We visited Þingvellir and walked through the snowy chasm before paying $2 each to use the floor to ceiling windowed bathroom.
On our way to Geysir we stopped at a random farm restaurant.
The burger and the soup were excellent, but the best thing on the menu were the thick snowflakes really starting to come down outside. After we left Sam let snow land on her tongue for the first time.
Geysir was tough to get to as the snowstorm was in full effect and the steam coated the subtle grade of the walkway with solid ice. After nearly slipping several times we came to the geysir that all other geysirs are named after. We waited for what felt like fifteen minutes in that cold, but it was probably going off every two minutes. Because it was below freezing the geysir bubbled up into steam instantly, depriving us of the sky high fountain it emits in warmer temperatures. I messed up on my camera settings and everything came out blurry. It was so cold and nasty I decided to not try again.
As the snow kept falling we headed up the road a bit for something that would knock our socks off if they weren’t already frozen in our boots.
Gullfoss is something inspiring, especially covered in ice and snow.
Unfortunately the ice was so bad that the lower viewing platforms were closed, but the thunderous mountain of water careening into a deep ravine was breathtaking enough from on high. The only way we could take pictures was to hide our eyes behind the camera and point, otherwise snowflakes would rapidly rush in to blind you.
The snow was blasting sideways at us, coming up from the waterfall. On the cliff view the wind was slightly less and we stood there for a long while just admiring the ferocity of the freezing flow.
Our next destination, Selfoss, was a few hours down a snow covered road. Once there we caught up on our grocery shopping, which consisted essentially of chips, chocolate and bananas. Then we headed deep into Southern Iceland to see Seljalandsfoss.
If Gullfoss was inspiring by it’s magnificence, Seljalandsfoss won us over with its fairy-tale come-to-life appearance.
As we arrived the sun was setting behind us in muted pinks and oranges which just barely kissed the still falling snow surrounding the waterfall.
Though not nearly as big as Gullfuss, the waterfall was still higher than anything we’d seen in Hawaii and wide enough. This waterfall was one you could walk around if you wanted, though it’s hard to believe you’d want to when the thermometer dips below zero. The stairways on either side of the falls were frozen.
We approached the one to the right and took photos in the heavy spray from the falls before turning back and heading to the other side. While I went up and over the ridge to get as close as possible to the backside of the falls, Sam walked down the stone path to see the other smaller waterfalls in the area.
To the side of the falls was hidden a magical alcove complete with green and orange moss, man-sized icecicles and a mound of unfrozen black volcanic rock. That rock was the only thing not frozen because the water was falling directly on it.
After I’d spent enough time back there Sam was on her way back to the car as the sun had gone past the horizon and the already freezing temperatures were lowering quickly. I couldn’t leave without seeing the other waterfalls so I ran along the black volcanic gravel trail.
At the very end was a last waterfall hidden in a crack in the mountain.
A few men braver than I, and with waterproof clothing, tried to sneak through the crack to see the cave inside. I was content to snap a few photos from outside before running back to the car.
Night quickly fell and we made our way to our hotel. We were hungry, though, and so we stopped at the first “open” sign we passed.
As luck would have it the small ocean-side restaurant was another random pick of deliciousness. We ordered chicken soup and meat soup. The meat soup was thick with beef, tomatoes and lots of spice. The stars of the meal though were the mint and paprika flavored jams that were given to put on bread. We liked them so much we brought a tiny jar of each home with us (at $8 each!).
