Farðu sæl og blessuð / Go happy and blessed!

Part 3/3

We have learnt that Iceland is widely known as ‘The Land of Fire and Ice’ and the extreme contrasts in Icelandic nature are definitely having a huge contribution to that nick name.

The Icelandic landscape is characterised by a huge number of waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, black sand beaches, and steaming lava fields, reminiscent of an almost alien landscape. I’ve said too many times walking around this diverse and beautiful country feels as if we were on a different planet!

We’ve seen a lot in the first three days, let’s continue with the Intrepid Tour!

Day 4

We set off for magnificent Dettifoss, Europe's mightiest waterfall at 100-metres wide and with a 45-metre drop into the craggy shores of Jokulsargljufur canyon situated in Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland.

It is known as the second most powerful waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls, 200 cubic meters of water per second plunge over the edge!!! It is HUGE and so powerful that its vibrations can be felt underfoot, and when the ground is icy and slippery it’s even more scary! Incredible nature beauty at its best!

In comparison with the Iguazu National Park, we can say Dettifoss is definitely a runner up by its size and sheer beauty.

We continued our drive to volcanic Lake Myvatn in northern Iceland. It’s well known for a few things:

over 30 different duck species nest here, having such a large number of different birds nesting in the same site is unique in the world.
Mývatn Nature Baths have a naturally heated man-made lagoon, with mineral-rich waters known for their health-giving properties. There are many bubble lagoons, the smell of sulphurous is strong, it reminded us of Rotorua!
Game of Thrones was filmed here. Actually many locations we saw were famous movies shot places!

After a short drive from the Lake we arrived to Námaskarð Pass. This is a geothermal area on the mountain Námafjall. Connected to the Krafla volcano system, Námaskarð is home to many hot springs and fumaroles where steam rises from the sulphuric terrain and it’s hard to believe you’re on Earth and not Mars! This country is so surreal, whether you are walking on a volcanic desert, lava rocks, glaciers, moss rocks, around or under waterfalls, you always see something that leaves you breathless, fascinated and camera roll starts crying for more iCloud space!

We took a walk around the lava stacks and caves of Dimmuborgir and found one Yule Lad - check the photo to see if you can recognise which one?

These “ Dark Castles” are formed by lava, rocks are so high, vegetation grows well as it’s hidden and protected by rocks. Surreal again!

After another short drive we arrived to the massive pseudo craters of Skutustadir.

I thought for a minute why we need to see pseudo craters when there are way too many real craters everywhere we went?! What is this all about?

Well, this is yet another work of nature! Pseudo craters appear when lava flows over the shallow water, the water starts to boil and it creates little craters. Some of them have “nipples”, i.e. birds sit on top of a crater, bird poo is fertile and that’s why grass grows faster creating a “nipple”! The Mother Nature has it all under control!

These pseudo craters are unique in the world and many geologists come to view and research the soil. We went for a walk around them, apart from a pure fact of learning something new AGAIN, what surprised me the most is how calm the area was, and seeing the perfect reflection of hills in the lake was incredible! Just a few sheep grazing around and nothing else! Serene, calm, quiet and stunning.

Our last stop for a day was the crescent shaped Goðafoss waterfall. The Goðafoss waterfall is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. I couldn’t tell you how many waterfalls we’ve seen to date, but each one was unique, beautiful and colourful!

The history of this waterfall is connected to the conversion of Icelanders to Christianity in 1000 AD. Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, the country's law speaker, decided that the official religion of the country should be Christianity as pressure grew from other European countries with Norwegians at the forefront. In order to keep the peace, Þorgeir took the decision of conversion. Afterwards, he threw his idols of the Old Norse religion gods into the waterfall. The Icelandic word for gods is goð, and so the waterfall has been called Goðafoss ever since.

We then arrived to Akureyri nicknamed the "Capital of North Iceland". It is an important port and fishing centre. There are 20,000 people living here. It is situated at the base of beautiful Eyjafjörður (Island Fjord) at the end of the Arctic Circle, surrounded by steep mountains and in winter many people come to ski. It is considered as the best ski resort for local people, although you wouldn’t travel to Iceland to ski. During the winter it’s colder here and snow stays on.

After a very busy day and lots of driving we went to the Forest Lagoon and experienced a truly famous Icelandic thing! We enjoyed the hot spa in the open, located in the nature and among pine and birch trees overlooking the town, drinking cocktails and then giving a body a total shock when we decided to jump into a freezing cold pool to refresh after sauna. OMG, that was crazyyyy!

After dinner we got out at 10pm to see the Northern Lights as the app said the chances were high, but no luck 🥹.

Day 5

We left Akureyri in the morning and started our drive around the Snæfellsnes. It is a large peninsula extending from West Iceland, often nicknamed ‘Iceland in Miniature’ due to the wealth and diversity of natural features found there. The peninsula stretches 90 kilometres, and it sits within Snæfellsjökull National Park, which, in spite of being the smallest of the country’s three national parks, is filled with a few destinations worth visiting. The most historic of these is Djúpalónssandur, an arched-shaped bay of dark black volcanic cliffs, volcanic sands, and it is best known for the four lifting stones that remain on the beach from a bygone age. Fishermen would use these stones to mark their strength and gauge their suitability to work on the dangerous waves. It works like this:

If you can lift a 150kg heavy rock you can go on a boat and fish for free, 100kg at half cost, 54kg you have weak legs and 23kg means you are useless!

Did we try to lift them? Of course, you simply have to and we all ended up in the useless category!

We made a number of short stops and also saw a little church that’s been built with turf and rock as they used to build back in a day. I didn’t know turf kept homes very well insulated! They look like the hobbits homes to me!

We stayed at the farm and enjoyed a home made meal with our fellow travelers.

We got up at 1am chasing the Northern Lights again, it was definitely pitch black, activity was strong, but clouds were against us, so it was a failed attempt.

Day 6

We started our way back to Reykjavik and stopped at the yellow beach Skarðsvík that resembles a Mediterranean shoreline, enforced by its aquamarine, turquoise water and the surrounding dark, volcanic landscape. We saw seals enjoying themselves in their natural habitat, so nice.

Why is sand yellow here, and not black?

The science says it’s made of the cat fish poo! You decide if you want to believe it, I thought it was yet another folklore story but apparently not!

Slowly but surely we arrived to Reykjavik in the early afternoon which concluded our Intrepid Tour circling around the whole of the country in 9 days! We said goodbyes and went to town to help the local economy by buying a few small souvenirs. We both ended up with a new beanie and gloves, perfect for the winter on Jahorina🎿

In the morning we treated ourselves with a visit to the Blue Lagoon for a nice relaxing day before a plane trip to the next destination.

Blue Lagoon is home to one of 25 wonders of the world, it is a place where the powers of geothermal seawater create transformational spa journeys. The area is man made using the natural wonders. We bought premier tickets and it was worth it. With a nice bathrobe, drink and three facial masks we now look 10 years younger, just check the photos and you’ll see I am not kidding 😉!

That’s us for now, we’ve had the blast, loved every minute and are leaving Iceland with so many amazing memories and hearts filled with joy and heads with the new learnings.

I still stand behind what I’ve said - it would be amazing to live in Iceland for a year and see all four seasons first hand! Let me ponder on this dream for a bit…

This country is magical and I really don’t have enough adjectives to describe it any more! Icelandic people are lovely and kind, speak perfect English, want to ensure our stay is memorable, and they LOVE their country, their politicians and government, one another and feel so proud of their ancestors.

Icelandic folklore stories are endless, I often wasn’t sure if Jura was telling us another folklore mythology story or something factual! I love them, they are funny and full of character.

Apart from the fermented shark the food was delicious 😋 10/10.

Icelandic knitwear is amazing, but as always not enough room for everything that catches the eye! Thank goodness says Neb!

Northern Lights didn’t show up, shame but that’s life.

As a farewell Icelandic people have a saying - Go Happy and Blessed referring to old days when sailors and fishermen went out to the ocean.

I feel it is a perfect way to say bye bye to us, the European nomads, as we continue with our adventures.

Enjoy the photos, they are AMAZING, and thank you for your comments, emails and likes, keep them coming!

Photo Album: Waterfalls - Dettifoss and Godafoss and other smaller ones