GRAND TOUR OF ICELAND 2015 in 11 days / 10 nights

Aladdin's GRAND TOUR OF ICELAND 2015 - Back to Reykjavik

10JUL: VATNAJÖKULL NATIONAL PARK AND THE SOUTH (340 km)

Day 10

Visit Skaftafell at the Vatnajökull National Park, covered by ice and nestled below Iceland’s highest mountain, the Iceland map - Grönlandsresor

2,110 meter high Hvannadalshnjúkur. We walk close to one of the many glacial tongues in the area – a kodak moment.

We cross a sandy desert and drive along the south coast, always between the sea, mountainous cliffs, glaciers and waterfalls. We stroll along the black lava beach and bird cliffs near the village of Vík.

At the Eyjafjallajökull Information Center we learn how it is to live next to a glacier and an active volcano. We stop at the Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls.

Farwell dinner at a nice gourmet restaurant in Reykjavík and the night is spent in Iceland's capital.

Friday 10^of of July 2015 and today we could sleep until 8 as we were not leaving the hotel until 9 o'clock. The breakfast, as usually here on Iceland, a huge disappointment and I had my breakfast standing up as I just had a quick cuppa.

We left Hotel Skaftafell and our first stop will be next to one of the glaciers coming down from Vatnajökull not far away from the hotel.

I had managed to update my web page yesterday and I was almost up to date when the battery ran flat. We will have a farewell dinner in Reykjavik tonight. But I will go try to find a transformer to my computer instead.

Glacier ends in a glacier lake and turns in to a river going to the Atlantic

Glacier

One of the biggest reasons for the Icelandic glaciers to melt so quickly is the volcanic ash in the ice

Black ash don't reflect the heat so much and the ice is melting

Glacier

We drove up next to the glacier and we walked up a bit to have a look. We could hear some noises and it turned out to be some people climbing around on the glacier. They have volcanoes under the glacier, among them the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that closed down air traffic a few years ago and when they erupt it is easy to understand the amount of melt water coming down the glaciers.

We went back in to the mini bus/ van/ airport shuttle and we were soon on our way on Route #1 again. We will stop at a few places on our way to Reykjavik. First stop at a national park center for a movie. Then we will also stop at a few waterfalls and we will see a second movie at the Eyjafjallajökull Information Center along Rout #1.

On our way back to Reykjavik

Passing one of many glaciers

On our way back to Reykjavik

Passing one of many glaciers

On our way back to Reykjavik

A beautiful landscape

On our way back to Reykjavik

An old farm

On our way back to Reykjavik

Yet another waterfall

On our way back to Reykjavik

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

Dverghamrar

(Dwarf Rocks), just east of Foss, are peculiar and beautiful formations of columnar basalt. On top of the columns there is cube-jointed basalt. The landscape is thought to have been moulded at the end of the Ice Age. The sea level was higher at that time and it is believed that the waves caused the peculiar look of the rocks. Dverghamrar are a protected natural monument. Columnar basalt is formed when lava flow gets cooled and contraction forces build up. Cracks then form horizontally and the extensive fracture network that develops results in the six sided formation of the columns.

From www.klaustur.is

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop to look at Dverghamrar

On our way back to Reykjavik

Time to leave Dverghamrar

Kirkjugólfið

(The Church Floor) is in the field just east of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. It's an approx. 80 m² expanse of columnar basalt, eroded and shaped by glaciers and waves. There has never been a church there but the plane looks as though it's man made. Columnar basalt is formed when lava flow gets cooled and contraction forces build up. Cracks then form horizontally and the extensive fracture network that develops results in the six sided formation of the columns. Kirkjugólf is a protected natural monument.

Hildishaugur (Hildir's Mound), the mound of Hildir Eysteinsson lies a short way from Kirkjugólf. In Landnáma (The Book of Settlement), a medieval Icelandic manuscript, it is said that Ketill fíflski (Ketill the Foolish) lived at Kirkjubær, but Ketill was a Christian. Earlier, Irish hermits (Papar) lived at Kirkjubær and tradition says that the place was enchanted, so that pagans couldn't live there. Hildir Eysteinsson, a pagan, didn't believe this and attempted to move to Kirkjubær. When he set foot on the estate, he fell down dead.

From www.klaustur.is

On our way back to Reykjavik

We make a stop to look at Kirkjugólfið

On our way back to Reykjavik

We make a stop to look at Kirkjugólfið

On our way back to Reykjavik

We make a stop to look at Kirkjugólfið

Eyjafjallajökull Information Center

On our way back to Reykjavik

Dragon teeth cliffs at Vik

We stop in Vik for lunch, but as the restaurant at the service station was full, people queuing up from outside the restaurant, I decided to buy a sandwich at the service centre. I was at the fridge with my new friend from New Zealand selecting sandwiches.

Baguettes were dropping out from the fridge and landed on the floor. There was a guy inside the fridge, behind the shelves filling up the stock without looking at the shelf.

Me and my new friend were only looking at each others and the sandwiches that dropped to the floor. I had to look in to the fridge
- HEY! BOOZO!!

We enjoyed our sandwiches on the parking lot over looking the famous “dragon teeth cliffs down at the beach” We will go there after the snack break. Around the mountain to the “black beach” where there should be some famous caves on the beach.

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at the black beach/ Reynisfjara beach

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at the black beach/ Reynisfjara beach

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at the black beach/ Reynisfjara beach

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at the black beach/ Reynisfjara beach

Skógafoss

Skógafoss (pronounced [ˈskou.aˌfɔs]) is a waterfall situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline. After the coastline had receded seaward (it is now at a distance of about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from Skógar), the former sea cliffs remained, parallel to the coast over hundreds of kilometres, creating together with some mountains a clear border between the coastal lowlands and the Highlands of Iceland.

The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 25 metres (82 feet) and a drop of 60 m (200 ft). Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days. According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in a museum, though whether it gives any credence to the folklore is debatable.

At the eastern side of the waterfall, a hiking and trekking trail leads up to the pass Fimmvörðuháls between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. It goes down to Þórsmörk on the other side and continues as the famous Laugavegur to Landmannalaugar.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at Skógafoss

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at Skógafoss

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at Skógafoss

Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss is situated between Selfoss and Skógafoss, where Route 1 (the Ring Road) meets the track going to Þórsmörk. This waterfall of the river Seljalandsá drops 60 metres (200 ft) over the cliffs of the former coastline. It is possible to walk behind the waterfall.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On our way back to Reykjavik

We stop at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall - Last waterfall?

We stopped at Seljalandsfoss waterfall and we left the place at 17:00. They had told me that it was 1 hour from the waterfall to Reykjavik. Then they changed it to 90 minutes, well, 1 hour to one and a half hour. I just had a glance on the map to realise that we would never make it in an hour, and one and a half hour. I doubted that to, but I was hoping as I need to be in Reykjavik before everything closes

I was suffering from a severe case of “restless legs” and I really was eager to get off the bus, 9 days is enough. The only exciting on the way to Reykjavik was a baby horse and we also passed a huge group of horses coming along the road side.

I was so happy when I started to see buildings and I knew that we were approaching Reykjavik, but now it was almost 7 and ESKO will close at 7. Our Guide suggested ESKO for the transformer and we checked on line. This looked just like the place to find a computer transformer, but they close at 7 o'clock.

We reached Hotel Klettur 10 minutes before 7 and I had an express check-in. There were no parcel for me from Vogur Country Lodge with my transformer. I went to leave my bags at my room and I asked them to call a taxi. The taxi arrived when I was back down from my room and I stepped in to ESKO just a minute before they were closing.

The whole thing set me back by 200 US dollars, but I was very happy to finally have a transformer and a power source for my lap top. I didn't feel like going at the farewell dinner, I have had enough of the three course dinners. Yes, I'm feed up with fancy name for potatoes and other stuff.
Gourmet food, my arse, give me a “Bangers and mash” or smoked salmon with boiled potato any day of the week. Simple and good, like a sausage from Skåne..

I took a taxi to Elding's office in the harbour. I bought my ticket and they called the boat to hold it for a few minutes so I would make it on board.

We left Reykjavik behind for some whale watching a few minutes after scheduled departure

Darn, it was cold as soon as we left the harbour. I was freezing like a dog. And no signs of any whales. I spotted something and I screamed up to the look out
- 10 O'CLOCK! SOMETHING JUMPING!!!

The boat changed course and when we approached we discovered that it was white beaked dolphins jumping in the water. The look out said that there were 5 or 6, maybe 12. But we were soon realising that the whole sea was full of them. We were surrounded.

Well, we never saw any whales, but plenty dolphins and it was yet another whale watching trip on Iceland. The dolphins are much faster than the whales and they are very hard to get on picture. Most of the time they are out of focus. Anyway, I was back at Hotel Klettur around midnight. I asked for an 8 o'clock wake-up call and I will be off to Greenland tomorrow.

My Iceland adventure have come to an end, well, I will be back for more whale watching and Puffin tours in 2 weeks. But the Grand Tour of Iceland is finished and it have been fantastic, highly recommended. But please, make sure you go with a company that provide you with a real vehicle.

You just need to click HERE to see how the adventure on Greenland turns out


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OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? NJET PROBLEMA! Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

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