On the Friday, Brad arrived early morn into Keflavik and we were there, late, to pick him up. After switching our car for the piece of tin that goes by the name of Citroen, we took him back to Apartment K. If he knew what was our first stop of the day he probably would have stayed at the apartment. Or at least stayed in the car.
- Aaron had mentioned this waterfall/hike the day before. There is an easy route and a hard route. Of course the view was better via the hard route. We were invincible!
- The hike started out easy, once we found the parking lot.
- We had to go down a whole in a cave to make our way to the river. We thought that may have been the hard part.
- The river was crossed using a log and a wire. The book made it sound scary, but with my balance beam skills, it was a walk in the park.
- The hike up was hard and filled with many different routes depending on how hard you wanted to climb.
- Brad was cursing me because when I get in the zone, I just want to tackle it head on, and waste no time. So not only was he fresh off the plane, but he was doing the hardest hike we had encountered, and I wasn’t waiting for anyone.
- We stupidly underestimated the work involved in the hike, so we neglected to pack water, but that was fine with me! I would drink from the small streams and pool of water that was trickling down. The water was crystal clear, refreshing, and has yet to give me fun poop.
- The 2 hour hike was well worth the work. The highest waterfall in Iceland had cut its way through a narrow crevice.
- The view from the top was stunning and well worth it.
- The hike down was actually a little worse, we actually got our hands dirty.
- I think Brad may be still sore from that hike.
- I may have to name my first born Glymur. Love it.
- After the busy hike we needed some easy sites to see. The word “Geyser” originated from the name of the shooting steam and water located in Iceland. The original Geysir no longer explodes regularly. Maybe a couple of times a year.
- The active Geysir is Strokkur. It explodes every 5 minutes or so and pretty amazing to see.
- You stand there with your camera posed for a picture and suddenly you see the water suck into the hole, then slowly bubble up, then explode into a gushing spout of steam and water.
- I’m so glad that I got to see the real thing, and won’t just live life comparing a geyser to something I saw in an amusement park ride. It is really amazing.
- For a little slide show of the geysir, click here.
- Maybe I’ll name my second born Strokkur.
- The last waterfall of the trip, I was like: What could be so great about this waterfall after seeing the beauty of Skogafoss and the power of Dettifoss?
- I was underwhelmed at first glance. The falls looked small and I was wondering what all the hoopla was about.
- When you get a full view of the falls you see the second tier of the falls and it is totally breathtaking. And a pleasant surprise.
- The falls start and then appear to dissappear into the earth at a 45 degree angle from the first level. It was amazing.
- And of course you can walk right up to the falls and feel the mist of the glacial water against your face.
Icelandic Fish and Chips
- Numerous people had recommended the organic fish and chip place at the harbour. Also Aaron had read about it on chowhound.com.
- I had Ling Fish and the potato wedges.
- The batter was amazing, they make it with spelt and barley.
- You didn’t feel like you were run over by the Exxon Valdez after eating the fish and chips. Normally why I avoid them… and of course for health reasons.
- The fish was accompanied by skyonnaise dips made from Skyr which I have mentioned before. We had the mango chutney, red peppers and chilli and one other that I forgot.
Daily Notes
- Every bathroom that I encountered this entire trip was impeccable. And the toilets all had reliable flushes.
- Some times it is worth taking the hard/high road because at the end it is totally worth it.
- Service in Iceland is icy, for a lack of a better word. We always got good service, prompt service, but felt that the interactions with the service staff were always abrupt and like it was an inconvenience to them to add any extra personality to the conversation. Not once did anyone ever come by to ask how are food was. Except for the Indian import at Indian Mango who was delightfully polite.
