Waterfalls, Glaciers and Black Sand Beaches

Saturday, September 10 

Today’s weather matched the beauty of the scenery as we again drove along the south coast, filling in some of the sights we bypassed yesterday en route to the Ice Lagoon. The day was bright and the clearest we’ve had here, allowing us to see greater distances, from the offshore islands to inland volcanoes, glaciers and ice caps. I’m sure they’d all been there when we passed by before; we just couldn’t see them!





We began with stops at two waterfalls, each just a short drive off the Ring Road.  At Seljalandfoss, the water plunged into a pool, which fed into a fast-moving stream.  There was a path leading behind the falls, but we opted to stay relatively dry and view it from the “front.”  The more frequently visited Skogafoss is high, wide, and thundering.  While Tom took photos down below, Mel took the 500-plus stairs to a platform overlooking the falls from above.  Up there, I could see rainbows forming, fading, and reforming in the mist.

This area has seen much volcanic activity and, while Katla, beneath the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, is worryingly overdue for an eruption, the 2010 blast of under the Eyjafjallajokull ice cap is well-remembered far beyond Iceland.  Its massive clouds of ash disrupted European air traffic for days.  (By the way, neither of us can pronounce the names you’ve just read – or anything else we’ve seen written in Icelandic.)  

We spent a long time atop the dramatic headlands at Dyrholaey, the southernmost point on the Icelandic mainland. We were high above black sand beaches pounded by white surf, arched rocks, and volcanic sea stacks.  Remnants of a World War II US military installation were visible, and a lighthouse tops a promontory.  When we turned our backs on the sea, we had impressive views of the aforementioned (but unpronounced) Myrdalsjokull ice cap, shining brightly in the sunlight.











 

Leaving Dyrholaey and back at sea level, we drove a short distance to Black Beach at Reynishverfi, which we’d viewed from above.  We had our lunch along the rocky beach, steps from the foaming waves and a large cave at the base of another promontory.

On the other side of the headlands, we visited Vik, with a simple church perched above the town and a black sand beach at its seaside doorstep.  We walked along the beach, enjoying the splash of surf on the rocks and the passing horseback riders.

From Vik, we reversed course and headed back, retracing our route along the Ring Road. The sky was beginning to cloud over, but we had time for a stop at Solheimajokull.  We walked the short distance to the tongue of the glacier, black with collected grit.  Only by looking at how tiny the
trekkers up on the glacier appeared could we get a sense of its size.

We finished the day with a stop to see some old turf houses up close at Drangshlioll, and then headed back for happy hour at home.