Waking up our last morning in Husavik, we cleaned up the cottage and headed out to the town to catch our Whale watching tour. On the way in our groggy states we headed to a gas station to get some coffee. Before even getting on the boat I get a preview of what a whale blow hole will look like as Aaron sneezes just after he takes a sip of coffee. The passenger side of the car was dripping with coffee… very entertaining. It was going to be a fun day.
Whale Watching
- The ocean was calm, but still chilly for 10AM. Lucky for us, they provide beautiful body suits.
- The sun came out and we had a great visual of the water around us, let the hunting watching begin!
- We see a Minke whale in the distance. Exciting, but uneventful. If that is I we were going to see, I wanted my money back.
- We then see some dolphins in the distance, but again, too far.
- Then we strike gold. Humpback whale was spotted and we got up close.
- We would see it blow, do a couple of small dives, and then go for a big dive where it would dissappear for 5 – 10 minutes. We managed to see this twice and get some nice shots.
- For some whale pictures, click here.
Asbyrgi
- At the northern tip of the Jokulsargljufur park there is a huge canyon that was carved out of the earth 8,000 to 10,000 years ago by catastrophic flooding.
- Driving in is quite beautiful since you are bordered by huge walls of rock and lush foliage.
- Where the water carved the canyon is now a trickle of a waterfall and a pristine pond of still water. The pictures really don’t do it justice. It reminded me of a serene Japanese garden.
Hljodaklettar
- Came across a backpacker and made sure we were in the right place after a rough ride. Take note, he comes up later.
- We headed up the west side of the park to this place where huge rock formations of basalt stand next to a river.
- The river echoes against the rocks making it sound like the river is actually on the opposite side of where it really is.
- There is a huge shallow cave that looks like it is a gaping hole into hell. Apparently the sheep used to take cover there during storms.
Driving to Dettifoss
- We read the book in not so much detail at this part of the journey. We thought we could travel up the west side of the park.
- We continued south and managed to maneuver the car through huge street wide puddles until we could go no further.
- We gave up and managed to turn around. Rocks were everywhere and at some point the puddles felt as if they would come up above the wheels of the car.
- When we got to the junction we saw the 4×4 only sign that we neglected to see.
- On the way out to the main road, we see the hitch hiker again. We recognized him so we picked him up.
Hitchhiker
- Israeli guy in his twenties in Iceland for 4 weeks.
- Basically at this point he had hitchhiked around Iceland with no problem.
- Iceland is so safe and everyone is so nice, he had no problem hitching and camping wherever he went… alone.
- He smelled. He was cute. Aaron was in love. (And at this point hasn’t been able to find him on Facebook since we can’t remember his name)
Hafragilsfoss
- The east road was a lot better, and way easier in our little Hyundai.
- This waterfall was pretty amazing. But only the appetizer to the next one.
Dettifoss
- This waterfall is the main course.
- Powerful and gushing. I think it is comparable to Niagara, although I am desensitized by Niagara now that I have seen it so much.
- The force behind the falls is amazing and the water that trickles down the opposing rocks is quite beautiful.
- This is glacial water so the water is a creamy gray.
After seeing the falls and finally making it there alive, we then deposited our hitchhiker at a camp site in Myvatn. We need to make it to Akureyri which was about an hour away to get to our next hotel. This is the town that has the heart shaped red lights in the street lights. Fun! We had a sloppy burger in a joint and watched Ugly Betty with Icelandic subtitles.
Daily Notes
- Couch surfing is a site where you can find a couch and/or bed to sleep for a night for free. We learned this from our hitchhiker.
- When the road says 4×4 Only, it means 4×4 Only.
- Aaron is a great driver on bumpy rocky roads, I was thankful to him for getting us through safely. It was quite scary at some points!