Iceland diary : 2 Weeks

 

Apr. 30th - Day 1

The bucket list country for a long, long time. Doesn't feel real, but going through the motions of checking in, security, going to the gate... Board the flight! Still doesn't feel real. But then thoughts of not being well prepared enough for the cold, not having a fixed plan interrupt. After all, it is going to be a long trip, and we have an additional challenge added to this trip via the campervans. That is going to be an entirely new experience.

Then after some time, we get a glimpse of the landmass. Or should I say ice-mass! Wonderful ice and snow-capped mountains as far as the eyes can see! As we near our destination, we can see endless stretches of nothing but brown barren fields dotted with pointy small hills. Enough to give us a tasting menu of what is to come.

We land at Keflavík's small airport. Then we go out to pick up our rental campervans. We get the car which is going to be our home for the next two weeks. Pretty basic configuration: two seats at the front and a double bed at the back, with some storage underneath. There is also a kitchen set. And so we take off and go towards Reykjavik city. We stop in between and stock up on some food for the next few days. We have some dinner and decide to spend our first night at a campsite outside the city. There is a hot kitchen where we sit for some time and decide to retire after some time. The heater in our van is really good, and we get a good night's sleep.

May 1st - Day 2

After a nice, cozy sleep, we head out on our first full day in Iceland. The plan for the day is the Golden Circle, the most obvious and touristy start to our trip. But what we didn't anticipate is that our very first location is going to be an off-road drive. After 4 km of gravel, we stop our cars and make our way on foot to Reykjadalur hot springs. We spend an hour walking around and taking in the unworldly landscape around us. The valley below us winds between the mountains and is dotted with gusts of smoke from the natural springs. We get to see a place where the water is bubbling at a high temperature. We walk back on dried mossy soft fields to our cars after sometime.

The next stop is Kerid Crater. It is an old volcano crater which is now a lake. After a quick sandwich for lunch, we walk around the crater with deep blue water at the bottom. Once again, another natural phenomenon that we don't normally see so often.

We then go to our first waterfall of the trip, Oxararfoss, a beautiful waterfall which flows down and runs along a canyon downstream.

Then we go to Silfra, where we see the Northern Atlantic continental plates drift apart. On one side of the bridge is the North American tectonic plate and on the other is the European side. It is a quiet and very unassuming spot but hides such huge geographical importance.

After that, we make our way to another of nature's wonders, the geysers. The Great Geysir here stopped "geysering" around the year 1967-69. The other one which is still active is Strokkur. It erupts like a fountain with hot water and smoke. Definitely a sight to be seen! Once we see the geyser spurt a few times, we decide to call it a day. To our surprise, the campsite we went to has a hot tub, and there was no other discussion. We just jumped at the chance, got into the tub and relaxed in the pool for some time. Then we have some dinner, and hit the bed.

May 2nd - Day 3: Day of Waterfalls

Gullfoss: Massive, humongous grandeur. Gushing waters from a cascade of waterfalls in multiple steps. There is a trekking path that takes us very near to the first big waterfall. Spectacular views and the mist rising from the crashing falls hit our faces.

From here, we decide to drive to our next destination, another waterfall. But as luck would have it, we pass the Secret Lagoon on our way and decide we need to take a dip in the oldest thermal pool in Iceland. The hot springs around the pool are cleverly used to mix with cool water to create a comfortable temperature. The pool is idyllic and relaxing. Definitely worthy of a detour.

Seljalandsfoss: This waterfall is unique in that we can walk behind it. The climb is a simple one, and seeing the falls from multiple sides with light hitting it from different directions and intensities creates a magical view regardless of where we stand. There is a rainbow in front of it due to the mist rising from the falls, making it even more magical.

Gljúfrabúi: This is a short walk from the previous falls. This one falls inside a cave! The water has carved itself through the mountains and forms a small canyon. Once inside this canyon, the water falls into a small pool below. There is a huge rock in the pool, which makes it an amazing spot to admire the cascade and click some beautiful photos.

Skógafoss: This is another half-hour drive away. Another stunning beauty of a waterfall. A huge curtain of water falls from the tall mountain! Magnificent due to its height. Clearly, the land is blessed with drool-worthy waterfalls dotting the desolate landscape.

The evening turns anxious as we couldn't find any open campsite in the vicinity. Ultimately, we decide to stay at a closed campsite in Vik where many other campers have also decided to park. We have a quick dinner and are done for the day.

May 3rd - Day 4: Glacier Day

We start the day with excitement for the booked glacier tour. But before we go there, we have a stop in between: Fjadrargljufur Gorge. The receding glacier has formed this beautiful gorge. There is a small 2 km hike to the last viewpoint. There is a waterfall there that flows through the gorge.

Then we head to the main event of the day. The tour starts from the company's office, where we are given suitable safety gear for the hike. We strap into the harness, feeling a rush of excitement. We are then ushered into a cool-looking AWD bus. The bus takes us around 20 minutes on the road and then turns into a path leading to the glacier. At the end of the rocky road, we are split into groups and led by a professional climber. We look at the glacier so close, just ahead of us, and see the other climbers like tiny ants high upon the glacier. Are we really going there?! After a small hike through the rocky terrain, our leader instructs us on how to wear the spikes on our boots. From here, we partially step onto ice and slush. After just a short climb, we see an opening in the glacier. We go down just enough to enter the cave. Some things in nature just can't be expressed with words. There we are, standing below a glacier. The entire cave is a dull blue and at the same time so transparent that we can see through it. We stay inside for roughly 10 minutes, just marveling at the formations around us. Then it is time for us to make our way onto the glacier.

We first climb onto the lower glacier sheets, then slowly make our way onto the "real" glacier. The Skaftafell glacier is one outflow from the largest icecap in Europe. The ice formations, small water pools, sudden deep crevices created by melting waters, and steep ridges are all just magical. Standing there feels surreal. In a way, for us to experience this, the earth had to evolve through eons and eons. It is a humbling experience. Just as we are about to make our way down, our leader takes us to a "new find" area as a surprise. The glacier walls wrap around us, and we have to squeeze through a narrow channel. An adrenaline-pumping experience. Even as we are just soaking in the views, it is time to get back down. We climb down, and I look back for one last close-up view of the glacier and thank Mother Nature that I was able to experience this up close, followed by a silent prayer for it to continue existing in all its glory. We then drive to another outlet glacier. Here, the glacier is closest to the ocean, so the ice melts and forms two large glacier lakes. Once again, the view in front of us looks straight out of some documentary. The icebergs float in the lake in different colors and sizes, carved by the thawing and melting ice, each floating peacefully. The bigger lake, Jökulsárlón, joins the ocean, and the icebergs are carried into the ocean. Right at the ocean is a black sand beach. The icebergs that have washed ashore look like ice sculptures in a museum, some clear and transparent and some clouded with air. The beach is rightly called Diamond Beach since these icebergs are strewn across like diamonds. Something very unique. We decide to drive to our next spot and camp there for the night: Vestrahorn Camp.

May 4th - Day 5: Drive Day

Our campsite is conveniently located near the next attraction we have planned for the day, so we set out directly to the black sand beach. The first stop is the Viking Village. This was a set created for an unmade film, and they have just let nature take over here. It looks eerie and abondonded but gave a glimpse of how a Viking dwelling would maybe look like.

A short walk later, we are at the beach. The black mounds of sand with odd grass growing on top of them, surrounded by the Vestrahorn mountain, make the beach look so vast. We can walk for kilometers. There is also a lighthouse at the end of the beach, said to be the southernmost point of Iceland.

We drive towards Egilsstaðir and decide to stop if we see any signs of attractions. After about a half-hour drive, we stop for a waterfall. Here, the waterfall has once again carved the rocks and made a concave cave so that we can almost go behind the fall. After that, we continue ahead and stop for a beautiful picnic lunch with a view of the sea on one side and the mountain on the other. After that, we proceed to another waterfall on the way. We lose our way finding the waterfall but end up catching another one, making it worth the detour.

The drive along the Atlantic coast is just wonderful, with jagged cliffs and the ocean below and serpentine roads above them. On the way, we stop once more at yet another jaw-dropping waterfall. We have simply lost count of the number of waterfalls along the way.

The way ahead to Egilsstaðir involves climbing a mountain. The roads are gravel, with a slowly changing landscape. After some climbing, the snow on either side of the road starts increasing in height. The visibility also progressively worsens. The drive is slow and intense. After a long drive, we finally reach our campsite. This is a bigger campsite, and we do our laundry, have dinner, and unwind a bit since the common rooms are big and warm.

May 5th - Day 6:

We leave from our campsite after breakfast towards Studlagil. It's a half-hour drive away. There is some confusion if we can reach it on foot to get a closer look and go into the canyon or drive ahead and see it from above from the viewing platform. The hike route was closed due to bad roads and thawing snow. We arrive at the viewing platform to see the basalt columns forming a canyon. The pattern of the columns almost looks artificial. Just long pentagonal columns lined up next to each other exquisitely and forming waves in some places and standing tall in others. It's too bad we couldn't get into the canyon for a better view.

After a quick lunch, our next spot is a bit of a drive. The drive though is just endless fields of snow and ice lakes and surrounded by huge mountains. The landscape is the same for endless stretches till the eyes can see. After some time, there is a change in the landscape. One red mountain stands out because it isn't covered in snow like the others. As we drive closer, we understand why. The whole mountain is fuming sulfur smoke, and it is so pungent. Hverir thermal springs. The entire region has so many sulfur chimneys and ponds of boiling semi-liquid sulfur which looks like cement. We walk around for a while, but since the smoke is getting too pungent, we have to leave before anyone gets nauseous.

Our next stop is a geothermal lake with a twist. The lake is inside a cave underground. With the sunlight falling into it from two openings on the side, the waters inside are illuminated with a blue hue with wisps of steam rising from it. The caves were a popular spot for the locals as baths in the 60s and 70s. But after a nearby volcano erupted, the waters became considerably hotter and since then not suitable for bathing. We marvel once again at the constantly changing nature of the region. A unique wonder, one that we don't even know exists. Nature keeps surprising us around every corner on this island.

Our next stop is the above-mentioned volcano crater. This volcano was an explosive volcano and due to that, the mountain looks like the top has been chopped off. We climb to the top and stand at the lip of the crater only to realize how huge it was. The circumference is around 2km. The crater below still has a small hill inside typical of an exploding volcano. As we climb down, we have a beautiful view of Lake Myvatn and lava fields all around for acres together. It is one of the largest lakes in the geothermal area.

After the long day, we decide to relax at one of the baths named after the lake. Myvatn natural baths. The water is light blue in color, and the entire pool is heated with natural springs around it. It sits atop a small hill and overlooks a beautiful valley with picturesque snow-capped mountains behind. The cherry on the top was the beautiful sunset we could see from the pools.

From there we head to a nearby campsite and have our dinner and go to sleep.

May 6th - Day 7: Whale Day!

We woke up the next day all excited and hopeful. We had an eventful day planned ahead of us.

We start by going to the first attraction of the day, Dettifoss waterfall. It's called the most powerful waterfall in all of Europe. We have to make our way through the snow and sleet to reach it. It's around a 20-minute walk to reach it. Once again, it's a roaring massive waterfall thundering below the rocky mountains. The snow thawing all around it creates mini waterfalls, all of which feed the bigger one. It's getting tougher by the day to keep track of all the waterfalls! After a short walk, once again, we see another huge waterfall called Selfoss, this one just a little upstream from the other one.

We then make our way towards the north. We drive around 45 minutes, and we are at Asbyrgi canyon. This is a horseshoe-shaped canyon inside of which is an overgrown forest. We drive into the canyon and along the tall walls on either side formed by crazy boulder-like layers of rocks. We stop there for a short hike, at the end of which is a waterfall at the very head of the canyon. We then make our way back and stop for a quick lunch.

Our next stop is Husavik. This town is apparently called the whale capital of the world, and the bay in front of the town is called Skafandi Bay. This bay was said to host many different species of whales in every feeding season. So naturally, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. We have a 2-hour tour booked on a speed rib boat. We are given warm waterproof overalls to suit up. Once we boarded, the enthusiastic tour guide explained the safety precautions, and we were off. The first stop was an island where the puffins were nesting this season. So there are around 100,000 puffins there, according to them. The island is covered with these birds. They were flying around, floating in the sea, flying around us, and it was a spectacle.

From there, we move on to see something bigger. A lot bigger. The speedboat powers on and speeds into the bay and moves towards the deeper oceans. We see other boats also at a distance stopping and trying to spot them. We squint to see if we can see what they are trying to see, and we get a very quick first glimpse of a humpback whale. But it was very far away. But our boat guide was in no mood to stop. He said he has bigger plans for us, and we are all really pumped. Once we are at a certain depth, the spotters are really alert and try to spot the spurt of the whale. Then suddenly at a distance, we see a huge spurt and see the back of something enormous. Now that we have a first glimpse, the speedboat rushes to where we see the whale. We stop nearby, and the guide explains to us that what we saw was the blue whale. The biggest creature that has ever lived on this earth. Even dinosaurs weren't as big as this behemoth. He says that they usually have 10 mins in between sightings but cannot say where they will surface to take its breath. So we wait eagerly. The next time we spot it, it has moved a great distance away. So full pelt towards it once again, and this time we are near enough to hear it breathe. The size of it is just mind-boggling. It takes 3 long breaths and starts diving in again. Just being so close to it we are really overwhelmed and moved to tears. This bluey has been roaming around this bay from the past fortnight and we counted ourselves extremely lucky to see it. We wait another 10 mins for the next sighting, and this time it's even closer, and it really took its time and almost felt like it put up a show for us. We leave the blue whale alone and move on more towards the bay on search of humpbacks. Once again we get lucky, and we spot them a few times next to each other. We head back after we see the whales to our heart's content. All of us had stupid grins pasted on our faces and were just overjoyed at such a thrilling experience.

From there, we drive to Godadoss. Another waterfall. Another stunning beauty. I can just keep repeating the same about every waterfall. We make it to another campsite at Akkureyri and discuss our crazy experience of the day and go to sleep.

May 7th - Day 8: Drive Day

We had a long drive ahead of us, and truthfully it was a good day for spending in the car as it was cold, windy, and raining the whole day. Even then, we made it to Reykjafoss, another waterfall, but this time there is a small hot pond just behind the fall. The location of this natural hot spring is just crazy. We weren't prepared enough to jump into the pool, and also it was very windy. So we skipped it.

Then our next stop is the Arctic seal center. We inquired if there are any hotspots where we can spot them. But the hiking path for the viewing area was closed due to the nesting of birds directly on the path. But he points a few more places where we can spot them in the next days. So we are hopeful.

As we drive on, we enter the wild and isolated west of Iceland, also called Westfjords. Normally tourists skip this area as it is quiet remote and desolate. But we had planned to do this as well. We have another hour's drive to our next campsite. Once we reach there, we are the only guests and have a hot pool. So we all climb in and relax for some time. The view from the pool is straight out of a dream, with the bay in front and snow-capped mountains on both sides. The campsite is also really nice, and we get our well-needed almost Airbnb-like stay.

May 8th - Day 9: Seals and Whales

Our goal for today was to spot some seals. So we set out to a location where the center had pointed out to the previous day. But what we didn't know was that the drive to the spot would be equally thrilling since we had to cross the Isafjardarjup bay where many humpbacks were roaming. We stopped frequently and observed so many whales just coming out and diving back in, giving us a glimpse of its tail. We were just in awe at the sheer numbers we were able to see. How cool is it, just to drive along a road and spot whales! We left from there after a long time to go to the seal lookout. There, after a short walk, we see a few seals chilling at a distance. They are really shy, and the minute they sense someone, they dive into the sea. So we observe them from afar. Have our lunch there and start driving. Once again, we stop frequently since we were able to spot so many seals along the way.

From there, we drive to our first white sand beach in Iceland. The Westfjords truly have it all. White beach, snow-capped mountains. Calm serene bays. We walk along the beach marveling at the unique landscape and just taking it all in. Just then a dolphin pops its head out and that was just the cherry on the top for such a beautiful day.

From there, we head back to the camp in Pingyeri early since the next campsite is too far away.

May 9th - Day 10: Puffins

We start from our campsite and head to a waterfall nearby: Dynjandi Waterfall. It's a short drive, and we reach there; the sheer height of the fall is so impressive. We could see it from so far away, even before we reach there. The falls look like a curtain draped on top of a massive cliff. There is a short climb to reach the foot of the waterfall where it falls into a pool. From the pool, the fall looked even more imposing. We were reminded of the waterfall in the movie Bahubali, where he climbs the waterfall.

Our next stop is a natural spring. It's tucked away from the road with a beautiful mountain backdrop. We had planned to get into it, but the water is just warm, and the pool too shallow and small. But still, this was our first natural hot spring we saw, so definitely worth a quick stop.

We drive ahead to one of the last towns in the Westfjords called Patreksfjordur. We stop for petrol and see a restaurant there. So we decide to have lunch there.

From there, our next stop was to the westernmost point in Iceland. The drive to the point was arduous, and there was no respite from the twists and turns of the rough gravel road. Along the way, we had a complete change in scenery. All around us, the cliffs were snow-capped, and below, near the ocean, vast deserts of white sand stretched out. We passed by a few white sand beaches, which were just pristine, with white sand and blue waters. They almost looked like Greece or Croatia but for the cold.

We reached the parking lot, and the weather was just beautiful. The Latrabjarg cliffs were home to around 800,000 birds during the nesting season. There were so many species unique to this region. The famous puffins and razorbills were the prime attraction. We started to climb up the cliff, and there were many viewpoints where we saw lots of sea gulls and common murre. But no sight of the puffins. We realized it may be too soon in the day to spot them. They usually fly back from the sea in the evening. But we climbed ahead, and just then, we saw a photographer pointing her lens to a pair of puffins sitting on the edge of the cliff. We sat there for a while and admired the cute-looking bird. We decided to climb a little further to try our luck, but to no avail. So we headed back, and by this time, the puffins were just coming back from the sea, luckily for us. On our way down, we spotted a few more. The birds were not shy, and we could approach them up to a few meters. They were just basking in the evening sun and posing for us. We decided to head out after some time.

From there, our next stop was the famous Raudasandur beach. Little did we realize that this would be the start of our decline in luck for the evening. We had to drive another 45 minutes on the rough gravel road to reach the beach. But funnily enough, we couldn't find the beach at all. We could see the waves from a very long distance away. We walked and walked, stepped into marshes, and still, to no avail. The beach still somehow evaded us, and we eventually had to give up our search to see it. We were bemused as to how such a big and famous beach had evaded us.

We drove back down the road to our campsite. We were welcomed to the sight of a closed campsite. We were really on the edge of our patience and decided to just wild camp there in the closed campsite.

May 10th - Day 11:

In true sense of wild camping, we got up and left in our night clothes to the first stop of the day. We were all in need of a good hot bath after our long day the day before. We stopped at a beautiful natural hot spring called Krosslaug. It was beautifully located right at the sea, just a stone's throw away. We quickly changed and dove into the warm pool. The relaxing feeling after the warm dip was just heavenly. We sat there for some time and decided to go out into the ocean for "cooling down". The biting cold water of the Arctic Ocean numbed us in seconds, but we just had to run back into the hot pool waiting for us. Once again, something we had never imagined we would do.

We went to a restaurant, finished our morning duties, and were ready for the next stop. Once again, another beautiful natural hot spring called Hellslaug. This one was also located beautifully, almost at the sea. We once again just immersed ourselves in this wonder of nature, looking out at the Arctic Ocean, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and the hot pond. The setting could not have been any better.

Next, we headed to another waterfall. The waterfall was once again beautiful, but this place had historical significance. It lay in the path of the migration to attend the parliament, which is supposedly the earliest parliament of people in the world. The route to the location was marked by cairns or cone-like stone structures. We saw a few of them spread across the area.

Once again, we struggled to find a decent campsite and decided to drive to the south of West Iceland. This was a really long drive since the roads were winding and hugged the bays, giving us one last taste of the Westfjords. We reached the campsite around 8 and had dinner, finishing our day.

May 11th - Day 12: West Iceland

We get up to the news of the strongest solar storms in 2 decades, the previous night. Almost all of the European countries have witnessed intense auroras. Many are sharing photos from all around the world. Here we are sitting in the best location possible and we miss it! We are quiet disappointed that we could not spot them. The reason being, it never goes dark during May and also it was so cloudy the whole night.

Since we stayed at the south of the finger, we had to reverse our agenda for the day. The first stop was the Gerduberg cliffs. Here, once again, we could see a wall of basalt columns lined up and forming the ridge stretching as far as we could see. We climbed the small cliffs to see how they looked from above. The columns were mostly pentagonal, and we could see how they were formed up close.

Our next stop was a tip we received from one of the fellow travelers we met at the campsite last night. He told us about a mineral spring. Here, the water seemed to be so rich in minerals that they had a comparison of the normal potable water available in Iceland. In all minerals, it was the clear winner. But the surprise was when we tasted it. It was unlike any water we had ever had. It had a distinct flavor which was hard to describe. It even had some CO2 that gave it a soda quality. We quickly filled up all the bottles we had and drove ahead.

From here, our next stop was Ytri Tunga. Our drive there, we just saw endless lava fields stretching on both sides. The landscape was completely covered in moss, which had grown on the odd shapes the lava had formed. Once we reached there, we noticed a lot more tourists since the last days. It was expected, as the Westfjords were as isolated as it could be, and now we were jolted back to the long weekend crowds. This place is famous for seal watching, and we parked our car and walked towards the shore. The rocky, low-lying sea areas were ideal haunts for the seals. Once we neared the sea, we could see the seals lying on the rocks and basking in the little sunlight there was.

From here, we headed to Londrangar cliffs. We stopped in between for another beautiful waterfall. We arrived at the sea coast and saw the natural rock bridge first. The rock formations were so unique since we could see both the basalt columns and also other kinds of rocks overlapping each other. The coast below was lined with all shapes of basalt columns. The seagulls had claimed all the faces of rocks for themselves, and the cacophony of their shrieks was dominating all around us. A short drive later, we arrived at the cliffs. These looked like something straight out of a movie set, and the rugged cliffs ended abruptly, dropping into the sea. The rocks formed weird structures here and looked like spires made out of rocks along the coastline.

From here, we were supposed to have a clear view of the Snæfellsnesjokul glacier. But it was cloudy, and we had absolutely no view of the cliffs or glacier.

A short drive later, we arrived at the Djupalonssandur beach. It is a black pebble beach with deep blue waves hitting the empty shores. The contrast looked so dramatic. There were metal shards lying all around on the beach. There were the remains of a ship which was abandoned in the sea and had washed ashore. The rocky cliffs formed arches on both sides of the beach and looked like they were framed.

From here, we drove to another crater. The unique feature of this crater was that we could drive into it. So we didn't want to pass this opportunity for a quick photo stop.

Our next stop was probably one of the most photographed locations in Iceland: the arrowhead mountain and the Kirkjufell waterfall. This was the wallpaper which Priya had for many years, and now we were right there. The manifestation seems to have worked. We climbed up from the parking lot a few minutes, and we were at the waterfall. There are two levels to the waterfall, and behind it is the iconic mountain. So the waterfall and the mountain backdrop were indeed wallpaper-worthy. We looked at it and pinched ourselves if we were really there!

So that was our plan for the day, and we headed back down south for our campsite for the night. Along the way, the landscape was once again dramatic with low snow-capped mountains and frozen lakes and brown autumn grass. We decided on a campsite near to our final day's attractions so that we can get an early start. Once again, we were the only ones at the campsite and we wrapped up a nice day with a hot meal.

May 12th - Day 13: Horses!

All along the way in our trip, one thing that was a constant in any location was the horses. They were everywhere. We stopped frequently during our first days here to click photos but later we didn't even bother to stop. So today our goal was to have a closer encounter with the horses. We were staying near a family-owned horse farm, and that was our first stop for the day. We were given a short video demo of the ranch and also the characteristics of the horses. Then we were taken to meet the horses in the stable. They were all mares and of different ages. But they were the most beautiful creatures. Each one a different color and hair thick and flowing. We could feed them some grass, and they were eager to eat and not shy to come near, so we could pet them. Each one enjoyed the attention we were giving them. We all interacted with all the horses in the stable and could not get enough of them. There was another stable where younger ones were kept and a few older ones.

The horses were kept in very good conditions since they were all competition horses. That's one of the major sources of income and pride for the family which owns it. They had displayed endless trophies and medals which their horses had won.

The farm also had their own hot spring on-site. They had cleverly used the slopes and contours of the land to heat all the buildings on the farm. But another unique use of the hot spring was that they had underground ovens which were steam-heated. They had built it to bake rye bread and had been keeping the tradition for a long time. We got to taste the bread right at the end. It tasted almost like a cake and was topped with just butter. Tasted heavenly.

We spent some more time with all the horses and petted them to our heart's content. They also had used horseshoes for sale. It seems that they would bring good luck if we hung them at the entrance of houses. We also got one of those for novelty.

Our next stop was Hraunfossar and Barnfossar waterfalls. They are both near to each other, and we could walk to them after parking our cars. They were famous because of the light ash-blue-colored waters. We were here in the wrong season, and we saw just gray, turbid waters. The water, though, seemed to be coming from inside the rocks and not flowing above it. The lava fields have hidden an underground river, and the water seeps through the rocks and creates a unique waterfall. Even though they don't fall from a big height, they are impressive.

The next stop is Deildartunguhver hot spring. This was apparently the most powerful hot spring in the whole of Iceland. Most powerful in the sense that it has the hottest waters, up to 100°C, and spouted around 100 liters of water per second. It was boiling away, and the steam was constantly rising from it all around the place. There is a thermal bath also on premises, and we had planned to go inside but decided against it in the last min.

From here, it is our last leg of the tour. We drive towards Reykjavik. We constantly see the rising traffic on the broader and wider roads as we neared the capital. We enter the city and park our cars and start our walk around the city. We walk on the coast which was called the shore and sculptures walks which were dotted with many bronze statues. And the famous sun voyager sculpture. We pass by the huge modern theater or event hall. Then walk towards the center of the city. We catch a glimpse of the famous Hallgrimskirkja church with a square around it. We walk around a park with a few more bronze statues created by Einar Jonsson who was the first sculptor of Iceland. We have dinner after some time and decide to indulge in one final thermal bath experience. We drive to Sky Lagoon near the city but as luck would have it, we couldn't get admitted because we hadn't booked earlier. So we had to give up.

Then just on a whim, before we could head to our final campsite, we decided to drive towards the active volcano as close to it as possible to see if we can get a glimpse. The drive gave us one last stunning gift. The landscape which unfolded in front of us was hard to believe that it was so close to the capital city and yet so remote. We stumbled upon another sulfur spring. We walked around taking in the stunning colors of the mountains around us. We didn't get a glimpse of the volcano, but we definitely got one last isolated glimpse of Iceland before our trip ended.

We headed to our campsite and called it a day

May 13th - Day 14:

The next day, we woke up nice and early to drive to our car rental and return our cars. We felt a tinge of sadness knowing that the trip had come to an end. Yet, we were grateful for each and every day we had spent here, marveling at nature's wonders. We bid our final goodbyes to our wonderful campervans, which had become our trusted companions throughout the journey, faithfully carrying us to every destination. Despite feeling a bit down that it was all over, we couldn't deny that it had been one of the most fulfilling trips we had ever taken. Every day had been an adventure, and every experience had been treasured. We couldn't have asked for more from this remarkable journey!