The Blue Lagoon

Enjoy a few hours of lazing in the volcanic thermal waters of the blue lagoon….

Remains of a shipwrecked trawler

The remains of several steel hull trawlers litter the coast near Grindavik - all caught in storms and rolled on to the treacherous shore.

Happy Puffins!

Several locations around Iceland are home to the puffin population. Amazing fact that a puffin can dive 200 ft to catch fish and can stay self-sufficient at sea for as long as two years as it can drink sea water and catch food, then return to land to breed.

DC-3 crash landing

On the south coast of Iceland near Vik, a US Navy Dakota DC-3 had to make an emergency landing. Looks like most of the removable equipment was salvaged leaving the remains of the fuselage on the black sand beach.

Jokulsarlon

One of our favorite places!  Amazing glacier breakup on the coastline sends car size chunks of ice flowing out to sea. With blue mystical hues the icebergs have broken off from the massive Icelandic ice cap and gathered in a lake before being sluiced out to sea. This spot provided a setting for several movies including A View to a Kill, Die Another Day, Lara Croft Tomb Raider and Batman Begins.

Vik Reynisdrangar trolls

Vik,  population approximately 350, on Iceland's south coast has three mystical trolls who were suddenly caught in daylight and became rock or,  in fact, basalt stone stacks made from tuff sitting out from the headland which have so far avoided complete erosion. The beach is entirely black sand and is ranked in the top ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world!

Glaciers meet coast

There is a very short distance between glaciers and the coastline on the southern coast as the central mountain glacier sends spurs of ice outwards down the valleys to the sea. A hundred years ago the glaciers went all the way to the sea but they have receded a few miles now! Each glacier has a terminal lake and small icebergs break off and float in the glacial outflow.

Another culinary delight!

Which I will NOT be indulging in! About $8 to a thousand kroners so about $40 for this entree!

Route 1 bridges

There is only one major road in Iceland - Route 1.  It was only completed in the 1990's and there are still some dirt or gravel sections in the east. One complication are the bridges which are one lane only and priority is to the person who arrives first!  We're hesitant to approach at speed when we can't see over the bridge hump or the bridge is over 1/4 mile long!  The usual victims are foreigners like the latest crash with a Chinese driver head first into a Japanese driven car!

Hofn: langoustine capital

Hofn, the langoustine capital of Iceland on the south coast, is a little warmer harbor and fishing port than most Icelandic towns due to Gulf Stream effect. The two main restaurants feature these mini lobsters as the local specialty and are they tasty! Served up by the dozen, grilled with butter and wine sauce they are heavenly! Also I may add quite expensive!

Jokulsarlon

Can't get over how amazing Jokulsarlon lagoon is! You are stunned by the beauty of it and the many perspectives. Coming from Reykjavik, cross the bridge and turn left to the parking area and explore! You don't need to get on the noisy and uncomfortable duck boats and spend a ton of money floating in the lagoon, just use your feet and walk along the shore and hillocks that give you a great view! If the amphibious tour boats took you to the edge of the glacier and close to the calving and shearing, it might be worth it, but they just go around in a small circle near the shore icebergs. Then walk under the bridge and visit the black sand shore! Jump in your car, go back over the bridge and take the first left and park as far down the beach car park as you can, then walk down the black sand to the huge ice blocks stranded on the beach and get some great ice art photos!

Supermarket find!

Wow! Sheepshead cut into two longitudinal halves and frozen waiting for a crack Icelandic cook to turn this into a stunning dinner dish tonight!