By: Samie

Travel Date: May 30th, 2023

Total Honeymoon Travel Days: 2

Day 2

(South Shore Adventure)

I would say the sun rose on our first full day in Iceland, but we had arrived in this wonderful country at the start of summer. This meant it was in the season where the sun didn’t really set, and it never got fully dark. Instead, the morning just got a little bit lighter as we awoke from our comfortable Airbnb bed early the next day.

Our bus for our South Shore Adventure tour was scheduled to depart the station at 9:00 am. We wanted to get an early start so that we could stop for coffee and walk to the bus station instead of trying to worry about public transportation. It was probably only about a 15 minute walk, but we wanted to make sure we padded plenty of extra time so that we didn’t have to rush and just in case we struggled to find it, so we departed our Airbnb a little after 8:00.

Reykjavik Roasters was only a short walk away from where we were staying, so we swung in to grab a caffeine fuel up and chocolate croissant breakfast to start the day. With warm cappuccinos in hand, we began to make our way in the direction of the bus terminal. During our time abroad, we hadn’t purchased an international travel plan. One reason for this was that we had a difficult time deciphering all the options and knowing which package included what we might need. Another reason is that we knew we would have access to Wi-Fi services for most of our travel, so we felt confident we would be able to get what we needed during the time we were connected to internet. We did make sure to purchase an option for emergency use where we could make a limited amount of global calls and wrote down the information needed for that. Since we didn’t have guaranteed Wi-Fi access during our walk to the bus terminal, we pulled up a map while at Reykjavik Roasters, plugged in our destination address, and followed the map info that popped up.

There was one busier road we had to cross, but otherwise it was a pretty easy walk, and we arrived at the bus terminal with plenty of time! We got checked in at the front desk right away, but the bus driver and tour guide hadn’t arrived to start shuttling people onto the bus yet, so we took a seat in the station for a while to finish our coffee and snack on a few breakfast items. Our driver and guide arrived around 8:45, so headed over to start loading on to our bus. The company we booked through was very organized, and there was a list the guide had with the names of everyone booked for today’s excursion. We gave him our names, he found us and checked our names off on the list, and then we found our seats on the bus. We decided to sit right up front and ended up sitting directly behind our tour guide, which we ended up enjoying quite a bit.

With the entire group checked in and seated, our adventure began right on time, and we set off. Leaving the city, our tour guide, Runar, had a radio speaker mic that he could use to share information and facts with the whole bus during the drive. The first leg of our drive was packed full with facts about the city of Reykjavik. We learned a lot about a few of the plant species here, some of the building landmarks, and the geothermal pipes where Iceland gets about 70% of its energy.

It was like entering a completely different world once we got a few miles outside of Reykjavik. Reykjavik is home to close to 40% of the country’s entire population, so as you leave, the land of fire and ice comes to life. The landscape started to change completely as the lush fields of green carpet stretched in front of us. Mountains began to emerge and reach into the gray skies. Small waterfalls could be seen blowing and misting from the sides of the rocky cliffs. Everything we saw was so stunning that we couldn’t draw our eyes away for even a moment.

We got to drive through the town of Selfoss, where we learned the legendary chess player Bobby Fischer is buried in a church cemetery located just about 2 miles outside of. Our tour guide had even seen Bobby Fischer during his years in Iceland and had a lot of fun information about him and the interesting life he lead.

After driving for about an hour, we made our first pit stop at a little gas station where we were able to stretch our legs a little and grab some refreshments. Of course, for Luke and I, this meant more coffee, and we also found some tasty looking cookies that looked perfect for dipping in our coffee (they in fact were perfect for dipping and were also very tasty). After our short stop here, we hopped back on the bus to finish making our way to our first real stop to see one of Iceland’s remarkable natural land features.

The first recognizable landmark of Iceland we stopped to see was the Skógafass waterfall. In Icelandic, Skógafass means “forest fall.” Upon arrival, Runar told us that there was a trail that lead up to the top of the waterfall, but it would take the entire time of our stop here, and it would be a close call getting back to the bus on time, so he didn’t suggest attempting it. However, there was a family on the bus next to us that disregarded this suggestion and made their way right to the trail. We, however, being responsible rule-followers, made our way over to magnificent waterfall. It is easy to see why this is a popular destination for visitors.

This 200 foot tall waterfall thunders as it tumbles down and causes a large cloud of spray to gather below, often resulting a beautiful rainbow on sunny days. Although the clouds loomed when we first arrived, the sun peaked its way through, and we were able to witness this rainbow and sparkle of the water in the beaming sunshine. We got close enough to the fall to collect a nice layer of dampness on our jackets, put my big camera away, and covered our backpacks in the waterproof covers we had brought, but not so close that rain ponchos would have been required.

It was hard to imagine other natural wonders topping this one, but we had other things we were still very excited to see, so we made our way back to our bus driver, Jón, as our time window here came to a close. The family that decided to spend the entire stop hiking up and down the steps of the waterfall hike did manage to make their way back on to the bus and were only a few minutes late. Runar walked down the aisle of the bus to do a head count before our bus pulled out to make its way to our next stop with everyone present and accounted for.

The next stop on our South Shore Adventure took as all the way down to the infamous Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Before stepping on to the beach, there is a large warning system with flashing lights to indicate the level of danger at the beach for that day based on the wind and weather. On the day of our visit, it happened to be extremely windy, and the lights were flashing red, signaling extreme danger from the powerful “sneaker waves.” The waves of this beach are known to swell up and crash onto the beach without warning, causing the potential to sweep people out to sea in the blink of an eye. It is for this reason that although the beach is beautiful, Runar warned us that it is important to follow all safety precautions and stay back from the waves. The rule of thumb is to stay where there are footprints. If there are no footprints, it means the waves have reached up and washed them away, and even if it looks far enough back, it is not a safe place to be.

We had absolutely no interest in drowning that day, so we made sure to leave plenty of space between us and the waves, and we had a very enjoyable time during our visit of this unique beach! The impressive basalt columned rocks towered above the beach, and we got to make the connection between these amazing rock features and the Hallgrimskirkja Church that was modeled after them that we had visited the day before. There were two sea stacks marooned out in the bay that were a popular and recognizable photo op. Despite the wind, we were able to safely make our way to the naturally made cave where the basalt rocks made for a one-of-a-kind structure. Of course we spent much of our time looking down at our feet and admiring the uniquely black sand we were treading on. When it was time to make our way back to best, we were not only leaving with wind-burned cheeks and grit in our teeth, but also big smiles and a plethora of notable experiences to share with our families back home!

After the beach, it was time for another break and refuel. The bus pulled into a parking lot in the nearby town of Vik where we had a few options to walk to in order to find something for lunch. We made our way over to Lava Bakery and Coffee because that sounded like something that would be right up our alley. We treated ourselves to a ham and cheese croissant, bowl of tomato soup, berrylicious smoothie, and raspberry tart. It definitely did not disappoint.

With a little time leftover before it was time to board the bus, we made our way across the hall to Icewear/Vik Wool where we got to do some souvenir shopping. We only grabbed a few small trinkets, but it was very cool to walk around the large store and see all the authentic Iceland sweaters and warm Iceland jackets and hats. However, the nicer quality, the more expensive the product, and we didn’t find anything we were willing to commit to, but we knew we were wanting to take some true Iceland wear home before our trip was over.

Once everyone had full tummies and a nice little break, it was time to hop back on the bus to make our way back up the south shores of Iceland to visit the last two stops on our journey, which we had driven past on the first stretch so that we could hit them up coming back. This also gave us the opportunity to see out the other side of the bus and catch the views we might have missed.

One of such views was a cool mountain formation that Runar had talked about on our way to the beach, but we had been on the wrong side to get a good view of. Spreading out along the ridge of the mountain were juts and edges that happened to make an almost perfect silhouette of an eagle! Two high and sharp peaks make up the top of the eagles outstretched wings. The mountain dips down on either side until connecting again to make a smaller, curved peak in the middle that makes the eagle’s head.

We got to see some more lush, green pastures filled with sheep, outposts, and even some barns and shelters built directly into mountains and cliffs. Folklore says that elves of the mountains would help farmers take care of the cows and newborn calves in exchange for drinking the cream of the fresh cow milk. Some of these shelters have paths up to them for visitors to walk inside and visit and feel the old legends and folklore of Iceland come alive!

Our next stop brought us to the Sólheimajökull outlet glacier. Like most glaciers, this one has experienced severe melting and retreating. However, the lagoon which has formed from the icy water still reflects much of this glacier’s magnificent beauty. This geographical wonder descends from the country’s fourth largest ice cap, Mýrdalsjökull. While the pronunciation of these glaciers are nearly impossible for non-native speakers, many people may be aware of them without realizing it. They are located atop the notorious explosive volcano, Katla. Since settlement, this volcano has erupted, on average, once every 50 years. However, the last eruption was in 1918, which means its next eruption is about 55 years overdue. Katla is connected to Eyjafjallajökull, the glacier volcano that erupted in 2010, and is known world-wide for causing chaos and havoc to air travel after billowing ash filled the skies, halting flights in surrounding areas for eight days.

Something we found very interesting and unexpected was that the ash from the nearby volcanoes fills the crevices of the glaciers and actually prevents it from melting as quickly. We would have thought that hot ash from a volcano would result in the glacier melting much faster. However, it was clear to see the proof because as the areas surrounding the crevices melt, the ash then appears to be settled on top of the glacier, giving it the gray dusting we got to see during our visit.

The hike down to the glacier was surprisingly fast and strenuous. We didn’t think we would have any issues keeping up as our lovely tour guide Runar, was much older than us. However, we underestimated how in-shape and spry he was, and he often held a very healthy lead on us. We were determined to make the whole hike, while other members of our group pauses at the lookout and waited for the group to turn back to bus before rejoining. Luckily, we were able to keep pace, and we came face to face with our first glacier.

There was a large sign for those braver than us that had plans of hiking up on the glacier. A small portion of the sign went over the proper equipment for climbing the glacier, such as crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet. Another small portion clearly stated that serious and fatal accidents were possible and that you were climbing at your own risk. The seemingly largest part of the sign listed the dangers you could face while hiking upon the glacier, and if I wasn’t interested in making the trip up the glacier before, I definitely had no plans of attempting the ascension after seeing the amount of dangers you can face up on a glacier.

However, we did have a much safer opportunity to climb up on a smaller chunk of the glacier. We squished our way up the ashy slopes and had a fellow kind tour group member take our picture with a chunk of the glacier looming over and dripping onto us. We slid back down and walked over to chilly waters of the lagoon. Looking across the waters, the blue ice of the frozen glacier shimmered. We see a lot of ice in South Dakota, but there is something about the pure ice of a glacier that even left us in awe. There were small, translucent chunks of ice from the glacier floating settled in along the edge of the lagoon, so I was able to reach my fingers into the frigid waters and run my hand across a piece of an actual glacier!

On the hike back to the bus, the sun came out in full force, and Luke even took off his jacket because he tends to run hot. Runar was baffled and asked other members of our group if he was from Canada. Since I overheard, I interjected that, although not from Canada, we were from an area of the United States very far north and close to Canada, and that answer seemed to make sense to him. Also along our return hike, we witnessed a kayaker peacefully paddling their way across the lagoon. Something about it just made me smile, so I had to get a picture to keep that joy of simplicity and nature beauty with me.

After hopping back on to the bus, it was time to make our way to our final stop on our adventure, which ironically was the first thing we had driven past that day. What made this stop more exciting is that this waterfall has an indent and path that allows you to safely walk directly behind it if you bring the proper gear. We absolutely planned on walking behind it because how often does an opportunity like this come about, so we had made sure to specifically invest in waterproof gear for this.

Although smaller in width and less powerful than Skógafoss, the Seljalandsfoss is still a wonder to look at with a drop of about 200 feet. Because the fall is so narrow, there is a perpetual spray of mist, which is what makes waterproof gear a necessity. A few of our other tour group members weren’t as prepared, and either didn’t read the section while booking the tour that stated waterproof gear was suggested or they just weren’t interested in taking the short hike through the cavern behind the waterfall. We, in a very hasty and excited fashion, hopped off the bus and into our gear. Our cheeks hurt from smiling so much after completing this unique adventure. It was exciting and wet and loud and not like anything we had ever experience before. We highly recommend that if you take this tour, you be prepared to make the walk behind this waterfall because you won’t regret it.

Before we knew it, it was time to hop back on our bus for the last time and make our way back to the bus terminal. Our day’s excursion had started at 9:00 am, and it was close to 8:00 pm by the time we arrived back into Reykjavik and started to make our way back to our Airbnb.

Another one of my favorite parts of this action-packed day was that we got to make a few cute and furry friends along the way! Since there is such a large population of sheep and farmers outside of Reykjavik, there are often many herding dogs as well. One of these hard-working pooches was posted up nearby our last stop, so we got to say hello as we used the facilities before boarding the bus to head back to the city. After arriving back in Reykjavik, we needed to walk back to our Airbnb, and one of the best parts about Reykjavik is that the local cats are safe and welcome to wander the streets. On our walk back, we met a particularly friendly one of these felines, and I, being a crazy cat lady, gleefully welcomed the affections of my new friend.

Although we didn’t have a lot of down time and were on the move all day, looking back this was probably one of my favorite days of our entire honeymoon because of all the different things we got to see and do within one day.