Day 3

Another day, another adventure.

We started the day with breakfast on our AirBnb porch overlooking the vast land of Kirkjubajarklaustur (pronunciation not included for a reason). Our first stop off of the day was to a mini waterfall, Pjadrurfoss. After seeing so many towering waterfalls, it was nice to appreciate the simplicity this one had to offer. On our drive along Rt. 1, we found another field of flowers, which we have discovered to be Alaskan lupine, with a snow-capped mountain jutting out of the background. Iceland is notorious for open land and minimal fencing, excluding use for animal containment (even though we have seen many sheep wandering along the road). However, sometimes fences are meant to be jumped and new paths are meant to be made, which gave way to the views you see in the picture.

We then made the 1 1/2 hr drive up the coast to Diamond Beach. It is astounding to experience the variance in our surroundings, not only because of views but also the climate. We went from a hot morning on the porch in shorts and pants to being bundled up in multiple layers surrounded by ice. Diamond Beach gets it’s name for the chunks of ice that speckle the sand along the coast. And the seals that were playing in the water…PRECIOUS. Looking out into the water, we could see pieces of the broken-off glacier peeping out of the water every so often. And while my heart greatly appreciated the view laid before me, I could never imagine swimming into that water (like I thought one man was planning on with his shirt off near the water’s edge).

Our last big sight of the day was Fjarðárgljúfur (the infamous sight of a Justin Bieber music video which I don’t appreciate his presence there, but I will commend him on showcasing the amazing views this place has to offer). After a fairly intense little hike up the side of the mountain, the open grated ledges put you on the side of a massive drop off between two mountains of rocks. So looking behind you get a view of beautiful rolling green hills then, in front, a river of rushing water flowing between the channel of two rock walls. Just don’t look down through the grate…might make you a little queasy if you’re afraid of heights. I found another fence to jump over (well it was already plowed down so I really don’t feel bad about this one) and made my own path to the water at the opening of the ravine. And when in Iceland why not wade through the knee-deep water in full boots and pants to get a better view of inside the canyon. Experiencing the magnitude of Fjarðárgljúfur was worth the wet socks and water-logged boots. We filled our water bottles straight from the stream with pure glacier run off (one of my favorite aspects here is the Icelandic water).

One more day of true adventuring and I have a feeling it’ll be a good one.