Fire & Ice: a pandemic escape to Iceland - part 7 - South Iceland

 

South Iceland

 

Höfn is probably the point at which one reaches South Iceland. We headed along the south coast, progressively working our way westwards, with a couple of loops along the way. The coast is dominated by high cliffs in same areas, and glaciers which approach the coast more closely than in the rest of Iceland.

 

We visited Hoffelsjökull, Fláajökull, and Heinabergsjökull, all of which were relatively quiet, unlike the popular Fjallsárlón lagoon, which we visited the following day and which is clearly a major tourist stop. It’s easy to see why since the lagoon is filled with floating ice from the glacier behind it. 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, once again to have good internet access for work obligations. As mentioned, we visited Fjallsárlón the following day, then made our way to Múlagljúfur Canyon, a really beautiful canyon with high waterfalls in the canyon walls. We were fortunate in terms of weather on our ascent, however it started raining on our way back down, and on arrival at the car we made hot soup which was most welcome in the cold rain. 

 

Our next stop was Skaftafell, where we walked to Svartifoss; then we headed for Vik Campground. Vik is a main centre for the south coast, and the campground is huge. It’s close to the famous “Black Beach” (although there are other black beaches on the coast, this is the one publicized most). The following morning we walked down to the Black Beach, then to “KatlaTrack” to take a “Glacier Tour” with Sigrunharpa Grietasdottir in a giant 4x4 Ford Club Wagon. This took us up to the glacier edge, where we put on crampons to walk into the icea and explore an ice cave, as well as enjoying the scenery. 

 

 

 

From Vik we headed into the highlands again, via the less used route into Landmannalaugur, crossing rivers many times on the way to the popular campsite. The last river crossing, which is actually two crossings, is quite deep and so we watched others cross before doing so ourselves. The camp site is extensive, there is a hot spring a short walk away, and there were many visitors, who had come to enjoy this amazing scenery and to walk from the campsite. It’s possible to take multi-day walks through the mountains, however we did a one day walk in beautiful weather, returning to camp for dinner. 

 

 

From Landmannalaugur we headed out of the area by the more frequented route, stopping at Hrauneyar, the unexpected waterfall at Háifoss, at Gjáin – an enchanting dell with multiple waterfalls, at Stöng Viking long house, at Hjálparfoss, and finally at Þjórsárdalur Camping Ground (Sandártunga). 

 

The next day was a day of many waterfalls (Gullfoss, Hlauptungufoss, Midfoss, Brúarfoss), the Geysir (Strokkur) site, with multiple geysers, and we camped at Laugarvatn after a stop at Fontana hot springs.On the following, misty, morning we stopped at Urriðafoss, Eldstó (Volcano) Art Café, Gluggafoss, then Gljúfrabúi/Seljalandsfossm, and Nauthúsagil Waterfall where we walked the ravine before continuing into Þórsmörk, along a road following the river bed which ultimately provide to be too much for the car, whose clearance meant that progress was too slow to be practical, so we returned and headed for Kvernufoss and then the impressive Skógafoss. We camped in the site immediately below the falls, with a view of Skógafoss from the tent. The next day we visited Hvolsvöllur, Vínbúðin, Þingborg Ullarverslun (wool centre), Gallery Flói & Wool Centre, and then Kerið crater, walking around the crest of the crater before heading to Friðheimar, which is a tomato farm, although this doesn't do justice to the place which has a huge production of tomatos and a restaurant inside the greenhouses, with (not surprisingly) tomato-based cuisine, and which is very popular on the “Golden Circle” tourist route. In the afternoon we visited Selfoss, where we camped. 

 

 

We were well aware of the Fagradalsfjall Volcano, which had been in eruption since prior to our arrival in Iceland, and which was still erupting. We learned in the morning that temporary parking had been established close to the volcano, from which trails were allowing access to viewpoints from which the eruption could be seen. So we chose to take advantage of the opportunity, made for the volcano, and climbed to the first main viewpoint, from which the amazing sight of lava bursting from the volcano could be seen. It was also possible to walk to the lava front (the lave now having cooled) to see fresh lava which had flowed down the valley. The spectacle was amazing, and our time was very well spent taking the opportunity to see the volcano “in action” on a beautiful sunny day, on our last day with the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan & Marce, 2021 July/August