Thursday, October 5, 2017
We figured out early on that bakarà must translate to bakery in Icelandic, and we had passed at least one bakarà in our adventures getting lost the previous evening. So, we began our day by backtracking to the nearest location we were aware of for breakfast coffee and pastries.
We also realized early on that my Google Maps directions were going to be useless because I hadn't put in the exact address of where we were staying, so they were just trying to direct us from central ReykjavÃk. We were worried that the data charges for using the phone would add up, but we were able to figure out how to use the Maps app without incurring data charges. Or at least they were so minimal that Francisco's company never ended up charging him for them.
We hit the road heading north.
We were so excited to explore Iceland, so of course we made plenty of stops along our way.
Like our first of many roadside waterfalls.
And then there was this one.
Glymur foss was our first actual stop of the day.
Those colors though...
I quickly learned that it's damn near impossible to take a bad picture in Iceland.
Check out our first vlog of the day here:
Glymur is the second-highest waterfall in Iceland that is situated at the rear end of Hvalfjörður on the river Botnsá.
We spent a good couple hours hiking in the area, and it was probably the best hike we've ever done.
It was an amazing way to start our Icelandic adventure with some strenuous uphill climbing, a crazy log crossing over a river, and even a small cave to hike through.
The cave
The hike was fairly easy up to point where we crossed the river.
That was when the uphill climb began, and there was a series of ropes secured along the route that we used to help pull us forward.
Check out our Glymur vlog here:
We caught sight of our first Icelandic horses, and of course needed to stop and say hello!
We had a brief stop at Grábrókarhraun, a rough lava field covered with moss and birch growth. We were able to climb up the numerous staircases to view Grábrók Crater.
We stopped at a gas station to fill up and pick up some food. Enter this extremely appetizing photo of our order of gas station french fries with sizable dollops of all of the available sauces:
Whooper Swan
Our next stop was Illugastaðir on the Vatnsnes peninsula which is one of the best seal watching places in Iceland. The first thing we encountered in this area were these seaducks called common eiders. These are the most common duck in Iceland, and their habitat is almost exclusively on and around the sea. Apparently, there are eider farmers who keep watch over the nesting area here to protect them from predators. The eider down is a great insulator, and it is a valuable and rare natural product. The relationship between the ducks and farmers is built on mutual trust, and the farmers start preparing the nesting area for the eiders' arrival in April. Since there is such a large eider duck nesting area here, it is closed off from all traffic for most of May and June each year to allow the eiders to nest in peace and comfort.
Common Eider Ducks (Female)
We almost gave up and turned back along the trail to the seal-watching station, but we were definitely rewarded with seals by sticking it out and making it to the end. The only complication was that the seals are across the water, so you're going to want a camera with a decent zoom. At the time of day we were there, the lighting was not ideal and the zoom on my small camera isn't good, so this was all I could capture.
Francisco lined up some better shots.
There were a fair amount of seals, but even with a good camera, the lighting wasn't in our favor. Iceland has two breeding populations of seals. Harbour seals are the most common seals around the Icelandic coast followed by the larger grey seals.
Keep in mind, this was only our first full day in the country, and we'd already gotten the impression that Iceland's just kind of like "dude. go for it. proceed at your own risk. you might die, but at least it'll be doing something awesome. you only live once!"
This couldn't have been more true than at the Hvitserkur Rock Formation AKA The Troll of North-West Iceland.
It is a 15 meter high basalt stack on the Vatnsnes peninsula. The sea eroded what was once a volcano, and this volcanic plug is all that's been left behind. I think there are multiple ways to get down to this beach, but the path we took was incredibly steep and a little dangerous. I fell on my butt once, and there was an older man we passed going up while we were going down, and I was a little worried about him.
Our accommodations for the night were at the North West Hotel & Restaurant. We had booked through Airbnb, but this was the first time we had encountered what were more like hotels as an Airbnb listing. Here is the listing: link. At the time, it was only listed as a single room, but I emailed the host, and we were able to arrange for a room with a bunk bed and private bathroom for an extra 20 Euros.
Overall, our room was nice and clean, and we appreciated the helpful communication with the owner. It was definitely the first time in a long time that either of us had slept in a bunk bed, that's for sure!
Francisco got the top bunk
Our only complaint was that the shower was just a corner of the bathroom, so it's impossible to avoid the bathroom floor getting soaked.
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