Catching up, Part 2
Updated: Sep 15, 2022
I think I will just call this waterfall day. I headed west from the campsite for a few miles to Skógafoss. Foss means waterfall in Icelandic, so you'll be seeing that word a lot, because there are waterfalls everywhere. For the backpackers, Skógafoss is the starting point for a hike into the interior, but we (I'm still traveling with my new friends) did a much shorter hike. It did involve a fairly intense stair climb to the top of the falls, followed by a trail that follows the water. There are more waterfalls as you follow the trail, though none as spectacular as the first.
From there, it was down the road to the Dyrhólaey Promontory. The views were stunning, with the Atlantic on one side and glacier covered hills on the other. I got to see tourists acting like morons, climbing over the wall out onto the cliff (literally climbing over the sign that said not to cross). I have seen things like this several times. It's actually worse when the idiots climb onto the fragile vegetation—at least if they fall off a cliff, it's not hurting anything else, but the vegetation can take years or even decades to recover.
Next up was a stop in Vik for some groceries and other shopping. There's a store here called Icewear (the same place I bought my hiking boots) and they have an enormous store in Vik. I ended with 2 more pairs of wool socks, another wool base layer top, and some snacks. Honestly, I think I have enough food in this camper for way longer than I'm going to be in it. Before leaving Vik, we went to Skool Beans. It's a coffee shop in an old school bus and was packed! Every tourist in Iceland has heard of Skool Beans, I think. I got a yummy hot chocolate made with white chocolate. I didn't take any pictures of the bus, but it was a typical school bus. Heck, it was probably a Bluebird, made in Virginia.
Iceland has a lot of very photogenic buildings, in addition to the breathtaking scenery.
I drove through a very strange area after Vik. Everything looked like green blobs.
It's a moss carpet on lava rock. Most of it is wooly fringe-moss, and it is up to 40-60 cm deep in places. This landscape went on for miles. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time.
The final stop of the day was the Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. This was a short hike, not much more than a half a mile in, but it was worth the hike!
I'm settled in for the night at the campground in the Skaftafell area of the Vatnajökull National Park. There are two hikes here that I'd like to do tomorrow, the Svartifoss waterfall and the Skaftafellsjökull glacier. Then it's further up the coast to Diamond Beach and the Glacier Lagoon. I've got two more days on this eastward trek, as I've got to go back to Reykjavik on Sunday, as my flight to Bergen is early Monday morning. I'm hoping to make it up into the East Fjords before I turn around. I've been so lucky with the weather! It's been warm and mostly sunny ever since I got here. But, that's supposed to change tomorrow. I can't complain though!
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