Despite being in Iceland twice before, we’ve never actually set foot in Reykjavík. It was time for that to change, so we booked a 10am free walking tour with City Walks. Nanna, our guide, was delightful. She walked us around the harbor and older parts of the city, explaining the history, politics, architecture, education, religion, healthcare, language, and customs of Iceland.

Reykjavík leverages their ready access to geothermal energy in the most brilliant ways – they run hot water under the streets and sidewalks, keeping them heated and thus free of snow and ice!

We wrapped up the tour around noon and then headed off for lunch – fish and chips at a shop that faced the ocean. I felt rather confident that the fish was quite fresh. 🎣🎣

We meandered through a flea market after lunch. Flea markets are a mixed bag. The one in Amsterdam was amazing; this was more like a mixture of some antique/old stuff stalls and vendors selling jewelry of various Icelandic themes (all of which was quite similar).

I had read about Valdi’s ice cream, so we stopped when we passed it. Anna-Sophia had raspberry sorbet, Luke had chocolate licorice (like most of their Scandinavian counterparts, the Icelandic people love licorice), and I had a flavor called rye bread. It was a sweet cream style base with flecks of grain (rye, I suspect), and a tiny bit of caramel. It was delicious!!!

Several hours of the afternoon passed as we wandered the shops of downtown area, buying some souvenirs. A beer company that we liked had a bar so we stopped and sat outside while we had a drink. We spent a happy hour there as we reminisced about all the amazing travels we’ve had as a family.

And so this trip comes to a close, but I know that we will be back. Iceland has so many wonders to share, and I feel that we’ve only just started to explore this beautiful and exciting country.

Oh my goodness, the wind here in Vík is intense! We fell asleep last night after placing wagers on whether or not we would wake up in Oz. The van shook all night. In the middle of the night there was a crazy rain storm. Although my weather app says the wind speeds are only 25 mph sustained and 35 mph gusts, it honestly feels like a lot more.

In order to board the plane home (which, ironically, might not actually take off on time given a real hurricane hitting New England Sunday night and Monday), we need negative Covid tests. Nobody cared on the way here, but Delta won’t allow us to check in without the results so I do believe this requirement will be enforced. I’ve been worried about having sufficient WiFi for the BinaxNOW tests that I brought to work, but gusty Vík is providing the perfect excuse to spend extra time in the communal WiFi-enabled kitchen getting this requirement out of the way.

Once we all had our test results back and loaded in Delta’s system, we hit the road for Dyrhólaey. This is an area named for a key-hole rock formation in the water, but we’ve seen it before so we were heading there for a different reason – puffins!! I’d read a TripAdvisor posting from last week saying they were there (they only nest in the area until mid/late August) so we thought it was worth the 15-minute detour.

As with Vík, the wind was outrageous. If you opened your mouth facing the wind, it felt like your lungs got forcefully inflated for you. Very uncomfortable, and really hard to walk uphill into it, but worth it because at the top of the cliff there were hundreds and hundreds of puffins.

I didn’t realize that puffins land backwards. They fly to where they want to go, turn around, and fly in reverse the last few feet. It looks strange, but actually makes great sense given the intense wind – flying in toward a cliff head-first would likely end very badly much of the time.

Some of them nest in holes on the ground or tall grassy areas to protect the babies (called pufflings – really!). I watched one parent bring a small fish back from the sea and deliver into down a hole, presumably to a small puffin who was sheltering from the biting cold wind.

As we left the parking lot, we noticed a Kuki Camper (a campervan company that paints funny pictures on the sides of their vans) with a particularly special painting. I had to get a photo.

With a bucket-list item checked off, we headed north-westerly toward a waterfall, but when we got there we realized that we’ve been there before! This particular waterfall has several less famous neighbors, so I didn’t realize that we’d seen these all before. Well, no harm done since it was on the way anyway – we stopped for lunch with a stunning backdrop.

As we ate, we debated how to spend our last 1.5 days. We had a few things we really wanted to do, so we scrambled the itinerary to ensure that we tackled the remaining sites in priority order. Thus, we headed out toward Fagradasfajall, the volcano which has been erupting for several weeks.

Again, I feel the need to point out that Iceland officials are totally ok with tourists hiking up near the actively erupting volcano and out onto the shouldering lava fields. No ropes, no warnings, nothing. Just a few helpful signs in case the characteristics of an active volcano were murky for you.

We hiked up trail C (trail A is currently under lava, so that ones been retired). About 1/3 of the way up the first peak we could see the lava flowing down the mountainside and it was simply stunning. The clouds and light rain obscure just how vividly orange the lava is.

I was totally awestruck by the volcano. I get the science, but to actually see it in action is enough to render even me speechless. I spent a lot of time reflecting on how fortunate I am to be in the right place at the right time to see this wonder of our dear planet in action.

We only hiked up the first of 3 peaks, but then it started to rain. Iceland gets a lot of very cold rain, accompanied by some very cold wind. It took the magic down a notch or two, so we turned to head back. As we descended, we talked about whether or not we would make it to the hot spring river. I did want to go, but didn’t want to deal with another 80-minute drive, so we compromised and walked out onto the lava field instead.

We decided to camp in Reykjavik proper to make the trip into the city tomorrow easier. The campsite has a public swimming pool adjacent to it, so we took an evening swim there. I am embarrassed for every pool in the US – Icelandic municipal pools are luxurious! There’s a multi-lane Olympic-sized outdoor pool, at least that much more outdoor pool for playing (all heated to 38 degrees Celsius, which is essentially body temperature), a massive water slide, and at least half a dozen various hot tubs. Oh yeah, that’s all outside. There’s also a steam room and full indoor pool. All for $6 USD per adult! A delightful end to a truly amazing day!

On the day 6 agenda were glaciers. A substantial percentage (8%) of Iceland’s land is covered by the massive Vatnajökull, and the numerous glacial tongues mark the landscape as we started out on the day’s drive.

We had a 12:30 booking, so we started off at Jökulsárlón, a glacial bay where icebergs often break off and float in the lagoon before making their way out to sea. It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

The icebergs meander around in the bay for days to weeks, slowly melting. The 10% that’s above the water line is exposed to sunlight and so it slowly melts. Eventually, the iceberg becomes so unbalanced that it flips, exposing the previously submerged portion and the process repeats itself. As the icebergs shrink, they begin to move toward the bay outlet and are carried eventually out to sea by the ocean tide that enters the bay twice each day.

I booked us on a 12:30 zodiac boat tour of neighboring Fjallsárlón. I had wanted to do a kayak tour of Jökulsárlón but couldn’t get a booking, so this was the next best option. In hindsight, it was a much better option! Jökulsárlón is a major tourist destination and so the bay is crowded with zodiacs, kayaks, and worst of all – amphibious vehicles. The bay is crowded and noisy, which certainly detracts from the tranquility that one might wish for in such a gorgeous place.

Fjallsárlón is a smaller bay (about 1/3 of the size of Jökulsárlón), but the glacial tongue is easily visible even from land. As soon as we got there I realized that the smaller, more intimate bay was going to be more enjoyable than the hectic one.

We geared up again in a comical amount of warm/waterproof gear and emergency life vests and then walked over the hill to our boats.

Once in the lagoon, the guide spent as much time as possible with the engines off or quiet so we could enjoy the tranquility. She explained the colors (blue comes from dense ice which reflects blue light waves), the process by which glaciers flow (like rivers, faster in the middle than the edges), and the impact of climate change (all bad).

After a fabulous 45 minutes in the bay, we were back on land. Our last major goal for the day was to visit Diamond Beach – a black sand beach where the glaciers finally meet the sea. Words really can’t describe the feeling when first seeing this as this is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

We had a waterfall and some basalt columns on the agenda, but we were pretty frozen through and through. Temps by the glacier were only in the high 40s/low 50s, and we were not yet used to that. In the end, we mostly skipped the rest of the agenda as there wasn’t much more to see that would top the lagoon and icebergs on the beach.

We grabbed some beer and candy for dessert, then made it to Vík for camp. The wind is intense and rocked the van non-stop, so hunkering down for the night seemed like the best possible option.

In keeping with my goal of having a water-based activity each day (day 1: Krauma baths, day 2: Grettislaug pools, day 3: whale watching, day 4: Mývatin Nature Baths), day 5 entailed a noon booking at Vök baths. More on that shortly…

We started the day with a drive over the last range of mountains and down to the coast. As we drove toward the sea, the sea seemed to approach and greet us in the form of thick fog. It’s a weird sensation when you are enveloped in fog. In my experiences, it isn’t that common in most of the US.

Our destination was the port town of Seyðisfjörður. Here is where the large ferry comes in from mainland Europe (Denmark, via the Faroe Islands). It was being loaded for departure as we arrived.

We spent 15 minutes meandering around the town – Icelandic towns are not very large – and then decided to enjoy a leisurely latte at a small cafe in the town center. Anna-Sophia learned that she appreciates a hot latte which is great since iced coffee isn’t a global product.

The drive back included a quick stop at Gufufoss, a roadside waterfall. Theses things are truly everywhere!

Vök baths are a bit different than the others. The origin story is that the locals noticed one spot in a lake that never froze over in winter. Investigation revealed a natural hot spring within the lake. Vök baths are infinity-pool-style hot baths within the lake itself. In fact, bathers are able to jump into the lake from the hot bath. Luke tried it, but nothing of the sounds he (or others who tried) made suggested that the shock of going from 39 degree (Celsius) to 6 degree water was pleasant or enjoyable.

Another luxuriously relaxing 75 minutes spent in hot baths…I really could get used to this as a daily feature of life. Vök also had delightful showers. Iceland does large communal showers everywhere, but as an American, I am used to a bit of privacy and prefer a shower stall with sides and perhaps even a door. Vök was the only bath with such style showers, plus I remembered to bring my own conditioner (long hair requires robust conditioning), so I was happy and squeaky clean afterwards.

After a quick lunch in the van/hotel/mess hall, we launched into one of our longer driving days along the eastern fjords. This was hilly, involved countless switchbacks, and seemed to have a one-lane bridge every mile. It was rather stressful.

About halfway along, we stopped in a small town to visit one of Iceland’s few breweries. The sweet, malty smell of brewing beer created us as we opened the door, and I knew I was going to have a hard time leaving.

Alas, we had a fair amount of ground to cover, so after one beer we had to hit the road again. Of course, no day in Iceland would be complete without a waterfall, so we stopped at Folaldafoss. I have a few photos of the falls, but more of the sheep grazing in the nearby fields.

Kiddo got a bit silly in the car ride after that, stuffing marshmallows in her mouth. She has a thing for marshmallows when traveling. Thankfully, there were no monkeys to steal her treats from her this time. 😄

Camp was in Höfn in the southeastern part of the country. Not really much there, but it marks the beginning of glacier country and that is where we are headed next…

So we know that the Mývatn region was known for gnats, but the quantity with which these little monsters swarm around one’s head is simply incomprehensible. You will end up with them in your eyes, ears, nose, and most certainly will consume a large number. I believe this is what it’s like to be a baleen whale – consuming tiny creatures in obscene quantities.

We started the day with a walk along Dimmuburga. This is a ridge formed by the pushing of techtonic plates. Baby mountains, effectively. The place is the birthplace of countless legends about trolls – that the rocks are trolls who freeze in the sunlight and come to life at night. I’m sure it has other interesting characteristics, but we struggled to appreciate it and made it about a kilometer before we had to turn back because of the gnats.

We then meandered over to Hverfjall – a massive crater from an explosion that would be notable elsewhere in the world but in Iceland is just one of many such things. Again, the gnats were fierce and they show up even in my photos as they obscure parts of the lens of my DSLR. Anna-Sophia was totally overwhelmed by the gnats, so again, it was a speedy ascent and descent.

Last stop of the morning is Grótagjá, a hot spring cave. This is not a pool for swimming – the temperature hovers around 50 degrees Celsius, but it is stunning to see. Going into the cave again reminded all 3 of us that we do NOT enjoy caves, tunnels, or other enclosed places, and the fact that the last steps involved crouching under a massive boulder perched on top of a rock the size of a basketball did not make it easier to convince ourselves to go in, but then the view…

We had a noon date at Mývatn Nature Baths and as we headed that way, we prayed that the gnats would be afraid of the water or the steam or something – anything – that kept them away for a few minutes. I didn’t realize Mývatn featured the same silica-heavy milk-blue water as the Blue Lagoon, so I was quite excited when we got there to see that AND few gnats.

We spent about 75 minutes in the water, allowing every ounce of our being to relax. This type of experience is truly stress-relieving unlike anything else I can think of. For a brief moment, my brain tried to transition to thinking about serious things like the house condo conversion work I have to do, but then my body – which was fully relaxed – vetoed the idea of serious thought and slipped back into its relaxed state (which is not a state I fall into naturally or easily). Thus my goal of 4-5 hot tubs/pools on this trip.

After a delightful (and much needed!) shower, we ate lunch in the van/camp/kitchen. This little camper is quite comfy for most of our needs. Not the best bed I’ve ever slept on, but also not the worst (and much warmer/more comfortable than a tent).

The geothermal area around Námajfall was next. As with all Icelandic geothermal areas, the officials have substantially more trust in tourists to use good sense than American officials do. At home, features such as mud pots and steam vents would be surrounded by steel fencing with signs every 4 feet about dangers and reminding visitors to stay on the path. In Iceland, you get a few 8” stakes in the ground and some twine designating where the ground may swallow you whole or boil you alive.

After meandering through the geothermal features, we headed over to Krafla – or, more accurately, to Viti crater in the Krafla region. This is one of those places that you see printed and think “it can’t really be that color” but then find out that it is. What most impressed me here was that the human eye can see both the depth of the water in the crater and the reflection of the clouds on the water surface simultaneously. The camera images don’t do it justice at all.

The crater is surrounded by more geothermal features, but those are quite common in Iceland and we felt satiated with the one we saw already so we skipped it. We did enjoy driving through the large geothermal power plant – especially the novelty of driving under some of the large pipes that cross-crossed the landscape.

Waterfalls are another sight that becomes rather repetitive after some time in Iceland so we choose our stops carefully. Dettifoss was billed as not the largest nor the widest, but as one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe. I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but multiple sources said not to miss it so we went.

That was worthwhile. As you approach the waterfall, you can feel the pounding of the water as it drops into the canyon below. The spray catches the sunlight on a sunny day like what we had and creates rainbows. Anytime there’s a rainbow, you know you’ve made a good choice. Like a warm and fluffy towel right from the dryer, they just make my heart happy.

After an hour of enjoying the views (and the sunshine!), we drove off to camp in Eglisstaðir on Iceland’s eastern side. We had laundry to do (yay!), had a pint of local beer at the hostel/folk bar next door, and then managed to fall asleep easily.

I love whales – always have – and so there’s no way I could pass up the opportunity for a whale watch in the self-proclaimed whale watching capitol of the Arctic, so the main focus of today is getting to Húsavik for a booked boat tour.

Just north of Húsavik is a bay that experiences frequent small earthquakes. This shaking action liberates a lot of nutrients into the water which, when combined with many hours of summer sunlight, create an algae boom which in turn creates a krill boom which in turn attracts hungry whales. This bay regularly sees 11 species of whales each year ranging from the rather diminutive Harbor porpoise to the incomprehensible massive blue whale (OMG, to see a blue whale in real life – I’d shred my entire life bucket list for that!).

We started the cold and rainy day with a quick stop at the Viðimýri Turf Church – a stop we missed the day before. I don’t think I’d ever seen a turf building before (maybe in Scotland? I don’t recall any, though). It’s an interesting way to construct a building. It wasn’t open so we couldn’t go inside, but I have to imagine that all that turf helped to keep the little church cozy during the cold and windy days.

I’m very glad we got up early, because the map I had placed the whale watch location just a tad bit (45 minutes!!) away from the actual location. We parked, donned our rain pants and hats, waited in the longest and slowest-moving restroom line imaginable, then headed to the dock to board our boat, Sýlvia. As we boarded, we got waterproof overalls and raincoats, creating a comically gear-plumped Kurtz-McCullough family.

The tour company I picked uses old fishing boats, so even the ride out to sea was filled with daydreams about what it would be like to work on a vessel like it. Not really dreams, I should clarify, as I hate boats and the ocean and would prefer to clean snake cages for a living over anything involving ocean voyages, but I still had images of folks in orange rubber overalls hauling in wriggling cod (and maybe a thought or two of pirates).

It was a lengthy ride out to the bay (80 minutes), but almost on queue a whale appeared. The thrill of seeing the dorsal fin and broad back of the whale as it dives down to collect a mount haul of food never dissipates. How something so large can move so gracefully is amazing. The flukes raise up last, then disappear under the water’s surface silently. It is truly amazing.

On the way back, a pod of white-beaked dolphins played in the wake of our boat. They were quite acrobatic, leaping from the water, but moved much too fast for photos. The guide kept saying there were babies (and I believed her), but I seemed to miss seeing them every time. 😦

We had lunch in the van/kitchen/bedroom, then hit the road. Last stop of the day was Goðafoss waterfall. This is a pretty good-sized fall, although not anything astronomical by Icelandic standards.

We were able to walk around the top of the falls, as well as down to the bottom, and seeing it from both vantage points was pretty cool.

Anna-Sophia and I enjoyed playing with our camera settings and photographing the falls, and we walked around some, but the crew was hungry and tired so we were soon off to camp.

I knew we wouldn’t manage much driving the day we landed, so day 2 was going to have to make up for it some. We didn’t get on the road until nearly 11. That’s OK (once) – we needed the rest.

We headed north on highway 1 (the “Ring Road”) toward the Vatnsnes Peninsula. Luke is doing all the driving so far since I have exactly 2 hours of stick shift driving experience under my belt, and so he was jazzed when we turned off the decently paved route 1 onto a gravel road. And that gravel road turned into a hilly, washboarded, rutted gravel road. It was like Vermilion Cliffs all over again, except 65 degrees cooler (and thus less concern for dying and becoming desiccated skeletons along the side of the road).

We first stopped at Borgarvirki, an ancient fortress.

It was a decent enough stop, and the sundial at the top was pretty cool, but I can’t say I was wowed. I think perhaps some interest or investment in Icelandic history might be required to find an ancient ruin to be a fascinating stop.

Continuing along the rough road, we next came to Hvítserkur, a rock in the ocean that definitely looks like it had a fabulous origin story. The rock housed a number of gulls who cawed and squawked in a manner both melancholy and enthusiastic at the same time.

A sign at the start to the path out to Hvítserkur (as well as my guide book) strongly recommended the fish soup at a small restaurant called Geitagell. I’m not sure how I feel about fish soup, but I know I don’t enjoy feeling hungry so we decided to give it a try.

I am so glad we stopped!! Our wallet was $75 lighter for the experience, but the seafood soup was AMAZING!! Lightly curried, strongly seasoned, and with the freshest fish imaginable in it, the soup was definitely not over-billed. Delightful!

With full tummies, we then kept heading along the peninsula to try to spot seals. Harbor and Gray seals frequent this coast, and today was no different. After hiking about 15 minutes out, we spotted the seals on some small island/rock formations about 30 years from the coast. The bulk of some of these creatures was impressive, and it was fun to watch these animals try to maneuver themselves around on land. I know they are graceful in the water, but on land they are downright comical!

I tried my hand at driving us from the seal beach to the next town about 20 miles away. Poor Luke had to coach me through getting the camper out of 1st and into 2nd (where I excel at stalling out), but we did eventually get on our way. I even managed to get the car through a tiny town and into a parking lot. Win for me!

We found ourselves in said tiny town as we hunted for provisions. First, we wanted to buy some beer or wine. Since Iceland is a controlled-alcohol country, that means a state-sanctioned liquor store. I’m used to that, but I wasn’t expecting it to be in a combo liquor-hardware store. Huh. Wrenches and wheat beers. Paintbrushes and pinots. Lightbulbs and lagers. We also needed a windshield wiper blade which is sold in a different shop (obviously).

Last stop: a different hot pool. My goal is to pack as many baths and pools in as possible! Tonight was Grettislaug – a much more local pool than the big commercial enterprises like Blue Lagoon and Krauma. This was a rock-lined rectangle with a hot spring and a hose dumping cold ocean water in to it to moderate the temperature. It was incredibly slippery with algae, but it was still cool to feel the raw rock bottom under my feet.

Pretty much all flights from the US land in Iceland in the early morning hours. While 8am doesn’t sound awful, you must remember that it is 4 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone. So at what felt like 4am to our bodies, we landed in Keflavik.

Bleary-eyed, we waddled off the plane, found seats in the terminal, and tried to get some rest before our shuttle at noon. I was startled awake at 10am by my phone ringing. Looks like the shuttle is coming at 11 now, so we packed up and dragged ourselves through the airport.

I’ve never seen an empty, unattended passport control room before, but that’s what we encountered. It turns out that Keflavik doesn’t keep their border control stations manned at all times, which is a concept that had truly never crossed my mind as a possibility. After quite a bit of wandering, we eventually flagged down some airport employees who call for a border agent for us. He was certainly not pleased that we opted to rest rather than head straight to immigration with the rest of our flight.

What this illustrated to me was a major lost opportunity for Keflavik. In Frankfurt, the airport had these little sleeping pods one could rent by the hour with a twin bed (and, it turns out, enough room for a 2nd person to sleep on the floor if desperate). Schipol Airport in Amsterdam has Yotel – an in-terminal hotel with tiny double-bed and bath rooms one can rent overnight or by the hour. Keflavik has none of it. Yet I’d pay almost any price for a legitimate bed for a few hours after landing at 4am with barely 2.5 hours of sleep. Why Keflavik hasn’t embraced this business opportunity is beyond me.

After collecting our camper and making the half- hour trip to Reykjavik, we hit up Costco. I know that we were very tired because we basically bought an array of chips (which we almost never eat), some seltzer and Coke Zero, and a dozen eggs. Yeah, it was time to nap. We headed back to the camper and slept for an hour in the parking lot. Classy!

With a tiny bit more rest, we went to the Bónus grocery store (and obviously bought another reusable shopping bag with the pig on it!), then hit the road. I had hoped to stop at the Settlement Centre, but nobody’s heart was in it, so we drove on to our campsite.

I will never get used to the absolute omnipresence of geothermal activity in Iceland. We took a walk after parking the van in order to stretch our legs (and stay awake). Along the way, we encountered steaming rivers and boiling turf.

We had a 7pm date at Krauma thermal baths. Krauma is a series of small pools of varying warmth (36-41 Celsius), rather than a single large pool like the Blue Lagoon. I had hoped that an hour in some delightfully warm water would help us unwind after a very long first day, and that was certainly an accurate assumption. We lasted about an hour and then had to leave lest we fall asleep in the pools.

Back at the van, we dined on ham and cheese (or just cheese) sandwiches for dinner and were proud of managing that much given how tired we were. Yet despite the tired, it was oddly hard to fall asleep given that dark doesn’t really even begin until after 11pm this time of year. Or so my weather app says – I did manage to fall asleep before darkness fell given that every bone in my body ached for sleep by 9:30pm.

The complexity of international travel during the Covid pandemic is NO JOKE! Covid test and quarantine for several hours after landing was replaced by no test or quarantine for vaccinated travelers which was then replaced by proof of a negative Covid test within 72 hours of departure. We need vaccination certificates, PCR testing certificates, national registration barcodes, and pre-registration for our return trip tests. It is a lot. I’m exhausted from the paperwork, and I do federal paperwork for a living!

I do feel torn about this trip. I know Iceland was just moved to “Do not travel” status, and as one working in public health it’s kind of a bad look to ignore that, but I also really need a vacation. A REAL vacation. So we are taking all the precautions we can, including staying home for the week before the trip and getting a camper so we are not in restaurants and hotels with lots of other people.

As we get closer to actually making it out of the US, I’m getting more excited (I think I’ve been trying not to get too excited in case something happened to prevent this trip from happening). Iceland is stunningly beautiful, and we are going to have a lot more time there than in past trips so we can explore a lot more. I am confident Iceland won’t disappoint!