5-Leg Roadtrip in Southern Iceland

This time 2 years ago I was flying to Iceland to visit the wonderful Alina from Alinaswonders who was, at the time, living and working in Reykjavik. We both decided March would be a good time for me to go over; I was also hoping to see the aurora, as people say spring and autumn are the best times for that. Well, the aurora didn't happen during my one week stay, but Alina and I took a weekend road trip along the Southern coast of the island and it was magical. We rented a car and left Reykjavik on Friday afternoon. My first time driving abroad and also my first time driving automatic. On top of that, it was snowing and (incredibly) windy and then sunny all in one day, so driving was an adventure in itself. And here's what we saw along the way.

1. Gljúfrabúi and Seljalandsfoss

These are beautiful waterfalls, close to each other, about an hour and a half away from Reykjavik. They are part of the Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, a natural reserve that includes volcanoes, waterfalls, glaciers and lava fields. Both are fed by the glacier Eyjafjallajökull, which sits on the volcano with the same name. We all know that name - even though very few can pronounce it - as it wreaked havoc on European air traffic back in 2010. Seljalandsfoss is very famous; the water falls down from 65m high, and the best part is that you can walk behind the waterfall. Gljúfrabúi is more of a hidden gem; the water falls through a slit in the rock. You can also walk in through the small canyon whose walls are covered with moss. You'll get all sprayed with water, but worth it.

2. Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool While with the other sights we visited I might have been able to find my way around by using the GPS, I really have to thank Alina for taking me to this pool up in the mountains. It's not so easy to reach; you leave your car down on the side of the road and then you have to start hiking, but honestly at some point I wasn't even sure we were following a path anymore. When we arrived, I was amazed: there was this outdoor pool, really small, a tiny dressing room and nobody around, just snowy peaks. And it's all free to bathe. It's fed by thermal springs, but the water mixes with the cold water dripping from the cliffs, so it's just the right temperature to soak in. And we had this mind-blowing place just for us for almost an hour, until other visitors arrived.

3. Skógafoss Driving just a bit further, we got to Skógafoss, one of the most famous waterfalls of Iceland, with a 60m drop. When the sun shines, it will throw a rainbow. The land underneath the waterfall is all flat, and if you climb the (steep) set of stairs, you will get to a platform where you can see the waterfall from above and all the surrounding landscape, all the way to the ocean.

4. Vik About half an hour drive from Skogafoss waterfall there's Vik, the southernmost village of Iceland, very small, but famous for Reynisfjara (also known as the Black Sand Beach) and Reynisdrangar, the offshore basalt sea stacks, close to the sea shore. According to local folklore, these rock formations are former trolls who were either drowning seamen, or kidnapping women. The Black Sand Beach is considered to be among the top 10 most beautiful non-tropical beaches. The sand owes its dark color to the basalt composition, as a great part of the shore here is surrounded by hexagonal basalt columns.

Vik also has a pretty church that looks more like a Lego miniature (but that is the case with most buildings in Iceland, really). When we got there, the wind was incredibly strong, as you can tell by the waves. It is generally true that Iceland is windy, but it just so happened that we were also chased by a storm. It was difficult to walk, difficult to breathe, difficult to take photos. After we got back in the car and for the entire rest of the day I kept cleaning the black sand off of myself - it was in my hair, nose, boots, mouth, pockets, camera bag.

5. Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon filled with blue icebergs, just south of Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Iceland. The lagoon is fed by blocks of ice that break from the glacier and the water that results from melting, while the glacier is shrinking (also a victim of global warming). The black sand beach nearby is called Diamond Beach, as the ice chunks laying around shine in the sun like jewels. It's really otherworldly. Which is why a number of films and music videos were shot in the area: The James Bond series Die Another Day and A View to a Kill, Tomb Raider, Batman Begins and Interstellar, Bon Iver's Holocene, Justin Bieber's I'll Show You, and even a music video from the Bollywood film Diwali.

From here on we drove to the town of Höfn and slept at a hostel, then drove some more until we reached Hvalnes Lighthouse with an incredible view of Vestrahorn peaks covered in fog. Couldn't really do much sightseeing there, as the wind was so strong I could hardly get out of the car for a few photos. And then we rushed back, as we were running out of gas and we were out in the wilderness.

And if want to see the video journal of our trip, here's Alina's take on the entire adventure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaPftdl9bE0&feature=youtu.be (who also graciously took the photos of me that I posted above)