08.08.2019
Hestakráin Guesthouse – Hótel Dyrhólaey Brekkum Vik I Myrdal 207 km
Getting up early this morning we packed up and got ready. A morning ritual during our road trip here in Iceland would become the filling of our reusable water bottles, that we had brought from home. Let’s face it, Iceland is expensive … Researching our road trip beforehand, I had come across the Kranavatn Challenge by Inspired by Iceland on Instagram. Kranavatn – Icelandic for tap water – is being promoted as a free, abundant, high quality product for consumption from any tap. The cheeky campaign urges tourists to drink more responsibly and use less plastic bottles. Take the challenge when travelling Iceland!
One way to save big in Iceland is indeed to drink the tap water. Being an avid traveler I am however usually careful with drinking tap water. At home I drink it and even on the ship in Europe I do most of the time, even though there it rather tastes … treated. But when in Asia or Africa – no way! Nevertheless, we took the Kranavatn Chellenge in Iceland and saved not only money, but also plastic. And Icelandic tap water is one of the cleanest and best tasting tap water in the world – pure glacial water filtered through lava for thousands of years … and it did taste good … I have to say …
Breakfast was at 08:00 again and of course we made use of the waffle station. Very yummy fresh waffles. The weather was good today – blue sky and sun, but very windy. A strong, cold wind that made me put the long undies on again. In no time we were all packed up, checked-out and ready to depart at 09:00.
Our road trip was leading us counter-clockwise around the Ring Road of Iceland and the first stage was skirting the southern coast. I had been toying with a half day tour to Vestmannaeyjar – Westman Islands – an archipelago just a half hour sailing from Landeyjarhöfn Harbour on the south coast. The biggest of those islands is called Heimaey – it is the home to the town Vestmannaeyjarbær of roughly 4000 inhabitants. It would have meant to drive to the ferry port quickly in order to have enough time on the island. But by the time I had figured out which tour to do on the island, the suitable ferry departures were all booked out. The decision was made for us – no island tour, but more geocaches along the road instead. And plenty to see there was today anyway!
We followed the main road leaving the guesthouse to the south and reached the Ring Road after approx 30 km. There we turned east – a very straight road ahead of us … I had downloaded pretty much every geocache along our route before and as we drove along, the markers would pop up on the offline map. There were not as many caches as in Germany, but most here were on strategic tourist points.
Our first stop was down a short gravel track – Urriðafoss, a waterfall located in the River Þjórsá. From the Ring Road the waterfall was not visible, but once we reached the parking lot – woah! A big waterfall – not high but long and strong! It was almost stormy this morning there! We were happy, we had several layers of jackets ready at the back seat of the car and I had my bopcap out as well.
The Fossafélagið Títan company was given permission in 1927 to build a power plant in Urriðafoss in connection with a railway to Reykjavík from the waterfall. It did not happen, but now Landsvirkjun – the National Power Company of Iceland – is planning to build hydropower stations on the lower part of Þjórsár River at Urriðafoss and Núpur. The proposed Urriðafoss Power Plant is expected to have a capacity of approximately 125 MW and a power-generating capacity of 930 GWh per year. The powerhouse will be underground and a tunnel leading from the powerhouse will open out into Þjórsá River below Urriðafoss waterfall. The waterfall is expected to disappear if the powerhouse is built. Local residents in the area are protesting against the construction in an effort to save Urriðafoss. While I understand the need for renewable energy – it would be a shame, if that beautiful waterfall would disappear … There was a geocache hidden near a viewpoint next to the falls. We almost got blown away by the wind looking for it- it was so strong!
Back on the road we kept driving and did a quick stop in the small town of Hella to find a cache near the Tourist office. The wind was calming during the morning and it got warmer as well. Of course, we not only stopped where there were geocaches. We wanted to see also some typical Icelandic Turf Houses and a good place to do so is Keldur. When we reached the small settlement of Hvolsvöllur, we realized we had missed the turn-off by some 6 km. No problem, we had time and turned around on the next opportunity and backtracked.
The side road we turned into was first paved and later a gravel track leading north-east towards the mountains. We met absolutely no cars, but when arriving at the end of the road the parking lot was full. We parked and walked the couple hundred meters to the historical farm of Keldur – always under the watchful eyes of a large herd of Icelandic sheep. Of course, there was also a cache hidden near the parking …
The Icelandic sheep is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep, which exhibit a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail, a mid-sized breed, generally short-legged and stocky, with face and legs free of wool. The fleece of the Icelandic sheep is dual-coated and occurs in white and a variety of other colors including a range of browns, grays and blacks. Generally left unshorn for the winter, the breed is very cold-hardy.
Keldur is a cluster of buildings connected by earth corridors and has supposedly the the oldest turf house in Iceland, one of only very few preserved turf houses in South Iceland. Keldur farm is a historical significant place, because here lived one of the characters in one of the most famous Icelandic sagas – Njál’s Saga – Ingjaldur Höskuldsson – from 974 until around the year 1000. In the 12th and 13th century Keldur was one of the manors of one of the most powerful clans in Iceland, the Oddaverjar Clan, and Jón Loftsson, who was their chieftain, lived at Keldur until his death in 1197. He was one of the most powerful chieftains in Iceland in the 12th century. The old farm at Keldur is managed by the National Museum of Iceland and can be visited daily during the summer.
Walking towards the church we came past a cute little turf structure – it is a 120-year-old mill house, which runs by hydroelectric power in Króktúnslækur creek. There are hundreds of springs at Keldur and the name, Keldur, stems from all these springs. The clear spring water creates the 2 creeks, Króktúnslækur and Keldnalækur, which in turn run into the River Eystri-Rangá. The water here is being described as the clearest and coldest in Iceland.
Further below the homestead across the creek the old lamb-houses – lambhús – still stand in the pasture and were surrounded by sheep.
At the farm of Keldur, there are the oldest surviving turf buildings of this kind in Iceland. The front buildings are parallel to the farmyard, which is a design which has been used at Keldur since the middle ages. They have been rebuilt many times. The present turf houses were built after big earthquakes shook the houses in 1896 and 1912. The ruins of 16-18 farmsteads have been found at Keldur.
Icelandic turf houses – torfbaeir – and sometimes referred to as hobbit homes – were built to withstand the brutal Icelandic climate, survive earthquakes and use zero energy. They offered superior insulation and ventilation compared to the more modern wooden or stone constructions. When the Vikings settled in Iceland they forested around 30% of the trees, clearing land and leaving a devastating mark on the natural landscape. Iceland had a large amount of turf suitable for construction however, and as many settlers were used to the idea of turf roofs from their time in Norway, this was an obvious building material. The turf house is now one of the most iconic buildings in Iceland.
The turf houses were all of the same proportions, regardless of class, social status or wealth. They were representative of a communal way of living in Iceland. All members of the family lived and spent their time together in the living room, the only room with a window, where they ate, slept, were born and died.
We did not wait for the next tour to start at 11:00 to visit the turf houses, but had a quick look around the rooms ourselves.
The church there was built of timber and clad with iron in 1875. The altarpiece illustrates the Last Supper. The church underwent repairs in the late 1950s.
Unfortunately, it was still closed this morning and we could only walk around and peer through the small windows. We also had a walk around the small cemetery behind the building.
Driving back to the Ring Road we stopped by the side of the road on the way to take photos of the Icelandic Horses in the pastures. They were very friendly and came right up to the fence to greet me.
The Icelandic Horse is just how Iceland likes to perceive itself – little but strong. They are squat and muscular and in winter they have long shaggy fur. Icelandic horses tend to be around 140 cm tall. Internationally, most horse breeds shorter than 147 cm are dubbed ponies, but there are also some other characteristics that make a horse a pony. The Icelandic horse is right on the limit – but all the horses in Iceland are horses, because the Icelanders say they are …
In fact, the Icelandic horse’s closest relative is the Shetland pony, who gets called a pony to its face, because apparently, Shetland is not looking out for its equine friends the way Icelanders do to theirs.
The ancestors of the Icelandic Horse first arrived with Viking settlers from the British Isles between 860 and 935 AD. These same horses are also the ancestors of Shetland, Highland and Connemara ponies. Genetically, these show some similarities to the Mongolian horse, which arrived in Scandinavia through Russia.
The Icelandic Horse is also unique as it is the only horse breed in the world that can perform 5 gaits – ways of walking – while other horse breeds can only perform 3 or 4. The common gaits are called walk, trot and canter, but Icelandic Horses can also pace and do what is called tölt. Tölt is the Icelandic word for the walk and also the only word for it since basically, only the Icelandic Horse can do it. Tölt is a sped up version of walking, but much more impressive as the horses lift their front legs up high and only one foot touches the ground at any time. Tölt is very useful for the often uneven ground of Iceland, providing a steady ride and was presumably especially needed back in the day when there were not many roads in Iceland.
Following an unsatisfying attempt to crossbreed the Icelandic Horse with oriental breeds, the Viking parliament Althing forbade horse imports to Iceland as far back as 982 AD to prevent the degeneration of the stock. This is the kind of thing possible on an island … As a result, this horse has been purebred for over 1000 years and there are remarkably few livestock diseases as well as very strict regulations about even bringing saddles or riding boots to Iceland. Due to the import restrictions, once an Icelandic Horse leaves the country, it can never return to Iceland either. This means that Icelanders going to riding competitions abroad never take their best horse with them since they will probably sell it after some competitions. The best horses are kept in Iceland to compete or breed.
Reaching the Ring Road we turned east again and passed Hvolsvöllur. There is an excellent Icelandic Saga Centre in the town for those who love literature and history – we skipped it. Hvolsvöllur is also home to LAVA – Icalnd Volcano & Earthquake Centre since 2017, which is apparently an impressive interactive museum, where visitors can learn about the earthquakes and volcanoes that shape this country. Not being so keen on museums, we also skipped that one and kept driving.
Some 30 km or so along the Ring Road we stopped at another waterfall. To road until there was pretty straight and the land flat – broad plains carved by glacial rivers. We saw the Seljalandsfoss already from afar – from the plains of the Markarfljót River the Seljalandsmúli outcrop is clearly visible with the Seljalandsfoss prominent.
Traffic had increased somewhat during the morning and most vehicles from either direction seemed to turn off towards the waterfall. The parking lot was full to the brim, but we were lucky to get a spot close to the entrance. There was no parking attandent here, but a ticket machine. No cash accepted here … I had to go back to the car to get the VISA card. It was a simple affair – stick the credit card in and it spits the ISK 700 parking ticket out which then has to be displayed in the car. No PIN code involved or pushing buttons … At least the parking fee included the use of the toilets … Toilets … I shall come to this subject again later on …
Seljalandsfoss is one of the best-known waterfalls in Iceland. It is 65 m tall according to the National Land Survey of Iceland and it is breathtakingly beautiful – especially on a blue sky day like today. A path leads close to the falls.
The claim to fame with this waterfall is that it is possible to go behind it. Mom stayed in front, though, and found a bench in the sun. I followed the hundreds of tourists in single file along the slippery path behind the waterfall. I covered my back pack in a waterproof cover and hid the good camera under my waterproof jacket before heading in. There were an Earth Cache and a Visual Cache set near this Seljalandsfoss – both just needed a photo taken from behind the waterfall …
The drizzle was only strong when passing right next to the falling water. Behind the actual fall it was just very wet with very little drizzle. That probabyly depends on the direction of the wind … maybe … Flash is needed for photos behind the waterfall, if you do not want the photos to come out looking like silhouettes against the waterfall, though … I only took selfies with my mobile phone and the flash did not work … so no photos of me behind the fall … just next to it …
It was very cool behind the fall. Unfortunately, I did not see a rainbow today. And it was very muddy along the narrow, rocky path … I looked the part after that little excursion, which only took 15 min or so. With the path being so narrow, there was not much opportunity to actually linger long behind the falls. Many tourist were competing for the best selfie spots …
The Ring Road had now reached the coast. On our right there was the sea with a magnificent view to the Vestmannaeyjar – Westman Islands – offshore. On the left the base of the hulking Eyjafjallajökull with waterfalls and glimpses of the icecap inland.
We stopped for a quick look at the Eyjafjallajökull Visitors Center. Eyjafjallajökull – Icelandic for Island Mountain Glacier – is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland. The ice cap has an area of approx 100 km² feeding many outlet glaciers and covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of 1651 m. The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period – most recently in 2010, which made it famous for its ashy explosion.
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused widespread havoc at airports across western and northern Europe over an initial period of 6 days in April 2010. From 14 to 20 April, ash from the volcanic eruption covered large areas of Northern Europe. About 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial jet traffic and it affected approximately 10 mio travelers. I remember that well, because I was changing from a river cruise in Germany to go on an ocean cruise departing from Genua in Italy. I was initially bitching, because they made me take the 2-day bus ride rather than a short flight. In the end, I was so happy to be on the bus … all the flights were cancelled or delayed and the guests were delayed by days arriving in Marseille or Barcelona instead of Genua and their luggage was not to be found for days and mostly being delivered to their home addresse, because there were no flights … It was a right mess, that was …
“The fact, that a cloud from a minor volcanic eruption in Iceland – a small disturbance in the complex mechanism of life on the Earth – can bring to a standstill the aerial traffic over an entire continent is a reminder of how – with all its power to transform nature – humankind remains just another species on the planet Earth.”
Watching the map for geocache markers, we stopped only a few kilometers further on below the Eyjafjallajökull to take a short hike. We parked the car at the end of a gravel track. It was warm now in the middle of the day and windless in the valley. Mom took her walking sticks and off we went. There were again an Earth Cache and a Vicual Cache located here in the narrow valley. Too late into the approx 1 km hike I realized we should have taken our bathing stuff with us …
The hike was beautiful, the views to the lava mountains magnificent. The path followed a small glacial river. Mom went with her walking sticks – not without complaining – but she did. I told her I was not going to hold her hand every time we went for a walk. We were not going to do any serious hiking or glacier walks or highland tours, but for what we did the walking sticks were in order. It was a good idea and we always walked slow anyway.
After maybe 20 min pleasantly strolling along we reached our destination – Seljavallalaug! Seljvavellir pool is one of those places many visitors in Iceland probably miss, because they are busy checking off all the highlights of the south on their list.
Nestled in a narrow valley below the infamous Eyjafjallajökull, it is the oldest pool in Iceland that is still standing. It was built in 1923 by some visionaries that wanted to provide the locals with a place where they could learn how to swim. Unlike today, where Icelanders will not graduate school without passing a swim test, most Icelanders didn’t know how to swim in the beginning of the 1900s which was a problem since many of them lived off fishing. It was important to get these things in order and those who built this pool knew that.
Today the pool is mostly maintained by volunteers and of donations, but a swim is very much possible while enjoying the spectacular surroundings. It is built next to a rock wall that makes up one of its 4 walls and the water comes from a natural hot spring close by. The pool is 25 m long, 10 m wide and even offers changing rooms, but no showers. There is no entry fee. Quite a few people were bathing – they had all brought their swimsuits … I was gutted … we had forgotten ours … But what the heck … there were no showers anyway and no guard … I stripped down to my underwear and in I went!
Spas all over the world are always touting the health benefits of bathing and geothermal water in particular is said to help with high blood pressure, joint problems and other maladies. There was certainly something depressurizing about paddling around in that glossy water although whether it was the water itself or the steady view of the surrounding mountains was hard to say. But my swim there was fantastic. The water was balmy warm and a cool breeze was blowing.
Mom stayed out, acted as photographer and guarded my stuff. I dried off with a scarf I always carry in my backpack – you never know what you need it for – and went commando on the hike back to the car. No problem, it was hot and sunny now and the suitcase was in the car. Nevertheless, I collected answers – photographic notes – for the 2 caches on the way. I put new underwear on in the car.
Another 10 km or so down the Ring Road we made another quick stop for a geocache close to the road. This one was part of a longer Icelandic Filming Location Geotrail and is hidden at one of the filming locations of Hrafninn flýgur (The Raven Flies), a revenge viking film from 1984. There is a huge rock in the middle of a field, with some old houses on the brink of collapsing built into the rock.
There was another car stopping as we got off. A family went straight for the spot I had in mind … I said to Mom – Oh no! They are looking for the box as well! Let’s walk around a bit! … But then I thought … what is the point … We walked around and I was observing them and when I was sure they had found the box I went in – Hæ! I see you found it! – Ooh! You looking as well? – Yes and I see you found it before me! Can I jump in? – Sure … It turned out, they were a family from Israel and as soon as they had signed the logbook and handed me the box they were off again … I did my duty and hid it well again …
We had been looking for a picnic spot for a while, but had not found one yet. Last year on our Road Trip in Norway we found picnic spots aplenty. But here they seemed scarce … It was by now around 14:30 and we decided to have a quick picnic out of the trunk of the car again just by the side of the road. Basically it was a quickly slapped together salami and cheese sandwich and a dessert of Skyr.
Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product. You have probably see the TV commercials around Europe – in Germany it shows this woman swimming in the icy waters of a fjord every morning … Skyr is just one in a sea of dairy products in the German supermarket dairy shelf. But here in Iceland there was not too much other yoghurt choice – Skyr in all variations … Skyr has the consistency of Greek yogurt, but a milder flavor. It could be classified as a fresh sour milk cheese, but is consumed like a yogurt. It has been a part of Icelandic cuisine for centuries. Skyr has a slightly sour dairy flavor, with a hint of residual sweetness. It is traditionally served cold with milk and a topping of sugar. Commercial manufacturers of skyr have added flavors such as vanilla or fruit to increase the appeal of the product. It was always a good snack en route during our road trip.
Shortly after that, we passed another waterfall in the distance. Having seen so many waterfalls in the last couple of day, we decided to skip it and only took a photo from the view point on the Ring Road. The breath-taking view of Skogáfoss Waterfall, scenic surroundings and the snow-capped heights of towering glaciers are the major summer attractions of the small village of Skógar. The beautiful 60-m high Skogáfoss Waterfall in the River Skógá it visible beautifully from the Ring Road – as is the staircase where tourists can track up to the top of it. If the sun conditions are favourable – a vivid rainbow is visible in front of the waterfalls – we could clearly see it from the road.
We continued along the coast and after less than 10 km we turned north again on a sidetrack towards the glaciers. There was another Earth Cache by the Sólheimajökull. Parking was free at a lot at the end of the road and we went for a little walk-hike again. Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of the mighty icecap of Mýrdalsjökull and one of the most easily accessible glaciers to reach. Approx 8 km long and 2 km wide, Sólheimajökull is an impressive feature. Due to the way it descends from Mýrdalsjökull, however, without a clear distinction between the two, it appears much bigger. Mýrdalsjökull itself has many other outlet glaciers – overall, it is the 4th largest ice cap in Iceland. Beneath its thick surface is one of the country’s most infamous volcanoes – Katla.
The nearby Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010 – Throughout history, eruptions there mean that Katla will also erupt – and so the volcano is due to go off soon … However, volcanoes and all seismic activity in Iceland is highly monitored, meaning that it is perfectly safe to travel around. Sadly, like all the glaciers in Iceland bar one, Sólheimajökull is shrinking rapidly. A glacier lagoon at its base reveals how quickly it is receding – the length of an Olympic swimming pool every year. It seems like this change is already an irreversible consequence of climate change.
Since it was one of the only places where we could walk relatively easy up to the glacier tongue, we took that short hike and walked the wide path above the glacier lagoon. It was a bit cloudy now and the icebergs floating in the lagoon were rather black. That of course, had nothing to do with the weather – it had been caused by different volcanic eruptions over the centuries and decades. The black ash has settled on the ice – most recently the ash from the close-by Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. The icebergs would be floating in the lagoon until they had melted and the water would be flowing down the glacial river to the sea.
I parked Mom on a big rock at the end of the comfortable walking path with a good few over the glacier and then walked the last 500 m or so to the ice. Sólheimajökull is a favourite place for tourists to take tours up the ice either for walks or climbing. Guides are trained well and all guests are equipped with helmets, ice axes and crampons. It is forbidden to ascend glaciers without the correct equipment I did not do it, but just walked the regular pasth up to the ice and watched the numerous groups ascend and descend the glacier tongues in single file.
I took some photos close to the ice and then walked back to find Mom and we headed back to the car. On the way back of course I collected the data for yet another Earth Cache … Oh, that geocaching addiction …
Continuing on the Ring Road the landscape was stunning – the haunches of the foothills rose to glaciers, mountaintops and volcanos inland, while rivers descended from mysterious gorges and courses across the broad sweep of pastures to black sand beaches and the crashing ocean.
By the road side I stopped for 2 more quick geocaches – one was just next to a road sign, the other one on a parking lot overlooking a river mouth. A bunch of Indian tourists – by the way there are many Indian tourists in Iceland … amongst tourists from all around the world of course – was cooking dinner out of their camper in the parking lot right next to the hiding place of the box. Well, never mind … I just walked right past then, found the box, signed the logbook and went off … they did not even look at me …
Shortly before reaching our hotel for tonight we took a detour to the coast and the view point of Dyrhólaey Peninsula. That is 120 m high and famed for its staggering views of Iceland’s South Coast as well as its historic lighthouse and wealth of birdlife. In ancient times, passing sailors used to refer to Dyrhólaey as Cape Portland. Dyrhólaey literally means – the hill island with the door hole. Our first stop was at the lower parking lot – quite frankly we missed the turn off to the upper parking. We parked the car and took a short walk to the view point. The vistas are magnificent – to the east with picturesque Reynisdrangar – an impressive rock formations situated near the shore – and Reynisfjara – the world-famous black-sand beach – in the distance. The tide was low and the black beach to the south was dipped in beautiful afternoon light.
It is a very popular viewpoint here – especially at this time of the day it seemed. Most tour busses stop here – it can even be done as a day tour from Reykjavik – believe it or not! The view sure is stunning!
An extremely cool rock called Arnardrangur – Eagle rock – sat right off the cliff. It draws its name from eagles nesting in the rock in former times, but they have not nested there since 1850 … But there were a few Puffins nesting in the cliffs and putting a show on for the tourists. Nesting season was nearly over, but some were still hanging around.
The puffin has become the surprising breakthrough star of Iceland. This beautiful bird seems to capture the hearts of those who get to know it. Iceland has the largest puffin population in the world and there are puffin colonies all over the country where the birds can be observed in their natural habitat – Dyrhólaey is one of them. Close to the viewpoint we could see some in the cliff. Very few only … not as many as last year during our Road Trip in Norway! But they were cute.
The Atlantic Puffin – Fratercula arctica – also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean. It breeds in Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and the Faroe Islands. Although it has a large population and a wide range, the species has declined rapidly, at least in parts of its range, resulting in it being rated as vulnerable by the IUCN. Spending the autumn and winter in the open ocean of the cold northern seas, the Atlantic puffin returns to coastal areas at the start of the breeding season in late spring. It nests in clifftop colonies, digging a burrow in which a single white egg is laid. The chick mostly feeds on whole fish and grows rapidly. After about 6 weeks, it is fully fledged and makes its way at night to the sea. It swims away from the shore and does not return to land for several years. The striking appearance, large colourful bill, waddling gait and behaviour of this bird have given rise to nicknames such as clown of the sea and sea parrot.
Toward the west into the sun we could make out the actual Dyrhólaey Door Hill Island with the cliffs. The cape itself is quite large and its promontory is the southernmost part of Iceland. Several outcrops are in the sea, the highest one called Háidrangur – High column – is 56 m high. Dyrhólaey has been a natural reserve since 1978.
When leaving the view point we noticed the turn off to the upper view point. It was a gravel track and stated 4×4 only. But well, we have 4×4 and ahead of us there were many regular cars. So we headed up the road to the parking lot near the light house.
Dyrhólaey is of volcanic origin and was once an island before joining up to the Icelandic mainland. It is home to a rock arch of the same name which is its most instantly recognisable and a result of centuries of erosion. In fact, this natural feature is so large and dramatic that one daredevil pilot even flew through it once back in 1993. Boats can easily cruise through its opening in good weather.
From the parking lot it was only a short walk to the viewpoint. It was very windy up there, but the view was wonderful. Of course I could collect information for another Earth Cache and sure enough there was even a real secret box hidden up there, which I found quickly. The view over the endless black sand beaches towards the west was awesome from up there.
A narrow 100 m rock spur stretches south out of the cape into the Atlantic ocean with steep perpendicular cliffs on both sides. Dyrhólaey was not only nicknamed Portland by sailors, but also British trawler fishermen called it the Blow Hole. There are a few rocks pillars south off Dyrhólaey and together they create an important nesting ground for colorful birdlife such as Eider Duck, Atlantic Puffin and Arctic Terns in the lower part of the cape. In high breading season the upper parking is closed off and the lighthouse is only reachable on foot. We were lucky, the season was over.
Overlooking the scene from the crown of Dyrhólaey is a lighthouse. It is a proud little building – squat and square, topped with a rampart and a giant lamp – spectacular and castle shaped. The unmarked front door is usually locked – What lies inside might be a surprise. Because rather than the lodgings of a lighthouse keeper or a workspace full of oil cans and machine parts, the lighthouse has been converted into a luxury hotel residence. Not sure, if I wanted to stay there with hordes of tourists swarming around it all the time. But then again … by evening they will all be gone to their respective hotels and it would be peacefully quite up there with only the wind whistling around the house … if there were not the loud rhythmic grinding sound of the huge lamp that will start turning with nightfall sending bright beams shooting out into the gloaming, alerting incoming ships that they have reached Iceland.
It was so windy up there! But beautiful! Before we got back to the car we could even spot our hotel for tonight and the Mýrdalsjökull Icecap on the horizon. Absolutely breathtaking view! Mýrdalsjökull is the country’s 4th largest ice cap, covering nearly 600 km² and its highest peak is almost 1500 m tall. It is most well-known for sitting atop the notorious and explosive Volcano Katla. Our hotel was very well below it, though, just off the Ring Road.
The drive down the potholed gravel track was more challenging then the way up. It was very steep with narrow serpentine bends, but it was no problem with our trustable Škoda 4×4.
It was not far Hótel Dyrhólaey, which was located less than 10 min drive from the view point and we checked in early. It was a rather large and a very new tour group hotel. Check-in was quick and we could drive with the car right to the entrance at the other end of the long building. Our room was on the 2nd floor with a nice view to Dyrhólaey. We did not have to make reservations for dinner, they told us, just come to the restaurant. It was also one of the few hotels we stayed at in Iceland, where they told us to safe hot water – here they did not have geothermal heating.
When we had turned off the Ring Road onto the road to the hotel all of a sudden the left front wheel of the car started making a very ear hurting screeching sound. It was driving normal, though. But the noise did not stop. After a few hundred meter however it changed and it felt as if a stone popped out of somewhere … but then it started again … Hmmmm … Once we had dropped off our stuff, we went for another visit and as we left the noise had stopped. Maybe there indeed a stone had gotten stuck somewhere and had fallen out while the car was parked for 10 min. Oh well … it was gone anyway …
We drove the 12 km to Reynisfjara Beach and the Reynisdrangar Cliffs. Reaching the end of the side road, cars were already parked along the side of the road a few hundred meters before the parking lot – obviousely many had the idea to come here late afternoon … Making a joke about the parking lot at the end of the road probably being empty, because everybody parked back here, I parked here anyway. Only to walk towards the beach to realize that there was indeed plenty space in the parking lot … So I went back and got the car and parked up front.
We walked with hundreds of tourists a bit along the black beach towards the cliffs. With its enormous basalt stacks, roaring Atlantic waves and stunning panoramas, Reynisfjara is indeed widely considered to be the most beautiful example of Iceland’s black sand beaches. In 1991, National Geographic voted Reynisfjara as one of the Top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet.
There are many rocky sea stacks sitting off the shoreline known as Reynisdrangar. These bizarre looking rock pillars are said to be petrified trolls that were caught outside at sunrise and frozen in time, but some strongly believe that they are actually basalt columns that were once part of the extensive shoreline cliffs that remained standing while other parts were battered down by the ocean. Another legend tells of a husband whose wife was kidnapped and killed by two trolls. The man followed the trolls down to Reynisfjara where he froze them, ensuring that they would never kill again. The Needles can be seen clearly from the shore and are 66 m above sea level at their highest.
Along Reynisfjara Beach are also the stunning Hálsanefshellir Sea Cave and the Gardar Cliff, which is composed of dark basalt columns that some say resemble a pyramid or organ pipes. These basalt rocks are perfectly shaped – It is hard to imagine that nature did this. But the symmetrical columns were shaped when – once upon a time – lava flowed out, cooled and contracted. The slow speed at which the lava cooled made it crack and create these hexagonal forms.
Everybody was taking their obligatory photo sitting or standing on a columns. It was quite hard to squeeze in for a photo of our own … Needless to say – I could collect answers for 2 more Earth Cache while visiting here.
Just while writing this I found a news bit online, that on Aug 20, 2019 a landslide went down on the beach … Hopefully it did not completely cover this beautiful site.
Back at the hotel by 19:00 we had a short rest and enjoyed one of our Icelandic Beers and the view from our room – I swear we saw our window from above the viewpoint by the lighthouse before!
Then we trekked through the long corridors of the hotel to the restaurant at the other end of the building. The hotel was packed with tour groups – plenty busses parked outside. Fortunately they did have a separate room for individual travelers – we did not have to sit in the large hall with long tables for tour groups. We splurged in a large Icelandic Boli Beer and a Beef Tenderloin with Icelandic vegetables. It was very good, I have to say.
Once again we realized how expensive Iceland was. While last night at the guesthouse we paid for 2 large draft beer, 2 buffet dinner and one dessert ISK 9000 and thought it was a lot … Today we shelled out ISK 13000 without dessert … Regular restaurant prices … probably … better get used to it …
Before sleep I sorted through photos and we also made a plan for tomorrow. Our next hotel was near Höfn and we would keep traversing the southern coast. The Glacier Lagoon Jökulsárlón was a must and I booked an Amphiboat Tour for 12:30 since all afternoon tours were sold out already. It would be a bit challenging since it was a 200 km drive to get there, but we would just get up early and not look for too many geocaches on the way.
