Today was our longest travel day. We had our morning coffee and quickly packed our bags. We checked out of our hotel and drove into Reykjavík.
Our first stop was the Sun Voyager. We were able to park right next to it since it was before 9:00 AM. The Sun Voyager is a stainless-steel sculpture in the shape of the skeleton of a boat. It is right by the waterfront with a nice view of the sea behind it. The sky was gray, and we were not able to take in the view in its full splendor in bright light, but it was nice to see it up close and spend some time there.
From there, we walked along the waterfront towards the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. This is a beautiful building made of honeycomb-like glass panels. It looked wonderful, with certain panels reflecting different colors. The face of the building was facing east and would have looked even more magnificent with the rising sun on a clear day, but it was still cloudy and gray. There were a couple of sculptures around there, including Sellóspilarinn and another stainless-steel double helix.
We walked back to the Sun Voyager, picked up the car, and then drove towards Hallgrímskirkja. We found parking on the street as we got close and then walked. Hallgrímskirkja is a modern cathedral with a very unique design. It reminded me of the basalt columns we had seen at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland (and we would see more basalt columns at the Reynisdrangar Cliffs tomorrow 🔗).
After spending some time there, we bid Reykjavík farewell and headed southeast on Route 1 towards Seljalandsfoss. We stopped at Olís in the town of Hella to refuel and also packed a couple of burgers to go from the convenience store there.
Our next stop was Seljalandsfoss, a 200-foot waterfall cascading from a sheer cliff. There was parking close to it, and we had to buy a parking ticket from a kiosk. There was a path which led to a cave-like structure behind the falls to see the water falling from the glacier up close. We wore our rain jackets and waterproof pants, just in case. We walked up from the right and got behind the falls. It was amazing to feel the cold water being sprayed in the air. By the time we came back to the front of the falls, our rain gear was completely wet, so in hindsight, it was a wise decision to wear the waterproof jacket and pants.
From there, we started our long drive towards Diamond Beach. The sun was now out and it was a bright day. Unfortunately, we were going to spend all of it in the car. It would have been nice to have this kind of sunshine yesterday 🔗 or the day before 🔗 (or even tomorrow 🔗) when we were out and about, but c’est la vie.
We made a quick stop at Gönguleið um Eldhraun to see the expanse of moss-covered lava fields, and then another stop at the Skeiðará Bridge Monument, where there were fantastic views of the Skaftafell Glacier.
As we dashed east, we saw more and more vehicles heading back west. I was getting increasingly frustrated that we were spending the best daylight hours on the road, and I doubted if we would make it to Diamond Beach before it was completely dark.
We continued driving and finally made it to Fjallsárlón. We took the turn to the viewpoint, which was a gravel road, and we were not sure how far it would get us. We parked the car after some distance and ran towards the edge of the lake. We were right across from the ice shelf, and there were icebergs floating in the lake. It almost felt unreal. We were happy that we got to see this sight and made it here with at least some daylight left.
After some time there, we headed to Jökulsárlón. It wasn’t that far away. We parked at the main parking lot. Most people were leaving by the time we got there, but there was just enough light to see the lake with huge icebergs as they made their way towards the ocean. This, again, was surreal. We had never seen anything like this before, and it was well worth the long drive. We even saw a seal swimming around.
We took the car across the road to the auxiliary parking and then walked down to Diamond Beach. This was a black pebble beach littered with icebergs which had washed ashore after drifting to the sea from Jökulsárlón. I think this was also the first time for us to be on a beach in winter clothes. All the light was almost gone now, and we decided to start our long drive back to Vík, where we would be staying the night.
The road back was dark and lonely, but we were happy that we had made it there and had a chance to be up close with the glaciers and icebergs. We were one of the last few people going back east so late. A few cars kept us company on some stretches and then turned off at hotels and towns. We were by ourselves on the road for the most part. It was pitch dark outside, and the road had reflectors on both sides, which really helped us know how the road was going to climb and/or turn.
We reached Vík quite late and checked into the Puffin Hostel for the night. Our room on the first floor was small but adequate, with a bunk bed. The common toilets and showers on the ground floor were clean. There was ample parking in front of the hotel. We were too tired to go out and find some place to eat, so we decided to heat up some ready-to-eat meals we had carried with us for exactly such situations. We used the common kitchen and dining area for our dinner. After a quiet meal, we turned in for the night.
