We are on our way to get up close and personal with a glacier, Svinefellsjokull. It's a short walk up a gravelly path from the parking. Kristian planned the timing so we would be there early before the crowds. There were just a handful of people there. At one point, he asked us to sit and be quiet for several minutes. We could hear the water flowing off the glacier and some cracking noises. There were no other human sounds. I closed my eyes for a bit and felt the sounds of the glacier all around us. As we left, more and more people are heading out from the parking.
We continued our drive past some barren lava landscapes, some from eruptions hundreds of years ago and with moss growing on it that were as old.
We pass a random beautiful waterfall and pull over briefly to get pictures as we make our way along the south coast.
We stopped at Vatnajokults Visitor Center which has some artifacts about old glacier expeditions and an interesting building with a live roof you can walk on for a view of another nearby falls. They also have a gift shop and I couldn't help but purchase a shawl knitting kit.
For lunch we stopped in Vik at a Kronan store that has a nice cafe. I had a pretzel croissant ham and cheese (reminiscent of home and Rockenwagner). The shop is full of outdoor clothing and souvenirs.
After lunch we head to Reynasfjoru or Black Beach. We are warned by Kristian and signs everywhere about the sneaker waves in this area. The black sand is from lava of course and the basalt columns are also formed from lava but the miracle of this area is the large flocks of pufflings that are practicing flying on preparation for their migration out to sea in a few weeks. The nests are on the basalt cliffs and they are covered with puffin families! Swarms of them fly off and land back.
Kristian told us that the elves get insulted by people clamoring all over the columns to take pictures and that we need to thank the elves for allowing us to be here so I placed my hand on a column and did a quick thank you.
Shortly after, I looked out to the water, past a flock of birds on the ocean and thought I saw a spout! A few minutes later, indeed there is a spout and the back of a small humpback! We watch the whale as it patrols the near shore area, probably to hunt the same food the birds are looking for. Amazing!
As if that experience isn't enough, our next stop is just up the coast at Dyrholey cliffs. Here there are puffin nests so close to where we can stand that we almost can reach out to touch them, and they are not at all afraid of us. Just as at Black Beach, the pufflings are practicing flying and we can see some parents coaxing their offspring out.
An absolutely remarkable visit!
We are ending our day with two very photogenic waterfalls. The first one, Skogafoss, has a path up to the top, which we don't do, but you can get right up to the base! The spray of the falls camouflages the fact that it has started to rain quite hard! We've lucked out up to now in that rain has mostly stopped whenever we're out but our luck has run out.
Our last stop is Seljalandfoss which has a path to go behind the waterfall. The path is a little tricky in spots and it's raining still but the view behind the falls is great!
Nearby are two smaller falls, making this a great falls viewing stop.
Finally we head to our hotel in Hella where we are joined by several massive tour buses for our buffet dinner. The hotel has a hot tub and sauna but I'm calling it a night.
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