We started out Day 6 at the very southern tip of Iceland, in Vik. Our hotel, Hotel Katla Hofdabrekka , had a very nice breakfast, although our scrambled egg/hash brown loving family members were disappointed as this was mostly a cold buffet. They did have a waffle maker though, which was different from all of our other hotels. After breakfast, we headed east/northeast on Hwy 1. It’s difficult to describe the stunning scenery along this stretch of Iceland. I think this was by far, my favorite day. People always say “Would you rather vacation at a beach or in the mountains?” In Iceland, you get both. There were numerous waterfalls along the mountain front — there was still snow to melt on the mountain tops, and in some cases, there are glaciers behind the mountains. The terrain is pretty rugged and unforgiving though, and it’s easy to see why the population is so sparse. There were vast stretches of volcanic black sand and rock. Often the ash/rock is covered by the most gorgeous moss.
Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Iceland and it is behind some of the mountains that you can see from Hwy 1. It’s hard to see, but in the picture below you can see the glacial tongues — they extend from the glacier, between the mountains and down to the valley floor. (In this case, they look like they’re wrapping around the mountain.)
Our first stop for the day was Jokulsarlon. Jokulsarlon is a large glacial lagoon that has been formed as the glacier melts and recedes from the sea. Icebergs break from the glacier, float through the lagoon and then head out to sea. The lagoon is surrounded by hills and can’t readily be seen from the Hwy. I knew we were getting close and then I heard a gasp from the back seat. SweetiePie had caught a glimpse of the lagoon between two little hills and she very excitedly asked us to pull over. We jumped out and ran to the top of a hill. There’s just no way to describe the sight — it truly took our breath away.
We hurriedly snapped some pictures and then ran back down the hill to the waiting guys in the car. They hadn’t seen what we saw, so it was fun to see their reactions when we crossed the bridge over the mouth of the lagoon and then turned into the little visitor center parking lot. Up until this point, I think TheManoftheHouse had been enjoying the trip, but he’s pretty quiet most of the time. I think he may have gasped a bit and then broke out into a BIG smile. TheManoftheHouse seal of approval “Wow. This is pretty cool.” Pictures don’t do it justice. If you travel to Iceland, Jokursalon is a MUST.
It was raining when we took the 30 minute boat ride, but it was worth it.
After Jokursalon we headed to Hofn. Hofn is known for it’s Langostinos but I kept that little tidbit from my not-seafood loving family. I don’t think they were very impressed when we pulled up to a restaurant that had these lobster/prawn-y things on the building, but I had to try them. I think they were even less impressed when they saw the menu — very little that was not seafood. We ended up ordering from the appetizer menu. They all ordered an asparagus covered bruschetta and I ordered a bruschetta with langostinos. It may have been when I started moaning (haha) that TheFirstChild and SweetiePie requested a little sample. They don’t like seafood, but I think they really liked these little langostinos. I’m SO sad I didn’t take a picture first — it was easily THE best meal I had in Iceland (and since almost all of our food was really good, that’s saying a lot.)
After our delicious lunch, we set out to find an old Viking movie set that I had read about on the We Do Iceland blog. It’s actually pretty easy to find — head east from Hofn and just before you enter a tunnel, take the road that goes to the right, toward the beach. If you get to the radar site, you went too far.
You have to park a little bit away from the movie set and then walk down the road. The movie set is the little cluster just to the left of the center of the photo below. I was sad that it was a cloudy day and we couldn’t see the top of the mountains — they’re so dramatic and beautiful as they rise from the sea.
Reindeer!
There were horses grazing behind the movie set. Soooo pretty and so friendly.
After the movie set, we turned back west for the long drive back to Vik. We briefly stopped back by Jokulsarlon (we couldn’t help ourselves) then crossed the bridge and continued on. We noticed a few cars turning off the road and decided to follow them. Much to our delight, over a little hill, we found another glacial lagoon. Fjallsarlon is not as famous as Jokulsarlon (maybe because it’s not right up next to the sea with room for a boat tour?) but we thought it was every bit as gorgeous.
By the time we got back to Vik, it was around 9 p.m. and, rather than spend time looking around for a restaurant that was open, we returned to Strondin Bistro and Bar for dinner. After dinner (by now after 10 p.m.), we decided to go to the hexagonal basalt columns on the beach at Vik. It was cloudy and dusk by the time we arrived, but it was beautiful. While we walked around the columns, puffins flew in to the cliffs overhead! I found myself wishing for better light and a bigger zoom lens.
![Thimbleanna: Iceland](../"../../images/2013/Travel/Iceland0751.jpg" "Thimbleanna:Iceland")
The view back to Dyrholaey.
I would love to return to this area and spend more time walking along the beach — back and forth between Vik and Dyrholaey.