After 9.5 hours of sleep, we managed to get the day started. We are nearly adjusted to local time but it still took some time getting organized to head out. We breakfasted on Skyr – if you think it’s the same as Greek yogurt, it’s not – and coffee and made some sandwiches to take on the road. Then it was on the road south toward the town of Vik where we hoped to find Reynisfjara – the Black Sand beach. It was close to a 2 hour drive along the two lane road that is Highway 1. Well I call it a highway because it was paved – many of the roads that turned off route 1 were not.
As it was another cloudy and grey day, we needed some tunes for the journey. Thank goodness for Pandora’s offline stations. So Foo Fighters Radio got us through the first 100 kilometers or so as we wound through the countryside, heading up and down hills, where sometimes it looked like the clouds were touching the ground. The goal was to start at the point farthest away and visit other sights along the way back. The scenery was interesting: if you looked out the passenger window, it looked like Kansas (flat and uninteresting) but if you looked out the drivers window, it looked like Scotland (green and hilly).
And when we got there, it was amazing! The basalt columns along the shore had spectacular patterns and the rock formations were stunning (and somewhat phallic!). The beach is black and the grain of the sand ranges from smooth black and grey stones about the size of a quarter or half dollar down to fine grains that look like pepper. The water is a clear, COLD, blue with crashing waves that can sneak up the beach and be dangerous. The warning signs actually call them “sneaker waves” because even on a calm day they can heave all the way up the beach and wreak havoc.
Next stop Skógafoss, one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland where the water drops 60 meters in sheets that are 25 meters wide. You can walk right up to the falls if you don’t mind getting soaked. You can also climb the steps to the top of the falls and look down on the magnificent scene. So you know we did – gotta go up! We also grabbed a quick bit at the bistro for the Skógafoss Hotel. I had to settle for a burger with no bun but it worked and was pretty tasty too. (For those keeping track of the Iceland Restaurant price index: burger and fries: $24. We did get the “upscale” burger that had bacon and bernaise sauce though.)
Moving back west along route 1, the next stop was Seljalandsfoss, another waterfall and a regular contender on the top 3 list. It also has a drop of about 60 meters but it’s a much narrower fall but with a very cool feature: you can walk behind it! Of course we did, battling with selfie stick toting tourists who were not prepared for clambering over wet stone and were so busy filming things that they didn’t really stop to appreciate the scenery. {sigh}
By this time the sun had broken through and the temperature reached a balmy 14 degrees! We continued the trek back west, stopping occasionally to check out a local wool market in Hella (meh) and visit the state liquor store in Selfloss. Wine prices were high (about $20 for a bottle that would cost about $15 at home) but nothing outrageous. Apparently flavored apple cider is a big thing here so we decided to try the pineapple and passion fruit flavors.
Back in town to look for someplace for dinner. We decided to try Forrettabarrinn based on review of their gluten-free friendliness. We went for the 4 course tasting dinners (about $55 each). Mine had duck salad, a caprese salad that I swapped for the quesadilla, cod with fennel, and Skyr mousse with berries. All very yummy. Frank had salmon, beef carpaccio, lamb, and creme brulee. Add his Brennavin cocktail and he definitely won the dinner war.
Then we wandered around town in the still-bright-enough-for-sunglasses daylight at 9:30 before heading home to wait for sunset. Although it was slated for 11:30 or so, a trip to the bathroom at 1:30 am revealed that it never actually got completely dark. Yes, the sleep masks are coming in handy.
Drove: ~390 km
Steps: 18,745 (8.9 miles)
Steps to top of Skógafoss: 427
Tour buses passed on the road: at least 10
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