Day 4
We decided to go hiking again so most of our day was spent on climbing a hill. After a good half an hour driving offroad we came to our destination. Just a random place near a hill we pinpointed on google maps. It was morning so after a good breakfast, we were ready for hiking. In Iceland, you can buy all sorts of fish in supermarkets so one of our everyday meals was smoked salmon. In our home country, that stuff is pricey unlike there so we took advantage of it while we could.
our destination
So we spent a better part of the day hiking. It was really peaceful, just walking and enjoying nature and fresh air. There was nobody around us for miles. It was quiet like in heaven. No car sounds, no city sounds, just wind and coldness.
While hiking in Iceland we all agreed that it was somehow harder, we got out of breath sooner than when hiking at home. I don't know if it's because of lots of clothes or different air or funny soft ground.
Can you spot the boys?
It was a long and difficult climb, but the view from up there was spectacular. Again we awed the beautiful landscapes surrounding us. Down below we saw a frozen lake/river with blue-colored ice blocks. On one side we looked towards the open ocean while white mountains laid on the other side. To me, it was one of the best views I ever experienced. It felt like we stepped into the ice age. ❄️
Let me tell you, it's definitely easier coming down than going up. We used the technique run and slide on your but. You can check the video to see how that looked like.
Cold river at the bottom of the mountains
Later that day while riding west we stumbled upon a huge lava field. It was created in one of the greatest eruptions recorded in history and it's largest of its kind in the world. We were driving alongside that field for some 15 minutes so you can imagine how big it is.
The whole field is covered with moss which is super soft!
Day 5
When we woke up, everything around us was covered in a thick layer of snow and everything looked even more magical. First, we headed to Geysir in southwest Iceland.
There are many hot springs with boiling water, and one called Strokkur erupts every 5-10 minutes which was so nice to see.
Strokkur
The biggest Geysir is now dormant, but when it erupts, the water can shoot up in the air as high as 70 metres.
the big one
We became hungry so we made ourselves a quick breakfast, scrambled eggs.
Then we came to see Gullfoss (translated as „Golden Falls“), the famous scenic waterfall. I think we were lucky to see all these attractions covered in snow because it's even more beautiful.
We also saw a famous volcanic crater lake called Kerið.
You can walk around the crater and get down so you can get really close.
As the day was slowly coming to the end, we started to look for a place to cook something. The wind was blowing so hard and we couldn't find any shelter that would protect our flame from extinguishing. Eventually, we parked in one village and decided to cook in our car. We had one jar of pesto and a packet of pasta. We only had to cook pasta and then add pesto...so that was an easy one.
first time cooking in a car
When the night fell, we were looking at the sky and noticed something strange, some strips of light... It was aurora borealis! We were so happy and excited, we couldn't believe this was happening. I honestly didn't expect that we'll see this phenomenon because it's not that often and there are many expensive tours going to some places where maybe you'll be able to see aurora borealis. And yet, we saw it at some random place we parked for the night. We tried to photograph it, but it wasn't that successful. I couldn't get my focus right and I didn't have a tripod which is essential for this kind of photography. But, who cares, we saw it with our own eyes and I won't forget it for the rest of my life.
awful pics quality...but dream come true!
To be continued...
All photos are taken by us