild! Just look at our adorable little school-house hostel!

It was like Christmas morning and I couldn’t WAIT to get on the road. Our first stop was a quick hike around the rim of a collapsed volcano in Keroid. Richard was enjoying the small things in life- like the way the volcanic rock crunched underfoot. I was enjoying the sunshine!

Then we hit the coast and drove west towards Vik along Route 1. We bypassed Seljalandsfoss; the parking lot was FULL of tour buses and since the sun wouldn’t hit the falls until the afternoon, and moved on to Skogafoss. (Here’s R by our rented, manual, bi-color Toyota Corolla. This SADcar was the only inexpensive thing we paid for in Iceland!  And she worked just fine.) 

We hiked the stairs to the top of the waterfall to enjoy the view and then continued east toward Vik. (Do you see the tiny people in the bottom, right corner?) Along the way, the Atlantic was on our right and mountain views were on our left. We stopped a lot to take photos because we just couldn’t help ourselves!  On Route 1, we spotted a GLACIER in the distance. I frantically took photos out the window until Richard saw a road to the glacier parking lot! Off we went for a hike!

We drove past the unpronounceable volcano Eyjafjallajokull that blew in 2010 and kept all those European flights grounded. It doesn’t look very dangerous, with a farm in its foothills.

Our final destination was the little seaside village of Vik. The only thing of note in the town was this black sand beach. In the afternoon sun, the beach has a monochrome look.

The view of these same cliffs from the opposite was surprisingly different. Basalt rock formations and a blue, blue sea. The black sand was the same.

Vik was the end of the road for us and it was time to turn back and head for Reykjavik. We had one more stop. Luckily, the Seljalandsfoss waterfall was much less crowded and drenched in evening sunlight.

We ended our Route 1 trip by hiking behind the waterfall to watch the sun descend for the evening.

Good-bye, Iceland! The next morning, we’ll be flying off to Paris!