Southern Iceland is the mecca of outdoor adventure in Iceland! Our first stop was Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon! We got up close and personal with beautiful ice blue glaciers laying on a black sand beach. It was such a cool experience to listen to the waves crash over the glaciers just like the waves crash on the shore of my beach at home. Boats take travelers out in the lagoon for a fee, but I personally preferred my free walk along the shore.
As we drove back toward Vik, we had to stop to take pictures of the field of purple lupine. We had seen this flower everywhere from the time we left Reykjavik, but between the glacier lagoon and Vik was a huge field of lupines with a breathtaking view of the snowcapped mountains.
Vik was a much smaller town that I thought it would be, but it had a little bit of everything. We stopped at the Iceland Wool factory and shopped for locally made wool items and peaked in the factory then we drove up to the beautiful red roof church sitting on the hill overlooking Vik. The purple lupines decorated the front lawn of the church and the church cemetery on a higher hill provided beautiful views of Vik and the beaches in the distance.
Once we saw the black sand beaches in the distance we new we had to go out there! The rock formations that are out in the water are called Reynisdrangar. This was honestly one of my favorite places and experiences throughout our journey. I was born and raised a beach girl so nothing revives my soul like sitting on a beach and watching the waves come and go. I laid down on the black sandy pebbles and let the realization sink in that I was half way across the world laying on a pure black colored beach. God created this beach in Iceland just like He created my beach in North Carolina. What a moment!
Day 2 in Southern Iceland brought clear blue skies and sunshine! Hallelujah! We were determined to find the abandoned airplane we had read about and we knew it wasn't far from our house. We followed the directions and found a small sign that confirmed we were going the right way even though we questioned it as we entered the gates to a black sandy field. We followed the tire tracks until we finally saw our destination. In 1973, a U.S. Navy plane crashed on the beach when it ran out of fuel. Everyone survived the crash and the plane remains where it landed during the crash. There were a couple of other cars out there exploring the plane with us, but we were able to climb in and on the plane and take some great pictures.
Summer had been anticipating our next stop since we began planning our trip...mighty Skogafoss! This waterfall was incredible and we were lucky enough to see a double rainbow at the base of the falls.
Since our house was so close, Summer stayed at Skogafoss to climb to the top and take more photos and the rest of us went on back to the house to organize all of our mess and rest. On our way back to pick up Summer we stopped at a little coffee shop that turned out to be a really cute quaint local restaurant. We had coffee and a coconut curry soup that was to die for! Morgan, Shelby, and Summer went off to explore 2 more waterfalls and I definitely regret not going, but I couldn't take more car time. Their waterfall was in a cave and even though they got soaking wet, their pictures were incredible!
Day 3 brought my most anticipated activity...snorkeling! Now I know you're scratching your head wondering why and where would we go snorkeling in Iceland...between the tectonic plates of the continental divide, of course! We had to adorn lovely dry suits that were not the least bit flattering, but they kept us semi warm and dry as we plunged into 30 degree water. It was such as amazing experience to be able to see clearly down at least 70 feet in the water! We saw a lot of coral and rock formations and seaweed floating around.
After snorkeling, we basked in the sunshine in Pingvellir National Park and enjoyed laying in the grass napping and talking before we loaded up for our last car ride and our last night in Reykjavik.
Our last night in Iceland had to be done right so we showered and cleaned up nicely and prepped for our last night on the town! We wandered the city until we found a nice restaurant that looked appealing. We feasted on fantastic seafood and recapped our trip. It was a clear night so we were anticipating an Iceland "sunset" so we stopped for coffee and dessert at The Laundrymat to keep us energized to stay up late enough to watch the sky change colors. We had all read different blog comments about The Laundrymat and it was definitely worth going! It was a fun environment with fabulous coffee milkshakes!
Our journey through Iceland was nothing short of a glorious adventure. We pushed ourselves outside of our comfort zones, survived hostels, driving crazy roads, living with minimal wifi, and sharing 1 bathroom for 10 days. We survived and new friendships were made as we explored God's creation in the Land of Fire and Ice.
