We continued our clockwise drive around Iceland on day 7 in the small town of Vik...
The town of Vik
Wildflowers in bloom
Ice!
This is another glacier called Svinafellsjokull, which was where they filmed the ice planet scenes in the Christopher Nolan movie, Interstellar. We took a short hike to view this one up close.
The trail to Svinafellsjokull Glacier
Reynisdranger - rock pillars coming out of the ocean next to Reynisfjall mountain.
Reynisfjall - mountain with a large rock cave at the base. The cave was full of irregular stone columns and textures.
the black pebble beach
Svartifoss waterfall - surrounded by dark lava columns
an Icelandic 4x4 vehicle - modified Toyota Land Cruiser with extra large balloon tires for crossing the shallow glacial runoff rivers on the F (4x4 only) roads.
Skogafoss waterfall
We hiked the Skogafoss waterfall trail, which led to more beautiful waterfalls. approx 4 mile roundtrip hike but that trail continues on into the inner mountains of Iceland. It was the best and most scenic hike we did.
Skogafoss - we stayed at the Hotel Skogafoss that evening which is next door to this - nice place.
The next day, Day 8, we toured and did some sightseeing in the Golden Circle area.
Seljalandsfoss waterfall - you can walk behind the waterfall
I accidentally had the camera on the wrong setting and the photo turned out like this. Kind of Art Deco-y.
abandoned village houses nearby - there were sheep holed up inside one of them (below).
Gljufrabui waterfall, located in a narrow canyon near the Seljalandsfoss waterfall.
We walked in Almannagjám which is a lava rock filled gorge within Pingvellir National Park - site of the North American and European tectonic plates that come together there.
Oxararfoss waterfall within Pingvellir National Park
the beautiful Gulfoss waterfall
another Icelandic modified 4x4 vehicle
Kerid Crater
Geysir - the site of a regular spewing geyser - this also reminded me of Yellowstone National Park
Sel Guesthouse - a real treat - besides the owner's cute kids and dogs running around the property, it was also one of the best meals of the week. Everything was grown and sourced locally, including the goose he had harvested himself, and ended up as smoked goose shavings on a great salad from his garden.
The owners kids and dogs - they were a real joy to watch running around their property.
cabins at Sel Guesthouse
The next morning, we drove to Reykjavik and stopped and saw a few sights along the way.
the majestic Icelandic horses
Knarraros lighthouse
Hafnarnes viewpoint and lighthouse - a local map said this was one of the top 10 best surfing spots in the world. I don't know about that but there were some nice waves and a couple of surfers on it. There were some nice point break waves peeling off at the point in front of the lighthouse.
the city of Reykjavik
The Iceland punk rock music museum in Reykjavik
Another Reykjavik oddity
Reyjkavik marina and harbor
That's a wrap! Iceland was amazing. If you've been thinking about going, do it!
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