Iceland 2023 - Land of Fire and Ice
Traveling to Iceland was a feat in itself. It took 2 1/2 days to get there, and I will never fly that airline again. After canceling my ticket six, yes 6, times after I was already on the plane, losing my luggage, losing all my frequent flyer status, and the general attitude of their employees, I will never take British Airways again. Margarita Stone, the gate agent, seemed to be the only person who was able to do anything right. She was my hero.
After arriving in Keflavik, I caught the Flybus to Reykjavik and the Fosshotel. My driver, a polish immigrant, was very accommodating driving me right up to the door and helping me with my luggage. I have his name and number just in case I come back to Iceland.
I found our group in the restaurant of the hotel, but at 9:30 at night, I headed straight to my room. I didn’t have my suitcase so I spent the first part of my stay washing my clothes out in the sink and praying they would dry by morning. The Fosshotel is very nice, but the beds were hard as a rock. They did have a gift shop that had power converters on hand. Breakfast the next morning was very good, and the coffee very strong. This is what I needed.
Our trip started in the dark, but in the Arctic countries, the sun doesn’t come up until about 9:30-10:00 a.m and sets around 4:00 p.m. this time of year (December). This was a tour of the south coast. Our driver, Thorarinn Jonsson of Thor-Photography.com, picked us up in front of the hotel. He had a trailer for our luggage so we didn’t have to crowd into his van. He is a local from Iceland and runs his own tours.
Our first stop was at the Víkurfjara Black Sand Beach in Vik. This was approximately 2 1/2 hour drive. There were a couple of groups on horses, and watching for horse apples was a full-time job while taking a short walk down to the beach. It was windy, raining, snowing, and very cold without my raingear. #1 rule in Iceland - take rain gear for you and your equipment. My jeans were soaked from bottom of my coat to my boots. Wearing the boots on the plane had been my best decision and my Columbia coat was very warm. I wish I’d had my rain pants. Thor made sure that I was taken care of and our next stop was at the Icewear store at the Vik petrol station where I was able to purchase some warm clothes and waterproof pants.
Notes about the beach - there are numerous basalt columns to use for landscape shots. We did not go down to the other end of the beach as the tide was coming in and the waves are huge. Many people have been hurt, or worse, drug out to sea by the waves. Not an exaggeration.
We stayed at Hotel Dyrholaey twice, coming and going. This was a very nice hotel with heated bathroom floors. Maybe this is weird, but after getting wet and freezing on the beach, lying on the heated floor was wonderful. Iceland uses radiant heat and the hotel was very warm. No need for heavy jammies. The restaurant is in the hotel and a bit of a jaunt if you’re staying on the opposite end. I suggest a first floor room if you’re using a lot of luggage, otherwise walk to the far end to use the elevator. The food was typical Iceland meals including lamb. You might be squeamish eating their food, but it was delicious. While the hotel has a beautiful view over the Mýrdalur valley, it was too dark and windy for us to see anything. The wind will sing you to sleep.
Our next stop was the famous Vik Church. It sits above the City on a hill overlooking the Víkurfjara beach. It is frequently photographed and hard to get a picture without a tourist car or person walking around. Patience is a virtue. After the church, we visited the stone arch at Dyrholaey. Unfortunately our leader didn’t want the side with the sun shining through, and asked our guide to take us to the other side. I would recommend the side where the sun shines through the arch for photography. There was a lot of old naval stuff on top of the bluff, but wouldn’t make a day of it to see the naval stuff.
Our next stop was a series of waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss, and was very icy. Definitely a place for crampons. There was a small bridge to walk over that was covered in ice. The steps to the backside of the waterfall were closed due to ice. This spot is right off the main highway with very little hiking involved. Everything we did was very flat and easy hike.
There are two major areas for photographing glaciers; the first is the famous glacier lagoon, Jokulsarlon, and the second is the Fjallsarlon lagoon. The Vantajokull is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland. It dumps the icebergs as they break off into the lagoons which then feeds them into the ocean so that they can wash ashore on Diamond Beach. Of the two lagoon areas, Jokulsarlon was very, very busy. The other one had a great view and a heart shaped glacier. With Diamond Beach consisting of black sand, the ice looks like diamonds against the dark sand. The best time to get here is at sunrise or sunset, at least with some sun, so that you can see the light through the ice. Just past the beach we found a herd of reindeer. Creeping up on them very slowly allowed us to get fairly close. Other tourists who came running at them caused them to stampede across the road right in front of our vehicle.
After the first day, our weather was less ferocious, but still windy. This is common for Iceland. We visited Skogafoss waterfall several times. Once during the day to capture the rainbow over the waterfall and again at night to capture the northern lights. Not brilliant, but they did show up. We did change hotels and stayed at hotel Smyrlabjorg. This hotel had two different buildings so going outside was a must if you wanted dinner. It was very cozy and comfortable. The food was good, and in the back of the dining hall was a Christmas village exhibit. They did do laundry so I had a chance to wear clean clothes. On day 6, my suitcase finally showed up at this hotel.
Another great place to visit is Vestrahorn. If the tide is in, you’ll get a reflection in the tide pools. If not, you’ll get some great shots of the dunes with the black sand and the tan foliage in front of the mountain. Stopping along the road, we photographed Lomagnupar Mountain.
The highlight of the trip for me was the ice cave we hiked into. This is under a glacier and a short walk up a fairly flat sheet of ice wearing crampons. We took our vehicle to meet the Ice Guides and transferred to their vehicle designed for off-roading. We hiked down a series of steps cut out by the guides holding the rope hand rail they had built. It was an easy trip in and out of the cave. With the glaciers receding at approximately 200-300 meters a year, this cave is probably gone.
The horses of Iceland are not wild animals. Along with the sheep, they are kept on farms and well taken care of. They are very friendly and photogenic. One of the great things about Iceland is the ability to walk anywhere without worry of trespassing. We did stop at Hofskirkja, a small farm village, and another farm along the highway.
Another couple of stops were the Gullfoss and Bruarfoss waterfalls with Bruarfoss being my favorite. Both are short walks and the Gullfoss includes a gift shop, restaurant and bathrooms.
Last but not least, we stopped at the geyser named Strokkur. There were lots of tourists, and the secret is to try and capture the eruption before the bubble completely bursts. The spray it generates is quite impressive. Around the geyser you’ll find a number of paths with ice frosted vegetation. It’s a good idea to stop at this place when the sun is shining.
Overall, Iceland is beautiful. There are waterfalls everywhere you look, and a number of things I didn’t get to see. The landscape is quite different as it is a volcano rich environment with numerous vents (130). There were no eruptions while we were there, but it started shortly after we left. I will return and will definitely book trips with Thor again.