Hofn is a small waterfront town that sits right on the Southeast corner of Iceland, and it was a great place to re-group and make a plan for exploring some of the the more well-known and popular tourist destinations along the South Coast. From the waterfront in town we could see the tongues of four glaciers reaching down to the water, and we were looking forward to spending some time exploring all that ice. The visitor center in town has a nice display about the local birds and a really interesting movie about the eruption of the Katla volcano. We treated ourselves to lunch at Humar Hofnin and shared a plate of duck and langoustine (Norway lobsters). A large percentage of the Langoustine that are caught in Iceland come from Hofn so we figured it would be a good place to try it, and we were not disappointed. Our second evening in Hofn we were treated to our first show from the northern lights on this trip. We had been in the country nearly a month at this point, but this was the first night that the skies were clear and the kP index was high. There was a strong green river of light running straight through the sky that waved and danced for 2-3 minutes before the lights faded a bit and spread out across the sky. They got pretty faint for a while and then came back in full force as a curtain of light, twisting and swirling right above us in greens and reds.
We spent two nights in Hofn before striking out West on the Ring Road along the South Coast of Iceland. On October twelfth we struck out for the Jokulsarlon iceberg lagoon, but it took nearly all day to make the hour-long trip because we couldn't resist taking several side trips down gravel roads to visit all of the glaciers creeping down the mountains from the Vatnajokull icefield.
Our first side trip took us to the Hoffellsjokul glacier where we hiked a short distance to an overlook with a view of the glacier spreading out into the valley from its narrow mountain pass, and a grey lagoon filled with chunks of ice at its foot. Our next detour took us down another gravel road for a view of a much larger glacier. The road narrowed to one land after about 8k and crossed a man-made land bridge of gravel about 15 feet tall out in front of the glacier. The further down the road we went the more ice came into view, and when we stopped for some photos we noticed two reindeer to the right that ran along the edge of a pool before disappearing from sight.
Our first side trip took us to the Hoffellsjokul glacier where we hiked a short distance to an overlook with a view of the glacier spreading out into the valley from its narrow mountain pass, and a grey lagoon filled with chunks of ice at its foot. Our next detour took us down another gravel road for a view of a much larger glacier. The road narrowed to one land after about 8k and crossed a man-made land bridge of gravel about 15 feet tall out in front of the glacier. The further down the road we went the more ice came into view, and when we stopped for some photos we noticed two reindeer to the right that ran along the edge of a pool before disappearing from sight.
| | The whole drive from Hofn was gorgeous, with glacier after glacier coming into view on our right side with glimpses of the mighty Vatnajokull over the jagged peaks. We arrived at Jokulsarlon iceberg lagoon 90 minutes before sunset. I was prepared for it to not live up to the hype, as its one of the most advertised tourist attractions in Iceland, but it was actually just as impressive as the internet makes it seem. The water was so calm when we arrived that all of the floating ice was reflected perfectly in its mirrored surface. The low sun provided perfect lighting for the massive icebergs and the tiny little growlers that had all calved from the toe of the glacier in the distance. When the wind picked up and the mirror disappeared we went to the beach where the ice gets washed back up on the sand after it travels the short river from the lagoon to the sea. Huge icebergs were being battered by the powerful waves and tossed around with the incoming tide. Small crystal clear ice jewels littered the tide line and sparkled like diamonds in the setting sun. It was a bit surreal to walk between car-sized ice boulders and climb on blue castles of ice with the sound of pounding waves in our ears. We took a long walk down the beach to escape the crowds and went back to the car as the darkness closed in at about 630. |
We had hoped to find a campground reasonably close, but ended up having to drive another 3 hours to Vik before we came upon another campground. In the end we had to pay $138 for two beds in a hostel because a storm blew in and the only campground was completely flooded...a drastic difference from the morning when the weather was perfectly clear.
The storm had mostly blown itself out by next morning, and we took advantage of access to a shower before we checked out. We decided to explore Vik a bit before heading back East to see the stuff we had missed driving in the dark the night before. We started out the day looking for the wreck of the US Navy DC-3 super bus plane on Solheimasandur beach. We found the parking area full of cars and joined a steady stream of people hiking out to the beach. It was about two miles out through a desolate and otherworldly landscape of black sand and lava rocks. The plane crashed on the beach on November 21, 1973 and everyone survived, but it must have been a strange and lonely place for the crew to find themselves stranded in. The tail section and wings are all missing, and the inside is completely gutted, so its just the shell of the fuselage with the cockpit destroyed. There were a lot of people at the plane, but we walked 200 yards to the shore and we were all alone. I am constantly impressed by the violence and power of the massive waves on Iceland's South coast. They pound the shore with a fury that would pulverize even the strongest swimmer.
We walked back to the car and drive back East towards Vik, stopping outside of town at Reynisfjara beach. The waves were even more ferocious here, and there were signs warning of dangerous "sneaker waves"that could be much larger than the other waves and catch people off guard. Several tourists have been killed by them, but it didn't seem to stop the other tourist from getting ridiculously close to the water to get that perfect selfie. At one end of the beach there was a large "cave" (more of a big indentation) of basalt columns and a long cliff of the hexagonal columns stretching parallel to the ocean. The tide was high so we couldn't walk along the cliff, but we had a good view of Reynisdrangar, the two tall rock formations rising out of the sea that are supposedly trolls turned to stone.
The storm had mostly blown itself out by next morning, and we took advantage of access to a shower before we checked out. We decided to explore Vik a bit before heading back East to see the stuff we had missed driving in the dark the night before. We started out the day looking for the wreck of the US Navy DC-3 super bus plane on Solheimasandur beach. We found the parking area full of cars and joined a steady stream of people hiking out to the beach. It was about two miles out through a desolate and otherworldly landscape of black sand and lava rocks. The plane crashed on the beach on November 21, 1973 and everyone survived, but it must have been a strange and lonely place for the crew to find themselves stranded in. The tail section and wings are all missing, and the inside is completely gutted, so its just the shell of the fuselage with the cockpit destroyed. There were a lot of people at the plane, but we walked 200 yards to the shore and we were all alone. I am constantly impressed by the violence and power of the massive waves on Iceland's South coast. They pound the shore with a fury that would pulverize even the strongest swimmer.
We walked back to the car and drive back East towards Vik, stopping outside of town at Reynisfjara beach. The waves were even more ferocious here, and there were signs warning of dangerous "sneaker waves"that could be much larger than the other waves and catch people off guard. Several tourists have been killed by them, but it didn't seem to stop the other tourist from getting ridiculously close to the water to get that perfect selfie. At one end of the beach there was a large "cave" (more of a big indentation) of basalt columns and a long cliff of the hexagonal columns stretching parallel to the ocean. The tide was high so we couldn't walk along the cliff, but we had a good view of Reynisdrangar, the two tall rock formations rising out of the sea that are supposedly trolls turned to stone.
| We spent some time in Vik poking around the local shops then headed back East towards Jokulsarlon. With clear skies and a high KP index we decided to try to make it back to the Lagoon before sunset and wait there to capture the northern lights. The lights started dancing before it was even fully dark, and we pulled over twice on the way there to take some pictures when they got really strong. They danced for about two hours while we were at the lagoon and we got some great photos of the ice and the lights together. Even after the lights faded we stayed a while to listen to the ice creaking and groaning and splashing in the water. We arrived back in Hofn at 1:30 in the morning and set up the tent for another windy night without much sleep, so we spent the whole next day sleeping in and drove back to Jokulsarlon the next night as well to enjoy another light show. | |
The next morning we pack up our tent and left Hofn for good, with one more stop at Jokulsarlon on our way West to see what we had missed driving in the dark. We took a longer walk around the lagoon for our last visit there. Its amazing how crowded it is near the parking area, but no one bothers to walk ten minutes down the shore so we had it all to ourselves. After seeing the crowds at these popular destinations in the "off season" I would never recommend visiting Iceland at the height of the tourist season.
About halfway between Jokulsarlon and Vik starts a huge lava field that extends as far as you can see. The jagged sharp rocks are covered in an incredibly soft-looking green moss that smooths and rounds the edges into indistinct lumps. It looks like a magical other world, and I can completely understand how legends of hidden people can persist here. We decided to stay in Vik that night since the campground had dried out significantly. We pitched our tent high on a hill at he base of some tall cliffs with a view of the ocean and reynisdrangar in the distance and had a good nights sleep listening to the waves crashing on the shore and protected from the worst of the ever-present wind.
About halfway between Jokulsarlon and Vik starts a huge lava field that extends as far as you can see. The jagged sharp rocks are covered in an incredibly soft-looking green moss that smooths and rounds the edges into indistinct lumps. It looks like a magical other world, and I can completely understand how legends of hidden people can persist here. We decided to stay in Vik that night since the campground had dried out significantly. We pitched our tent high on a hill at he base of some tall cliffs with a view of the ocean and reynisdrangar in the distance and had a good nights sleep listening to the waves crashing on the shore and protected from the worst of the ever-present wind.
We started off the next day with a stop at Skogafoss waterfall, which is fed by the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers. The main falls is 15 meters wide and 62 meters high and quite impressive, but there are over 20 waterfalls on the Skoga river so we hiked upriver (and uphill) a ways to see more. As with most places on the South coast the waterfall was very crowded, but once we started walking upriver we left the crowds behind. On the way back to the ring road we stopped at a little food truck in someones front yard and shared a delicious order of fish and chips, then we went in search of the oldest swimming pool in Iceland. We took road 242 out towards Raufarfell and hiked about 15 minutes down the valley from the end of the road. Right next to the river and hidden around a bend in the trail is Seljavallalaug, built in 1923. Three concrete walls and the side of a cliff make up the 25x10 meter pool and the water comes from a pipe running from a hot spring. Although the water from the pipe was quite hot, it didn't do much to warm the pool, even right next to the source. IT wouldn't be a great experience on a cold rainy day, but since we had a bit of sun we found it quite refreshing, and the less-than-warm water kept most people out so we had plenty of elbow room. The algae on the bottom of the pool made it so slippery it was a challenge to walk, but standing still in the shallow end we slowly slid towards the deeps until our feet were no longer touching.
We spent more time in the pool than most of the people who were just there for a photo op, and had a nice hike back to the car. We had no other stops planned, but we ran into a small cave next to the road and decided to have a quick look. Steinahellir cave was used by farmers to house sheep, and became the areas parlimentary assembly site from 1818-1905. Supposedly the cave is haunted, but we didn't see any ghosts. There is a wooden wall covering the cave entrance and when we stepped inside we were amazed to find the ceiling and walls covered in tiny bright green ferns. It felt like a really magical place. We spent that night in Selfoss, on the Southwest corner of Iceland at a campsite we had stayed in while we were still on our bicycles, and one of our favorite campsites in Iceland so far.
We spent more time in the pool than most of the people who were just there for a photo op, and had a nice hike back to the car. We had no other stops planned, but we ran into a small cave next to the road and decided to have a quick look. Steinahellir cave was used by farmers to house sheep, and became the areas parlimentary assembly site from 1818-1905. Supposedly the cave is haunted, but we didn't see any ghosts. There is a wooden wall covering the cave entrance and when we stepped inside we were amazed to find the ceiling and walls covered in tiny bright green ferns. It felt like a really magical place. We spent that night in Selfoss, on the Southwest corner of Iceland at a campsite we had stayed in while we were still on our bicycles, and one of our favorite campsites in Iceland so far.
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