We took an early morning flight to Iceland and arrived just before lunch. We quickly made our way through the airport, picked up our rental car (from the nicest rental car person I've ever met) and were off to the Blue Lagoon.
The Blue Lagoon is a man-made lagoon, located on a lava field, that is fed by water from a geothermal plant and is renewed every two days. The warm waters are rich in minerals of silica and sulfur and people began bathing in the lagoon due to its rumored healing powers. At the lagoon we treated ourselves to in-water massages and a silica/algae mudmask - it was the perfect way to start the trip.
After soaking in the lagoon for a couple of hours, we made our way to Reykjavik and checked in at our AirBNB. We made an early dinner reservation that night as we had plans to try to find the northern lights later in the evening. Somehow we managed to eat our way through the tasting menu (8 courses!) in just enough time to make it back to apartment before our northern lights guide arrived.
We spent the evening chasing the northern lights ... literally. Our guide was constantly checking the weather, and 'activity', in the surrounding area to make sure we were in the right location to view the northern lights. As soon as something appeared positive on one of his devices, he sped off on the Icelandic country roads to ensure we were in a prime viewing location. Even though his driving was a tad crazy, his northern light spotting ability was excellent - we spotted the northern lights twice - the second time being more vibrant and long-lasting than the first.
The next morning we were up early to snorkel Silfra. Silfra is a rift formed between the North America and Eurasia tectonic plates located in Thingvellir National Park. Silfra is fed from groundwater originating as meltwater from Iceland's second largest glacier. The filtered groundwater (seeps through lava rock for 50-100 years) is exceptionally clear and provides visibility for up to 120m.
We drove to Thingvellir National Park, met our group and started getting geared up for the dive. For the dive, we had a down suit as our base layer and a wet suit as our outer layer. Our guide was very particular about the wet suits being appropriately sealed. Shane and I both ended up with additional collars around our necks, and my wrists were taped down, to enforce our wet suit seal. We then were given a hood and gloves. We looked quite ridiculous but the gear kept us as warm as we could of hoped for in the 2 degree celsius water.
The snorkel through Silfra took about 45 minutes and the views were absolutely spectacular! We ended in Silfra Lagoon and took in some above water views, and some last gulps of the fresh water, before exiting the lagoon.
After the snorkel, we changed out of gear, shared some hot chocolate with the group and then were off to the Geysir and Gullfoss Waterfall.
The Great Geysir seldom errupts but the nearby Strokkur erupts approximately every 10 minutes and is quite the site to see. We watched two eruptions of Strokkur before making our way through the rest of the park.
After Geysir, we were off to the Gullfoss Waterfall. The wind was intense when we were at Gullfoss so we could only manage to walk along the waterfall for a brief bit before turning back to the car for shelter from the wind.
Even though we were exhausted from the day when we arrived back in Reykjavik, we decided to explore the city and check-out the Church of Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja, and the Sun Voyager statue. After seeing the sites and wandering through the downtown, we grabbed a famous Icelandic hotdog and went to an American Big Lebowski themed bar for an early night cap - it had 20 different types of white russians!
The next morning we were up early again to chase waterfalls, explore the black sand beaches of Vik and discover the crash landing site of a U.S. navy plane.
Our first stop was the Seljalndsfoss waterfall.
Our second stop was the black sand beaches of Vik. We walked along the coast, climbed the basalt columns and took in the views of the unique basalt sea stacks and Iceland 'door'.
Our third stop was the crash landing site of the U.S. navy plane. To reach the plane, you have to walk 4km off the road and you truly feel as if you are in one of the most remote places. On our walk to the plane, it started hailing - we had to take cover in the plane!
Our last stop for the day was the Skogafoss waterfall where we climbed to the top to take in the bird's eye views. With the climb, we found ourselves quite warm - we may have been wearing too many under layers!
After Skogafoss, we headed back to Reykjavik. As it was our last night, we decided we had to have the best of the local fare and dined at a seafood restaurant.
We were off to the airport early the next morning to catch our flight. We could of stayed much longer and already want to start planning a trip back!
After soaking in the lagoon for a couple of hours, we made our way to Reykjavik and checked in at our AirBNB. We made an early dinner reservation that night as we had plans to try to find the northern lights later in the evening. Somehow we managed to eat our way through the tasting menu (8 courses!) in just enough time to make it back to apartment before our northern lights guide arrived.
We spent the evening chasing the northern lights ... literally. Our guide was constantly checking the weather, and 'activity', in the surrounding area to make sure we were in the right location to view the northern lights. As soon as something appeared positive on one of his devices, he sped off on the Icelandic country roads to ensure we were in a prime viewing location. Even though his driving was a tad crazy, his northern light spotting ability was excellent - we spotted the northern lights twice - the second time being more vibrant and long-lasting than the first.
The next morning we were up early to snorkel Silfra. Silfra is a rift formed between the North America and Eurasia tectonic plates located in Thingvellir National Park. Silfra is fed from groundwater originating as meltwater from Iceland's second largest glacier. The filtered groundwater (seeps through lava rock for 50-100 years) is exceptionally clear and provides visibility for up to 120m.
We drove to Thingvellir National Park, met our group and started getting geared up for the dive. For the dive, we had a down suit as our base layer and a wet suit as our outer layer. Our guide was very particular about the wet suits being appropriately sealed. Shane and I both ended up with additional collars around our necks, and my wrists were taped down, to enforce our wet suit seal. We then were given a hood and gloves. We looked quite ridiculous but the gear kept us as warm as we could of hoped for in the 2 degree celsius water.
The snorkel through Silfra took about 45 minutes and the views were absolutely spectacular! We ended in Silfra Lagoon and took in some above water views, and some last gulps of the fresh water, before exiting the lagoon.
After the snorkel, we changed out of gear, shared some hot chocolate with the group and then were off to the Geysir and Gullfoss Waterfall.
After Geysir, we were off to the Gullfoss Waterfall. The wind was intense when we were at Gullfoss so we could only manage to walk along the waterfall for a brief bit before turning back to the car for shelter from the wind.
Even though we were exhausted from the day when we arrived back in Reykjavik, we decided to explore the city and check-out the Church of Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja, and the Sun Voyager statue. After seeing the sites and wandering through the downtown, we grabbed a famous Icelandic hotdog and went to an American Big Lebowski themed bar for an early night cap - it had 20 different types of white russians!
The next morning we were up early again to chase waterfalls, explore the black sand beaches of Vik and discover the crash landing site of a U.S. navy plane.
Our first stop was the Seljalndsfoss waterfall.
Our second stop was the black sand beaches of Vik. We walked along the coast, climbed the basalt columns and took in the views of the unique basalt sea stacks and Iceland 'door'.
Our third stop was the crash landing site of the U.S. navy plane. To reach the plane, you have to walk 4km off the road and you truly feel as if you are in one of the most remote places. On our walk to the plane, it started hailing - we had to take cover in the plane!
Our last stop for the day was the Skogafoss waterfall where we climbed to the top to take in the bird's eye views. With the climb, we found ourselves quite warm - we may have been wearing too many under layers!
After Skogafoss, we headed back to Reykjavik. As it was our last night, we decided we had to have the best of the local fare and dined at a seafood restaurant.
We were off to the airport early the next morning to catch our flight. We could of stayed much longer and already want to start planning a trip back!
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