From the airport we rented our camper van on zero sleep and drove to Reykjavik to explore until we couldn’t keep our eyes open and took a nap in a grocery store parking lot.  Chris didn’t sleep at all and we just couldn’t travel any more and really wanted a nice bed to sleep in.  We found a hotel on the way to the Golden Circle which is where we would be exploring the next day.  After a lovely nights sleep we managed to wake up at 7am Iceland time and get on the road.  Our first stop was Gullfoss waterfall which was massive and very impressive.  We got soaked going all the way out to a viewing area.  The cafe and gift shop there was very nice and we were able to warm up a bit.  Our next stop was Geysir which was going off every 3-4 minutes so we saw it a few times then went on our way.  Our reservations for Fridheimar were next on our agenda.  I dream of going back here.  Everything on the menu has the tomatoes they grow right in front of you.  The tomato soup station was our favorite and we would have been happy if that was all we got but we also got a pizza that was so delicious.  We then drove to the southern part of the island to the town of Vik so we could camp there for the night.

Vik was about two hours away. We arrived around 9pm and we were expecting to be able to plug our van into an electrical outlet so we could use the heater in the van but it turns out we accidentally booked a van with no electrical hookup so our heat gave out in the middle of the night and we kept having to turn the van on to charge the battery that charged the heater.  It was not a relaxing night.  One time I got up to use the bathroom around 2am.  I could see some stars that weren’t covered by clouds so I took a picture with my iphone which takes a long exposure in the dark.  When I looked at it I could tell the sky was green so I went in the van and grabbed my gear.  I didn’t get quite the northern lights I was hoping for but they are still pretty cool.  In the morning we got up at 7:00 when the heat in the van died.  We got ourselves ready and left the campground to check out the view from the red roof church.  Our next stop was Rejynesfirdur black sand beach and bissalt columns.  We stayed away from the waves because they are notoriously dangerous.  Then we hit the road along the southern coast.

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After leaving the Vik area we drove 2 hours along the south coast where we hiked a bit to a massive glacier.  We were so impressed but didn’t know that an hour further was an even more amazing glacier/glacial lagoon and a black sand beach covered with icebergs.  That area required a 2 hour stay because I didn’t want to stop taking pictures.  We stayed until sunset then started driving to our next campground in Seydisfjordur in the east fjords of the island.

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The drive to Seydisfjordur was a little challenging.  I had fallen asleep while Chris was driving and when I woke up we were on a dirt road in the pitch black going up a huge mountain.  Luckily we were on the right road but after we came down from that mountain we had to go up another massive mountain where it began to snow.  The snow never got deep but driving on switchbacks up and then back down a mountain on the snow covered road was terrifying.  We found our campground and settled in for the night.  It was very windy and very cold.  Our heat did not last through the night again.  In the morning we drove around the tiny town and got some coffee at the only place that had any people in it.  The place was a ghost town.  The only reason we even ventured to that area was to see the rainbow road leading up to the cute little church.  After taking the pictures I wanted we made our way back over the snow covered mountain road to our next destination.

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This day we drove all the way from the east side of the island to the west with one fun stop in the middle.  In the northern fjords is a city called Akureyri.  We just drove through but my favorite thing ever was the fact that their red traffic lights were in the shape of hearts.  We drove north of the city to a beer spa!  They had hot tubs in private rooms that were filled with young beer (the initial ingredients of beer) and there was a beer tap where you could drink all the beer you could while in the hot tub.  I was looking forward to that for days but sadly I got incredibly car sick on the 4 hour drive there and just couldn’t drink any beer.  We had some lunch at the restaurant there then back in the van for another 4 hour ride to the hotel we booked for that night in Bifrost.

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Our hotel in Bifrost was VERY minimalist but such a welcome break from sleeping in the van.  In the morning we got back in the van and drove a couple hours to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula where we got to check off two more top locations on our list.  There were some spotty rain storms so we got to see a lot of beautiful rainbows.  Our first stop was the famous black church on the south coast of the peninsula.  When we arrived a couple had just finished their wedding and were having portraits done.  We hung around a little while and the crowd died down so I was able to get some shots without people in them.  After the church we drove to the north coast of the peninsula to see Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellfos.  Game of thrones fans will recognize this uniquely shaped hill.  I spent a lot of time there trying to get the perfect shots.  It started to rain just as we were leaving so it was perfect timing.  We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant nearby then back in the van for a 3 hour drive to our campground in Reykjavik.  On the way Chris surprised me with a stop at a hot spring spa.  We stayed for about an hour but the smell really started to bother me after a while.  The campground in Reykjavik was packed!  We found a place to park and were able to spend some time in the indoor common area for a couple hours before going to bed.

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After waking up we drove back into the city to do some shopping for gifts before heading to Blue Lagoon for lunch.  We did not swim.  Having lunch there was a perfect way to get to see it without the logistics of the changing rooms, etc. When we were done there we dropped our van off at the rental place and went to the airport. I can’t wait to go back!

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