Category: travel

Hey all.

Nothing to report except to say we are in London! Woo!

Iceland was a blast, but all good things must come to an end. Now is a week of shenanigans in London and surrounds. I think we are already full up each day and evening. We have even scored tickets to go and see Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men again here in London. Oh yeah! We are both loving the album so are mucho excited for that. Any Oz readers who are interested, they are playing in Melbourne in a couple of weeks. Maybe I’ll see them 3 times in 2 weeks, in 3 different countries? 🙂

Anyway, that’s all. No photos sorry. But guaranteed shenanigans to come.

Hallo! Today has been a relaxing day in every sense of the word. So let’s get to it.

We had a lazy morning and checked out of our tour accommodation, into the hotel for our final night here in Reykjavik. Kinda sad to be thinking we were heading out tomorrow, but we are bound for London-town, so all is still magnificent in my neck of the woods.

We had done pretty much all of what we set out to do here in Reykjavik (and Iceland in general)… well all but one thing. We had heard mixed things about The Blue Lagoon, a hot springs complex just out of town. Some said too touristy, too expensive… but everyone seemed to say regardless of those things the place was pretty spectacular. So of course we had to do it!

So off we set from Reykjavik, through the lava rock landscapes, to a complex in seemingly the middle of nowhere. The only give away was the plumes of steam ascending upward. On our arrival we were greeted with some sample of the blue waters awaiting within.

In we went, and ponied up the not unsubstantial entry fee. With a quick detour through the change and shower rooms, we were greeted with a huge white-blue lagoon area. More white than blue really. But in I dipped my toe… oh yeah! My toe nearly melted… the water was a glorious 38 degrees or so. So in we both went.

Instantly we knew we weren’t going anywhere for the next few hours. We grabbed drinks from the bar (mmm… nice Skyr Smoothies) and relaxed in the glorious waters.

The complex was full of other rancho-relaxo elements… steam rooms, waterfalls, and handy white mud to plaster ourselves in. Well, when in Rome huh?

We also partook in some extra pampering courtesy of volcano scrubs and algae mud packs. It was hilarious to be wandering around the complex with every second person rocking a mud-packed face. Seems everyone was in the relaxing mood.

A few hours disappeared too quickly and we headed back into the city. It was definitely worth it to visit… it was just what we needed after a hectic week of travelling around this glorious country.

But now time to get ourselves all sorted for the trip to olde London. On the way back to our hotel we passed Gyllti Kötturinn, or “The Golden Cat. Nothing exciting about it… just thought it was kind cool is all.

So takk all for reading about our Icelandic adventures… see you in London!

Today (Saturday) was our first day proper back in Reykjavik after our whirlwind 5 days around southern and western Iceland. Because we had been so go go go, we decided to take it relatively easy. From Reykjavik there is the option to do heaps of different activities, however one of the main ones we knew we had to do was get out there in the seas and do a spot of whale and puffin spotting.

But first we had a lazy morning, and got out to do a little shopping. While not my forte, Kate has been on fire, and some of it must have rubbed off as I found myself a kick-ass Icelandic jacket. Not a full on traditional one, but a woollen one that looks a bit Icelandic nonetheless.

Anyway, it was time to head to the boat to get out on the water. But oh dear… it was almost lunchtime and we didn’t really have time to eat much. What shall we have? Hot dogs! Ha ha… yep, I think I’m addicted.

Kate seemingly is too, as I believe it was her idea. As are all the bucks and hens groups that were in town (6 or 7 easily causing mayhem about Reykjavik).

With hot dogs in our respective bellies, we jumped on board the good ship Andrea.

First destination was Puffin Island, just out form Reykjavik, where we got to see hundreds of Puffins hanging out, swimming, and flying around.

Man, I am in love with these little guys. They look so crazy when they fly, like they are flapping their wings to stop themselves dropping out of the sky. I can’t get enough Puffin watching.

With puffins ticked off, it was then out into the high seas to chase whales. All the boats that head out whale watching claim a 95% success rate, and today was one of those 95%. Not far out we spotted our first Minke Whale. Not super close, but close enough to get some shivers up the spine seeing the big guys.

We checked it out for a little but until it decided to not come up for air again, so off it was looking for more. What repeated was a cycle of spotting one, seeing a little action, and then the whale disappearing again. So while we spotted 4 or 5, we never got too close. It meant photos were pretty much impossible.

It was great to be on the water regardless of how much whale we saw, and 3 hours went quickly and we were back in port (although Kate might argue how quickly it went… the seas got VERY rough at one point).

Back in town we did a quick bit more of a wander. Kate got some colour back in those cheeks… enough to enjoy a delicious nuttella crepe. Mmmmmm.

We then settled back to our hotel room, before I had something on my agenda that only appeared a few days ago. I had heard of an Icelandic band called Of Monsters And Men, and had heard a handful of tracks. It seems as though they are becoming quite popular, and lucky us, the band had decided to say thanks to their Reykjavik fans with a free outdoor concert only 5 minutes walk from our digs! Oh yeah!

So off I wandered down to the park and settled in for a few hours of Icelandic music. Of Monsters And Men wandered on stage about 8pm and proceeded to have everyone eating out of the palm of their hand.

I couldn’t understand a word of their banter, but the enthusiasm was infectious. The band was sweet and had a great energy on stage which made for a really fun evening. Plus it was great to see all kinds of folks out enjoying the concert.

So this was a big win! Popular Icelandic band, Saturday night, sun staying up… what more could I ask for?

And I thought Thursday was busy. Not sure it had anything on Friday. So let me start from the start shall I?

We left our digs in Skogar nice and early, and before running out of town stopped by yet another glorious waterfall only 100’s of metres from where we had stayed. This was a beauty too. More understated than the two from the previous day, but gorgeous in its size and simplicity. There is something just awesome about seeing that much water crashing down only metres away from you.

While it lacked the scale of Gullfoss, and the novelty of going behind like Seljalandsfoss, this was still absolutely gorgeous.

From there, we set out in earnest on our action packed day. One of the best things about David our guide was his ability to throw something else into the itinerary on a whim. He had snuck a few things in, but he had a bit of an ace up his sleeve today. “Do you guys want to visit the glacier properly?” he asked. What kind of question is that?!

So off we went to visit the glacier known as Mýrdalsjökull. David was able to take us right to the base of it, but unable to go on it unfortunately due to safety concerns, which was fair enough.

When we got there we were all amazed. Rather than a pristine white glacier, this was black and grey thanks to the nearby Eyjafjallajökull volcano, that was the source of all the shenanigans back in 2010. So it was quite incredible to see, the blackened icy landscape. Again, something like from another planet. Sadly, the glacier has been receding, so hopefully it is not a sign of more to come.

It was back into the bus, with our next stop an amazing black sand beach, just out of the seaside town of Vik. This beach was incredible for a number of reasons. Firstly the basalt columns that lined the shore…

Then there is the dramatic scenery…

Next the black sand…

But most importantly… the Puffins! Yep, more of the little fellas. We took some relaxing time to chill out on this beach and I could have laid there for hours. We just sat down on the beach, listening to the waves crashing in, watching the little devils flying around and getting up to mischief.

It really was one of the best places to visit, but also being able to just take time out and soak it all in.

We did a bit of a whistle stop for some coffee and cake in Vik. Vik is a quaint little town, with not too much to see. But we did pop in and visit the famous Vik Wool store, where I got myself another nice hand knitted beanie. My head is going to be toasty warm this winter back home. Oh, and there was a Puffin Hotel.

From Vik we backtracked to the base of Eyjafjallajökull, where we visited a small visitors centre run by a local farming family.

Their focus is on the impact of Eyjafjallajökull, and showed a short film about their experiences. Holy moly. The Icelandic volcano was one of those things back home that was a news story that seemed pretty bad, but probably couldn’t get a full appreciation for the enormity of it. To see their story was insane, to see the devastation it caused, covering everything in site with inches of ash, and melted glacial waters destroying roads everywhere. The footage in the film was amazing, both exhilarating and scary all at once.

David had one last surprise visit up his sleeve for the day. Knowing how much we loved our other hot spring pool experience earlier, he invited us swimming again. This time, we parked the bus and proceeded to walk into a valley for 15 minutes. We came across the most basic of pool, secluded from almost everyone except for a handful of those in the know. In we jumped and oh boy, it was bliss. Beautiful warm water to soak in and let the busy day just melt away.

It was a similar experience to some hot springs in Japan in picturesque locations, and this one was right up there. Another experience where words are pointless, and I will just close my eyes and thinks of soaking in that warm water again.

With that done, we then hit the road back to Reykjavik. On the way we did a small stop at some hot mud fields, with pots of hot mud bubbling away. We couldn’t really see much as they had roped off the main area. Seems the area is getting a little unstable presently. Oh dear.

Getting close to dinnertime we arrived back in Reykjavik, just 5 days after leaving. Seemed like both yesterday and forever ago.

To wind up the formal part of the tour, the 5 of us on the tour went out with David for one last dinner together to bring it to a close. Good times. VERY good times.

Holy moly. This trip has been awesome fun and suitably inspiring up to this point, but really, today was the day.

We kicked off early from our lodgings and headed to Thingvellir, the old site of Iceland’s early parliament. Ho hum, I hear you say. In some respects, before I knew too much that’s what I was thinking. But oh boy, was I wrong.

The site is actually a World Heritage area and is stunning. The area became site of parliament back in the mid-900’s (yes, 900’s, not 1900’s) as it was the convergence of a number of roads leading from all parts of Iceland. But I think it was so they could all kick back with some mead and soak in the amazing views.

The site is on a major fault line, and looking out over the valleys and estuaries, with mountains and glaciers in the background, it was jaw dropping. We got to spend quite a bit of time, wandering and soaking it all up.

In our wandering we got to see more basalt columns, more small churches, and more tourist centres. That makes it sound like it was a bit ho hum, but really, it was all really gorgeous and a great start to the day.

From there we jumped back in the bus and headed toward one of our more touristy destinations, but one I was really looking forward to… Geyser. From the name you should be able to guess what we were in for… one of the world’s most spectacular and regular geysers. The whole area was an amazing landscape of steaming holes, bubbling pots of water, and exploding geysers.

Strokkur is the big bad boy that blows every 5 to 15 minutes. What it made for was some shenanigans and fun photos. We were also actually apparently quite lucky as due to some slightly higher than normal water temperatures we were getting some amazing geyser blows. They really were spectacular.

We had a wander around the rest of the park as well as visiting the gift shop. Not sure what you all think, but I reckon this beanie captured my inner Icelander.

From there it was a stop for lunch and onward to our next jaw dropping destination, and one right at the top of my list… Gullfoss waterfall. Now I haven’t really seen any truly significant waterfalls, so this just blew my mind. The sheer size, volume of water, and the roar were incredible.

To top it all off it was just truly gorgeous to watch. You might think these photos have a bit of Photoshop action, but no. The sky really was that blue, quite a rarity for these parts apparently.

We had a bit of time to just soak it all up and get some awesome snaps, before heading off again.

What was amazing was the change in landscape after only 15 minutes of driving. From lush green waterfall areas, to alien landscapes. That seems to be the story of Iceland.

We continued to head south towards Skogar and our lodgings for the night. On the way we stopped in at another epic waterfall, Seljalandsfoss. While not as dramatic as Gullfoss, this one afforded a unique opportunity… we could sneak behind it!