Day 3 - Vik and More Waterfalls

We set off quite early hoping to get to Vik for around dawn and then visit the waterfalls on the way back.  Some of the roads were quite slippy after the overnight freeze but Vinny (the car) was happier about it than we were.  Our first stop was Dyrhólaey which is just before Vik and we saw the waterfalls on the way because they were just off the main road.

The first car park at Dyrhólaey was at a small headland above the beach.  This first shot is West, towards the larger headland where the second car park is situated.

It was very windy and quick difficult to keep upright and although Vinny told us it was 5 degrees the wind chill factor made it feel about minus 10.

To the East was a long black sand beach with a big rock sticking up out of it.  In the distance is the headland with the three trolls of reynisdrangar, the beach of Vik.

The track to the second car park was very rough, very narrow and very steep in places.  It was even windier up here but looking inland we saw the  Mýrdalsjökull icecap and the Katla volcano.  In front of them is a big lump of rock which we drove past but I couldn't find the name.

At the end of the headland is a cute little lighthouse and this view of the sea arch.  Unfortunately the tide was in so we couldn't get down to the beach and get some closer shots of the arch.  There is a path where you can walk across the top of the arch but because it was so windy we didn't think it would be safe to go that way.

We then went to Vik and down to the beach where there was a German Memorial which is to remember 1,000 German fishermen who lost their lives in Icelandic waters between 1898 and 1952.

We walked along the black sand beach towards the jetty.  It looked really weird with the black sand and the very white surf from the incoming waves.  From here I took this long shot of the famous Vik church on the hill above the town with the mountains behind.

At the jetty I took this shot of the three trolls with the jetty wall and black sand in the foreground.

Then we went to the restaurant at the edge of town where we had a Magistrates Burgers (just because Ginny is a barrister) which contained, a burger, bacon and cheese with a fried egg on top served with chips and some Mediterranean vegetable stuff.  We were pretty stuffed after that but we needed the energy for later.  On the way back to the car we passed this sculpture on top of a big column which had been erected by Hull Council where there is a second sculpture which faces this one.  Fancy coming all the way to Iceland to find something from Yorkshire.

We left Vik and went to see the water fall at Skogarfoss which looks very impressive even from the road on the way passed earlier.  We decided to climb the 400 ish steps to the top of the waterfall where we had this view.

Back at the bottom of the fall Ginny wanted to make sure I got a picture of the little seagull towards the bottom right of the frame.  The falls are about 60m high and 25m across, so very big.

Here at the bottom of the waterfall we, and the camera, were getting very wet from the spray but Ginny insisted on getting an action shot.

We left Skogarfoss for our last stop at Seljalandsfoss and went for another action shot.  Unfortunately the battery on my radio remote was flat, so after several attempts using the timer we ended up asking a passing photographer to take the shot for us.

We climbed the stairs at the side of the waterfall and soon started to get wet again.

The path goes around the back of the waterfall and here we are looking out through the waterfall (still getting quite wet).

Out the other side of the waterfall we can see into where we had been.

There was a signpost  on a path to Gljúfrabúi which said 600m so we headed off to find it and as you approach it you can see the top of the waterfall but is disappears into the rock.  When you reach the noticeboard there is a stream coming out of a little cave where you have to go inside to get to the bottom of the waterfall.  Inside it was very dark, wet and very very loud.  For this picture we had to stand very still for almost 30 seconds getting completely soaked all the time.

Back down to the main waterfall and one last shot from the bridge over the stream.  It was starting to get a little dark by now so we headed off back to the apartment for a light tea and a rest.

The driving in the dark was very tiring with the road conditions very variable on both long journeys.  We have decided not to travel to the Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon from the apartment because it twice as far as the journey to Vik.  Had we considered this earlier we should have done the waterfalls on the way to Vik then carried on to near Jokulsarlon for an overnight stop, got up early to look around the  lagoons and then headed back the following day. Next time maybe.

In the evening we went on an aurora hunt but it was too cloudy.  We thought we saw some greenish patches in the sky but nothing spectacular.  Tomorrow we're going to Thingvellir National park where there is the rift valley then on to Reykjavik.  We might stop on the way back to look for the aurora again but the weather forecast is too good for tonight so maybe not.