Another day, another beautiful waterfall!  I love waterfalls, especially hearing the powerful sound of rushing water. It is truly mesmerizing and relaxing for me.  Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, situated along Iceland’s Ring Road, was much smaller than Gulfoss, but I thoroughly enjoyed the short hike up to it and being able to walk behind it.  Yes, I got wet from the spray, but I’m a swimmer!  I love getting wet!!  Everybody who braved the icy water to walk behind the waterfall and come out the other side came out laughing.  It was fun!  There were also a couple of other waterfalls nearby, and they were gorgeous.  It was a very enjoyable first stop of the day!

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

What came next was a complete surprise, because it wasn’t on our itinerary:  seeing puffins at Dyrholaey Cliffs, overlooking a black sand beach.  We had chosen a tour date that didn’t offer the pre-extension that would have included seeing puffins, so we weren’t expecting to see any during this trip.  When Thorunn said we were going to visit some cliffs where we may see puffins, I thought, “Yeah, right.  We’ll see them as little specks, way off in the distance, barely visible.”  Imagine my surprise when we started our walk along the cliff path and came across a small group of people gathered around taking pictures.  Oh, it was probably some seagulls or something…  No!  It was seven nesting puffins, the closest perhaps 8-10 feet away!  All I could do was say, “Awww, they are so CUTE!”  Then, I shot photos—and, a lot of them.  I couldn’t stop shooting and staring at those adorable birds.  It was love at first sight!  These are my favorites; I couldn’t narrow it down anymore:

I finally had to tear myself away to rejoin our tour.  As if what we had already seen wasn’t spectacular enough, our afternoon Super “Jeep” Tour with Ingo was amazing.  We all piled in his specially outfitted mega-“Jeep” (not really a Jeep) for a three-hour tour to see the dormant glacier of Kotlujokull, where the ice is 600 years old.

Iceland is a very environmentally-conscious country, so strict laws require vehicles to stay on a well-marked road to the glacier.  Once we arrived at the end of the road, we hiked the rest of the way in to see the glacier. 

Ingo was carrying a box with him; I assumed it was a first-aid kit and water.  Once we arrived, he grabbed an ice pick he had left at the glacier and picked away at the ice which was covered in black volcanic ash.  Below the top layer was beautiful white ice.  He gathered an aluminum tray full of ice, for what, I didn’t know, until he opened his box:

CHEERS!

The scenery throughout our three-hour tour was beautiful; we were fortunate to have sunny skies!  Ingo was a delight—funny and informative.  He really made our adventure and enjoyable one!

Back in Vik, where our tour began, we had a little extra time to take a spin through their massive gift shop and stop into Kronan for some snacks.  We did both.  I’m not a shopper (unless it’s for chocolate), but I did want to see Icelandic wool products.  I took pictures of the wool and bought some chocolate to add to my chocolate label collection (Time to update my tally, although only one label per brand counts.):

In a previous post, I had mentioned Kronan and Bonus as being the cheapest grocery stores in Iceland.  If you ever go to Iceland, look for the smile (Kronan) or pink pig (Bonus).  Either one or the other (or both) will be in most towns, and you will save a lot of money shopping at either one of them.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we visited Reynisfjara Beach, which lies between the peninsula of Dyrholaey and Mount Reynisfjall.  What a trip!  I have never seen anything like it!  Halsanefshellir Cave, formed by the pounding waves against the soft volcanic rock, featured amazing hexagonal basalt formations, the result of magma cooling slowly and cracking into columns as the surface area decreases.  Fascinating!

The day proved to be another one full of gorgeous natural wonders that I am appreciating more as I look back on my photos and let it all sink in.  How fortunate I was to see it all!  For that, I am extremely grateful.

Coming up next:  Scenic Stykkisholmur & Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!