Day 4, Part 2 — The Southeast
Last part ended in Höfn, which is not where this one begins. Nothing else happened there. We kept on our way on route 1, heading back west through the southern coast of Iceland. There was a remarkable difference in the vegetation color as we headed south. From the dead looking yellowish of the north to the life looking vibrant green in the south. It felt like seasons were changing in the matters of hours. I have written about how the weather changes fast, but this was also impressive.
Our first stop would be the famous Jökulsárlón, a glacier lagoon that meets the sea. It’s the place where people take those famous pictures of white icebergs in contrast with the dark black sand of the southern coast of Iceland.
We first headed to the beach, as it was the first time we were to meet the famous black sand beaches. The place was a bit crowded. It was actually the first time I thought that it may be a little too crowded. This is more common in the southern parts of Iceland as they concentrate most of the more famous attractions and are of easier access. There are even some bus tours in this area. We took some pictures at the beach and soon headed to the lake itself, where there were even more people. There was even a boat that took you around the lake for a not cheap at all price. We stayed in dry land.
The lake is quite fascinating. As you spend more time in it you can see the landscape changing. Icebergs of different shapes and sizes come and go from the glacier to the open sea, making the lake look like a new site again. The whiteness of it all is blinding and alien like. There’s the normal whiteness of snow, but I got the impression that it’s much more pronounced when it’s pure ice. There was even a couple of seals swimming around the lake and eventually putting their heads out of the water as if to see all those people looking at them in awe. We left the lake and continued west, just to find another glacier with another lake. We decided to stop because it was much more empty and the glacier came much closer to the border of the lake.
After this quick stop we headed to our next destination, another famous spot in Iceland. Svartifoss, or the Black Waterfall, is a small waterfall that would probably be not notable if it were not for the very pronounced and beautiful basaltic columns that make up the walls surrounding it. There’s a high contrast between their blackness and the white water flow streaming from the top. There is a small trail to get to it, and you can walk around pretty much all of it. I thought there would be more people here, but since it was getting late I guess most people were already going back to their places to sleep. While taking pictures a fellow photographer, though a much more professional one, commented that he had been there for hours trying to get the sunset light on the waterfall for nothing. It’s certainly hard to have a perfect image in your head that will depend on such volatile variables as the Icelandic weather.
A cautionary tale: As we left Svartifoss and kept heading west towards Vik, we crossed a big black sand and ash desert with signs saying you shouldn’t drive off road. The landscape was amazing, so we decided to stop for pictures. Not wanting to disturbe the traffic as the road had no parking spots I got on the sand, just barely for the car not to be on the road. Bad decision. The car got stuck and we didn’t know what to do. We tried to pull back on reverse, which should give us more traction, but beneath the rocky sand cover of that black desert there was a humid sand that simply wouldn’t allow us to get back on the road, even though the car had traction control on the two front wheels. For our amazing luck, two cars stopped to help us. A couple and guy driving by himself came to our aid. They pushed the car as I accelerated in reverse, and we were able to get back on the road. Phew.
We kept heading to Vik, trying to get there before dark. It was hard. At every kilometer (or mile, if you prefer) we drove past beautiful waterfalls falling off huge steep mountains. The landscape kept asking us to stop and take a look at it. We stopped at Foss á Siðu, a waterfall that falls in a super cute little farm that will make you wonder why you live where you live and not there. It’s quite a backyard.
We got to Vik pretty late, but the time had been well spent. Although we were anxious for the next day and already feeling that the trip was coming to an end we got fast to sleep to make the most of the day coming.
