Day 10: Driving the South Coast- Reykjavik to Vík

 

Zzz pills again last night, because another LONG day ahead. But I swear this is the last of them! I don’t have any super long days head of me after today, so if I can’t sleep, I’ll nap and deal with it.  I woke up to the most AMAZING morning there has been in Reykjavik!! Bright and sunny! Blue skies! YES!!!!!!! Two days in a row of fabulous weather to drive in and see the sights! And oh, but I had sights to see….because today I was doing another famous Iceland driving tour- the south coast to Vík.

Remember how yesterday I taught you that foss means waterfall? Remember that, but BURN this into your brain. Vík is pronounced VEEK, not VICK. VEEK. When Iceland is kind enough to give you a word that has only three letters and one syllable, you should be deported if you screw it up. And I’ve heard practically everyone say it wrong. 🙄 You’re welcome.

Ok…back to my glorious sunshiny morning of wonder and delight!! Packed up my gear, lunch, and water, and headed out a bit before 8. Stopped to fill up the car. I’ve got to spend all of these kronas I changed for $100…I had a little more than 1/2 a tank, so I went in and gave him 2000 ($20) for gas and got my prepaid card. Car took every bit of it. And off I went, into the brilliant sunlight, dreaming of peeling off layers soon and driving with the window down. Oh, silly, silly girl. This is Iceland! No sooner than I hit the last roundabout out of town, I was in a fog bank. Not cloudy skies. Full on fog. Like could barely see the car ahead of me. Which on these extremely narrow roads with a 6″ shoulder and imaginary lines for center dividers, is not a happy place…. The fog turned to drizzle. I drove in that for about an hour and a half through, sorry to say, not very exciting farmland. Possibly because I couldn’t SEE, but even if I could, I don’t think it was too great…

But then I pulled into my first stop. Seljalandsfoss. C’mon, guess what it is??! A waterfall! And a gorgeous one! It was pouring off of a huge, brilliant green (even in the gray skies) cliff. I pulled into the parking lot and there were already a good amount of people there. By this time, the drizzle had turned to full on sprinkles. I pulled on my waterproof ski pants over my hiking pants, and put on my rain jacket. Here you had to pay $7 to park. I walked up toward the waterfall, lamenting the fact that all of my pictures would be super washed out because there was no decent light. I snapped a few pics, and took a video. This is a waterfall that you can actually walk behind. I said on the video that there was no way I was interested in getting soaked. Turned the video off, took a few more pics, and decided what the hell- I only live once and I had good gear on! So I headed up the path to the waterfall. As you got closer, the power of the water made it feel like it was raining pretty hard! Luckily, the wind was blowing slightly in the other direction, so most of the drops and mist went away from me. I see how you could easily be soaked by the time you even got to the waterfall. And there were people doing it in JEANS!! 😲 Taking pictures was a feat in and of itself. I had to keep the camera under my jacket. When I was ready, I’d get the camera steady, take off the lens cap, and start snapping like crazy! Because within milliseconds the lens would be covered with mist and I’d have to wipe it off and start all over! I worked my way around and got behind it. And I was happy that I pushed past my comfort zone and did it.

By the time I got back to the car, my ski pants had water beaded all over them. I peeled them off and kind of spread them out in the trunk area to hopefully dry off a bit. Underneath, my other two layers were perfectly dry. 🙂  Took off down the road again. This cliff structure went on, and on, and on. It was GORGEOUS! I’ve never seen a landscape quite like it. And SO green! I was super angry at the clouds for concealing my view of the top. Here and there you’d see other waterfalls, tumbling through black rock and green moss. Farmhouses. Sheep. Horses. Just idyllic (except for the pesky weather!). I pulled over so. many. times. There was just something to ooo and ahh at about every 1/4 mile! And luckily, there were a lot of spots to easily pull off the road. I reached my next stop, Skogafoss. Spoiler alert: it’s a waterfall!! 🙂 There was another parking lot, full of people, but you didn’t have to pay. All this water was doing a number on my bladder, so i thought I better stop in. $2 to pee??? Oh HELL NO. I’ll hold it, thank you very much. I ain’t paying to piss! This was a campsite (peeing is included with your camping fee 🙂 ), and there were lots of tents around. I seriously could not think of anything more miserable than sleeping out in the cold and rain in a tent in Iceland… The area was next to a pasture, and cute little baby lambs were jumping around having a fine old time, drizzle or no drizzle! I tried to feed them some grass, I even informed them that the grass from my side of the fence was MUCH tastier, but they declined. Or only spoke Icelandic…. The falls were beautiful, and there was a set of CRAZY stairs going to the top. I talked myself into going behind Seljalandsfoss. I didn’t even start the conversation with myself about those stairs. El nope-o. So many people…hard to get good shots. 🙁

I was super excited for my next stop. Sólheimajökull. Yesterday I fell in love with something. It’s name was Langjökull. Remember what it was? See a pattern in the words? I fell in love with a glacier!! When you see jökull, that means it’s a glacier. Look how much I’ve taught you! Waterfall, bathroom, how to pronouce Vík, and now glacier! Consider yourself lucky- I usually charge big bucks for teaching! 😛 Anyway, they do hikes on to Sólheimajökull, but they were 3 hours long and I really didn’t have the time (and possibly the energy/stamina) for that. But you were supposed to be able to TOUCH it from here! YES!! I pulled into the parking lot and hardly anyone was there. Obviously this isn’t a big stop for people, but I don’t know why not…. I walked up the black lava path and got to the top of the hill in a couple of minutes. And from there, I could see her! Oh. My. Goodness!!!!!!!! Beautiful! Actually, Sólheimajökull is a glacial outlet, a tongue so to speak, off of the much larger Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The glacier itself is stunning. But it is pushing into a “bay” of sorts. A calving bay. When pieces of a glacier break off, it’s called calving. And huge chunks of it were floating in the cafe au lait colored water. Mesmerizing. I was even more in love! And I wanted to get to the end of the trail and touch it!!! Then, I saw this…

 

Unstable! All love affairs are unstable! But the instability of this one could kill me. 🙁  Seriously, if a chunk of ice broke off and fell on you…DEAD. If you were standing near the water’s edge and the glacier “calved”, that huge piece of ice could create a wave that would sweep you right off your feet…DEAD. Love isn’t worth dying for. So I stood there, taking pictures, and staring at her longingly. Groups below looked like little ants as they trailed up the glacier…I was a jealous lover!  I am going to hike a glacier. Not today, and maybe not in Iceland, but it is now a bucket list item I never knew I had…

I hated to leave this beauty, but there were other things to see! Pulled back out on to the main road for next stop- Dyrhólaey lighthouse. I turned off the main road and followed google maps. It was leading me up a really, really, REALLY steep gravel hill. I was watching a guy in a SUV, probably 4×4, coming down it, and he did not look happy. He was going super slow and had about 5 cars right behind him. Would this little car even make it up that hill? I pulled over and watched for a bit, basically waiting for that line of cars to get off the hill before I went up, because it was pretty darn narrow. One of the cars was no bigger than mine, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. No one was in front of me and no one was coming. I just needed to keep my momentum going and not stop. Up, up, up I went. I was gripping the steering wheel so hard I think I left some flesh behind, and my palms were sweating like crazy. About 3/4 of the way up I realized I didn’t really want to do this afterall, but too damn bad, missy. No way to turn around. I made it up to the parking lot, and all I could think about was coming back down. Well, that and “Why aren’t there any bathrooms up here???” I texted Brian and asked him if it was low gear you put a car in to go down a steep grade- I was pretty sure, but wanted to double check. That’s boy stuff (yes, I have designated boy things and girl things- boy things tend to be anything I don’t care about or don’t want to do! 😜). He wasn’t going to be awake for at least another 30 minutes, so I got out and walked around. The lighthouse was eh, but the views were magnificent! Facing the freezing cold North Atlantic, on my right was a gorgeous black sand beach. Ahead of me was an fabulous rock arch, like a doorway to another realm. And to my left was another gorgeous black sand beach, with formations in the background. From here there was a trail that went down to the left. I seriously considered abandoning the car, hiking down, and hitchhiking back to Reykjavik!! Got back in the car, still no word from Brian. Off I went. So, so, so super slow. At one point, there was a drop of, I don’t know, 100 feet or probably more, right off the side of the cliff. Thank GOD no one was coming up. I would have had a nervous breakdown. I have never been happier to be off a damn road in all my life! Not because it was particularly dangerous, and I’m not trying to discourage you from doing it, but because I’m just not confident enough with my driving skills in such conditions.

Next stop was where I had read that I might be able to cross off a bucket list item….PUFFINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a beach called Kirkjufjara. And speaking of buckets, the fact that I didn’t wet myself going down that hill was astonishing. And my luck wasn’t going to hold out much longer. Kirkjufjara was just a few minutes away, and there were BATHROOMS!!! I walked in. That’ll be $2. Gladly!! Happily!! Willingly!! Note to readers: If you have to pee super bad, bring 200kr in coins. If I would have had to wait at the credit card machine for those ladies to figure out what the hell they were doing….well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have needed to pee anymore, and there would be a cleanup on aisle 7… Made peece (not a typo) with my bladder again, and walked down the path, scouring the cliffs for puffins!! Nothing. 🙁  But I did get some decent shots of the cliffs, another rock arch, a sea bird nesting (mega zoom), and from high above, I zoomed in on the white ocean foam lapping at the black sand beach. Why zoom? Because I’m not getting anywhere NEAR that damn water…why?? Read on. It’s important. 

A little thing called sneaker waves. I had learned about these before I left, and knew it was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. Seriously, on my “worst effing nightmare” list. THIS video should be required watching in the line at Iceland immigration…

My next stop, Reynisfjara beach, is notorious for these waves. Tourists have died here. See, the ocean is just doin’ its thang…waves crash on to the beach and retreat, generally in the same location. If you’ve been to a beach, you’re familiar. But on occasion, a rogue bit of energy builds up in the ocean. There’s nothing to slow it down between Antarctica and here. It’s silent. It sneaks up on you (hence the name sneaker wave). If you get too close to the water, even if you’re paying attention you could be swept off your feet before you know it and washed out to sea. If you have your back to the ocean, taking a picture, talking, looking at the scenery….you’re being rushed out to sea before you even know what hit you. TERRIFYING!!! The signs said to stay away from the beach- I think it was 30 m (100 feet). They did NOT have to tell me twice!! The tide was pretty low, and I stayed right along the edge of the cliff area. But the people I watched at the water’s edge- some taking their children there- seriously, what IDIOTS. I have zero tolerance for people like that, and if they get washed away it’s a damn shame that an Icelandic rescue team has to put THEIR lives in danger to save an idiot. I’d say buh-bye and good riddance, but I have no tolerance for fools.  #darwinawards

Ok, with the warning firmly in place (that I hope you heed because you are a traveler who is respectful of your surroundings and other people and not an idiot tourist), let me show you this stunning black sand beach and its magnificent formations!! There were tons of people here, so almost impossible to get a shot without them.

I managed to leave Reynisfjara without incident. Whew!! I give all the credit to Aegir. This was my last stop of the day, but it was still pretty early. I had about a 3 hour drive back to Reykjavik, and I’d be arriving around 5:30. Hmmmmmmm…what to do, what to do. There was nothing left on my list at all. Then, I remembered a post I had read a few weeks ago about turf houses. At the time, I had looked for their location, but the information I had said they didn’t open until June 15 (this was June 5). I thought I remembered that maybe they were along this route. I googled Iceland turf houses south coast and Keldur came up. Found that original post, and yes, they were about 7 miles off the main road on the way back to Reykjavik. Perfect! Because frankly, I wanted to break up that long drive as well… I figured I’d just stop and snap a few pictures, because they look pretty cool…even if I couldn’t go in. I drove into Vík (VEEK, not VICK!) to get gas before I headed back. This was a new station I hadn’t used before. Here, you had to buy a 3000kr ($30) prepaid card, you couldn’t just get less. Car took every bit of it. Vík is a tiny town, not much going on there, really. Headed back in the direction I came to find the Keldur turf houses, snap a couple of pictures, and head back home. Along the way, I saw cars pulled off. My cue to be a conformist! There was this big wooden wall and door in the side of a mountain. I learned that this was Steinahellir Cave- it used to be used to hold sheep, as a parliament meeting place, and it is supposed to be SUPER haunted! In fact, the vast majority of the signage was about all of the creepy ghosts that inhabit this place. Fearless, I walked inside. What was super, super weird is that moss was growing in the cave. In the DARK cave. Very unusual. I used flash to take this picture inside.

Got to my turn off, and drove on the gravel road. The road dead ended into a T, and Keldur was on the right. I knew from the blog that you were supposed to park in the parking lot by the signs and then walk up to the turf houses. This is a working farm, and you shouldn’t just go driving anywhere you please!! I did, and followed the path next to a bubbling stream. Not bubbling with heat, but with fresh spring water coming up out of the ground! I walked up to the gate and saw this sign…
THEY WERE OPEN!!! I was greeted by a lovely man who asked me if I wanted a tour. I told him that my money was in the car (I wasn’t expecting them to be open), and I’d run and get it. He assured me that after the tour was fine. 🙂  It was me, a little old German lady about 70-75 who I want to be when I grow up, and a young man from Maldova. The German woman was traveling solo, had basically hitchhiked a ride with a museum worker in some other town, had read the Icelandic saga that mentions this place THREE times, and was just a spitfire and full of information! She is my spirit animal….

Ok, I literally can not even believe that this place is not a “must see” on the famous South Coast tour. It is FABULOUS!!! Frankly, looking at scenery is nice, but I have this sick obsession with trying to learn something every day…I don’t learn much from looking at a waterfall. Oh my, did I find the right place!! Look, I’m going to give you the bare bones facts, in hope that it will intrigue you enough to get your butt over to this place, learn something, and support their work in restoring and maintaining this treasure. Of course, if you prefer to play in the waves at Reynisfjara….well, to each his own. 😉  So, if you remember from Day 2, I went into the Settlement Museum in Reykjavik. This is the oldest known settlement in Iceland, dating back to 870ish. Of course, it’s an archaeological excavation site now. The remains are a few walls and such. But Keldur is the oldest known STANDING structure in Iceland. Written records show that this place was inhabited from the late 900s. How do we know? Because the family was so important, they are mentioned in the Saga of Njáll! One of the most powerful clans in Iceland, the Oddi clan, inhabited this place in the 1100s. The current buildings are from at least the 1600s, because the oldest carving found here is the date 1641. Basically, it’s a Viking longhouse, covered with turf for insulation. The walls are stacked lava rocks that have been there for hundreds upon hundreds of years. The frame is timber- which was almost as precious as gold in Iceland (there are no forests). The timber would wash up on the beach from who knows where, and was then utilized to build the home. The old structure consists of a row of turf houses. The main one is the longhouse- living quarters. Inside, there were rooms for cooking, storing food for the long, dark winter, and storing fuel for cooking. Wait- there’s no timber to cut, what little washes up is precious, there’s no coal on the island…what fuel did they use? Cow manure (I, being Hermione, answered that question correctly when it was posed, barely beating the German lady to the punch #youth). And they would collect it to store in the house for the long winter. There was even a crazy cool tunnel dug underground with an entrance in the house and an exit down by the stream. It dates back to the 11th-13th centuries. This was a time of war in Iceland, and was most likely built as an escape route and for defense. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!  Next to the long house are a few other turf house structures- a slaughterhouse, a meat processing building, a smithy, and more storage. Toward the back of the area are the ruins of the animal stables, which hopefully they will have funds to restore soon. Get thee to Keldur!!!!!

“Cozy” is an understatement about how these people lived. This is part of the “modern” house that was added on to the longhouse. There were two of these rooms directly across from each other. Each of those barely-bigger-than-a-twin-bed beds would sleep 2 people, sometimes with a kid or two as well! And there were 3 or 4 beds in each small room! They would eat here, socialize here, sew here, make the children here, have the children here, raise the children here. Wow. See that “groove” cut out of the side of the bed? That’s because it was a bed and a couch. They had a board to put there when there were sleeping to keep from falling out! Now here’s what’s really cool. Over the years, this place evolved and was added to. A modern farmhouse was built on to the longhouse in the early 1800s. You could walk right from the ancient longhouse into the farmhouse without having to go outside! So cool!

I spent about an hour here, and loved every. single. second of it! There are two tour guides on staff during the summer, and they actually live here. The tour was just fantastic, and the guide was so passionate and full of information. This was the best historical thing I’ve done here, hands down, and it was my absolute favorite part of the whole day!! And it’s not even on most people’s south coast itinerary, and it was a complete afterthought even for me!! The tour was over and I had to go get my money to pay. I walked to the gate and faced one of my biggest land dwelling fears….

Um, cows scare me. Unless they are presented to me fresh off of a grill. I walked soooooo tentatively by them, talking softly to the closest one who was giving me the stare down that we should have a mutual understanding of just completely ignoring each other. I made it through the cow gauntlet! The farmers had turned them out here to graze, and fortunately by the time I walked back through, they had moved them elsewhere. Yes, I will travel the world solo, hike through jungles infested with all kinds of who knows what that wants to kill you, eat questionable street food, etc…. but cows… <shudder>. I walked back and gave the guy 1500kr cash. He went to give me change and I told him to keep it. The tour was well worth it. He seemed so shocked and pleased! Seriously, I paid double that for the dumb whale thing in Reykjavik where I spent 1/3 of the time and learned zilch. And my battle cry to all Icelandic tourists now is “GET THEE TO KELDUR!!!!!”. You’re going that way anyway, because it’s pretty close to Seljalandsfoss (not too far after it if you’re heading back to Reykjavik). Just take the 264- you’ll be glad you did. 🙂

I drove back to Reyjakvik and arrived 11 hours after I left. What a fantastic day!! You know, it’s those little unexpected things while traveling that really make a “trip” an “experience”…

CONTINUE TO DAYS 11-14

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