Iceland Part 3
Be sure to read parts one and two of this series!
Day 3 in Iceland was an open one for our Groupon. We decided to fill it with a bus tour of the south coast, from Reykjavik to Vik. We went with Reykjavik Excursions on this tour and had an awesome time. The tour used the few hours of sunshine well and we crammed two waterfalls, a glacier, and a black sand beach into the day. The first waterfall was Skogafoss, which, according to the tour website, “was featured in Thor: The Dark World and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” I just appreciated that you could walk up the hill beside the waterfall and look down on it. So magnificent! Mr. C. did not appreciate this as much, something about heights…
Our second stop was for lunch at a black sand beach with striking basalt columns, like the ones Giant’s Causeway in Ireland is famous for (keep an eye out for my Throwback Thursday post on that trip!). We had lunch here, an uninspiring meal, but the view made up for it. Heed the warning about the wind and the water from the tour company though and don’t get to close to the waves! The wind is feisty.
On our way back towards Reykjavik we had two stops. The first was at Reynisdrangar glacier, where we were struck by an unexpected mini-snowstorm on an otherwise sunny day. Though, in retrospect, perhaps we should’ve expected a mini-snowstorm during the winter, in Iceland, while walking up to a glacier. That actually kind of screams snowstorm. The squall did not impede our visit though and I touched a glacier! Also, did you know they’re blue? What a blue too, incredible. I look like an icicle, but it was worth it.
We defrosted in the bus on our way to our last stop, Seljanlandsfoss. A waterfall spawned by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano (the one that erupted a few years back and totally messed up
I would highly recommend this tour if you only have a day to spare and want to see some of the dramatic landscape of Iceland. If you have more than a day, make me jealous and drive it yourself!
Back in Reykjavik, we warmed up and dried off before heading to dinner at Grillmarkadurinn. If you are vegetarian, do not go here (well, you could, but it might be somewhat less exciting). If you eat meat, you must go here. It is one of the top five meals I have ever eaten, and I eat a lot. They have an a la carte menu and a tasting menu that changes frequently, we had puffin sliders, minke whale steak, ribs, fish… (yes, I know we are horrible people), a dessert platter, some delicious beer… Excuse me while I buy a flight to Iceland to go back and eat dinner there right now. I’m not kidding, so good we considered getting married in Iceland so we could have our reception here.
Iceland does not disappoint. We had four days, and are longing to go back. I’d like to drive, and camp next time. When are you going?
