Iceland Road Trip – 1

Getting out of Reykjavik is a stressful time, but once the car hits the highway, it’s a pretty smooth ride out there. Selfoss is our first destination, to drop off our bags at the hotel and then head to Þingvellir (Thingvellir). It’s a national park and historic site as the foundation of the then Commonwealth of Iceland and also the site for its independence from Denmark since the end of World War 2 as a republic.

People hike around the area to see the Prime Minister’s (former?) summer residence, Öxarárfoss waterfall. The site is also a place where you can snorkel in the Mid-Atlantic rift, but that’s not something I did.

The following day, we spent a rainy morning going to Gulfoss (Golden Falls) to admire its sheer scale and then to the Geysir park to witness the water spout where all geysers get their namesake.

We don’t see too much of Selfoss. The hotel was right near an older shopping complex with a supermarket and a newer and soon-to-be-expanded complex of restaurants and a food hall.

Vik
The last I remember of Vik was a tiny convenience store near the coast and some rock formations off the coast. Now, ten years later, there is small shopping complex, apartments and hotels. Our stay is in a large country hotel, north of Reynisfjara. It’s been raining on and off since Selfoss and the wind is picking up. Our goal for the afternoon was the Vikufjara black sand beach. As far as I know, there aren’t many beaches around Iceland. A lot of looks like rocky coastline. Anything directly against the sea is wracked by hard waves. Vikufjara’s beach is made up of igneous rock that that has been slowly ground down over the centuries, with a great many pebbles and stones rounded by the tides’ grind. The walk along the beach to the base of Reynisfjall cliffs provide a decent view of the rock formation just off the coast.

Dyrhólaey is a series of cliffs with some archways made through tidal erosion. The North Atlantic smashes against the rocks. Signs advise the beaches are closed due to sneaker waves and cliff erosion. All is required is a few moments to wait for such a wave to hit the rocks with such force, it would doubtless end a person.

High tide and an early dusk is setting in, so we retreat to the hotel for dinner. The hotel is filled with two or three buses worth of tourists, one from a Dublin college and the others tour groups. The dinner is a buffet in a large dining hall and with the students and tour groups, largely a cacophony.

We eat our meal and return to our room.