Iceland Travel Diary: Southern Iceland and Blue Lagoon
Day 4 brought on exploring the South Coast of Iceland, and it was just as beautiful as you would expect. We drove about 2 hours before we made any stops. The entire route was full of scenery, from waterfalls to volcanic ash and Viking houses, and it ended at the Blue Lagoon!
Museum Stop
Our first stop we made was at a museum called Skógasafn, which is dedicated to preserving Viking artifacts. They have over 15,000 artifacts between the different buildings, and there are even Turf houses on the property that are set up to show you how the Vikings actually lived. The entire museum was awesome to see and I loved walking through the homes, learning about the culture. We spent about an hour there, but you could easily stay longer.
The museum also has a cafe that serves really good soups; when we visited they had a lamb stew, minestrone, and a mushroom soup. For a bowl, it costs 1900 krona, which is about $20, but they all come with free refills. I had the lamb stew and the mushroom soup; both were delicious!
Glacier Time
After our museum stop, we went to see a glacier! The walk to get to Sólheimajökull Glacier took us about 10 minutes, and it was a very easy trail. It was so cool to see, but a little sad at the same time because you could tell how big it once was. However, it is growing again, which is a good sign. Next up was puffin watching!! This was probably the most exciting part of the day! We pulled over to a place that is known for puffins flying around and nesting. There were so many!
The Black Sand Beach
Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach was up next, and it might be my favorite part of Iceland. There are so many beautiful natural structures throughout the beach that you could probably spend an entire day here. Although, it isn’t very warm, and certainly not ideal for laying out all day. I wish we had more time, but there were still waterfalls to see.
Skógafoss was our first stop, and it is a beautiful waterfall! I was lucky with the pictures I got, but there were consequences for getting so close. By the end the end of my photo session, I was soaked! My Columbia Bugaboo boots were perfect for this excursion because my feet stayed completely dry as I was walking through the water for the perfect shot.
Waterfall Chasing
The next waterfall we went to, we could actually walk behind. To get behind it you have to basically rock climb up some slick stones and you also get completely drenched. I mean you are walking behind a waterfall, so you can’t expect to stay dry, right? Although it was an amazing day of sightseeing everyone was exhausted by the end of the day. We grabbed dinner and headed to bed.
Whale Watching
Day 5 in Iceland was the last day with my tour group. I made some amazing friends so I knew it would be hard to say goodbye. We started the day off by taking a whale watching boat tour, and it was great. You are never guaranteed to see anything on those cruises, but we saw a lot of whales and a lot of Dolphins as well. Anything on or near the water is fun for me, but seeing animals is a bonus. I highly recommend a whale watching tour while you are visiting Iceland.
The Blue Lagoon
The last group excursion we did before the farewell dinner was relaxing at the Blue Lagoon. When in Iceland, the Blue Lagoon is a must visit, and it is well worth it. I’ll go into more detail in a post dedicated to spending a day there, but by the end of the day I was relaxed and feeling refreshed.
The night brought our farewell dinner, and I had to say goodbye to my new friends. I love traveling so much because it brings people together in the best ways. In just a matter of days, I feel like I’ve met people that will be in my life for a long time and that hopefully, I will share more adventures with in the future. The adventure continues for me because tomorrow I’m off to Scotland!
