Our trip to Iceland was last minute since we were initially supposed to have our honeymoon in Guadeloupe, which was hit by a category 5 hurricane just before our departure. On a friend’s suggestion, we decided to go to Iceland instead, and we did NOT regret it. When we got off the plane, we were hit by the cold. It was quite different from what we were expecting on our honeymoon. We didn’t let the cold faze us, and went to pick up the camper van. We were very happy to see it came with a fridge and even WiFi! Since food is quite expensive in Iceland, we stopped to buy groceries and off we were on our great adventure.
Our first stop was the Snæfellsnes peninsula, home of the Snæfellsjökull, famous from Jules Verne “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. We enjoyed the sight of Kirkjufell mountain before stopping in Hellissandur for our first night, where we got to sleep in a lava field. Pretty cool, right? Furthermore, the mattress was very comfy and we slept very well. Since the camper van is equipped with a heating system, we never had to worry about the cold Icelandic weather at night. On our second day, we went to the beautiful beach of Djùpalónssandur. Then, as we were driving around the peninsula, we spotted a crack in the mountain and decided to stop. Turns out it was the tomb of the troll Bárður. As we entered the crack, we found ourselves in a small canyon. To go deeper, we had to walk through a small river and at some points, we had to climb the rocks on the walls. As we went further, we start seeing more and more dead birds in the river, which began to feel really creepy (remember this is the tomb of a troll), so ultimately, we decided to head back, but it was still very fun. After a five-hour drive, we got to the charming city of Akureyri, where red lights are heart shaped, and we enjoyed an excellent hot chocolate at Bláa Kannan.
Our third day was spent exploring the wonderful lake Mývatn area. There are so many things to see there, we could have spent plenty of time in that area. We walked around lava formations in the Dimmuborgir national park, explored the Yule lads cave. We got to the top of the Hverfell volcano, which is a short but very steep ascension. In the evening, we admired Dettifoss, the strongest waterfall in Europe. We wanted to finish the day by relaxing at the Mývatn Nature Baths, which are said to be as good as the Blue Lagoon. Unfortunately, when we got there we were told that due to fierce winds, the baths were cold (that should have tipped us about what was to come).
Then, even though it was dark, it was only 20:00, so we decided to drive through the east coast to save time on our itinerary, expecting to sleep in Höfn. While we were driving, it began to rain heavily, and then suddenly, we were in the thickest fog I’ve ever seen. We literally couldn’t see one meter in front of the car. We had to drive very slowly, guiding ourselves with the little reflective stick on the side of the road. Then, on top of the dark, the heavy rain, and the thick fog, intense winds hit us (afterwards we learned they were 130 km/h). We stopped at the nearest rest area and decided to sleep there for the night and stay until the storm passed. Throughout the night, the wind was so strong we felt the camper van sway from side to side. We were afraid it would fall and practically didn’t close our eyes all night, but thank god, it held on! The next morning, we left as we wanted to leave the more distance we could between us and that place. On our way to the south, we crossed multiple parts of the road that started to be flooded and had to drive right through it, hoping not to get stuck. As some point, there was even a small landslide. We managed to safely get out of there just in time, since later that day, the road between Jökulsárlón and Höfn was closed for at least 5 days due to the flooding.
After that traumatic experience, we were happy to be able to enjoy the wonders of south Iceland. We started that day at the beautiful lake of Jökulsárlón. The lake has an amazing blue color, and a couple of icebergs are floating on it. We even saw seals swimming and playing with each other, that was very enjoyable. Then, we went to the impressive Svínafellsjökull glacier. As we didn’t book a tour, we weren’t able to actually walk on the ice, but we sure tried to go as far as we were able to until it was to steep to continue.
With the magnificent Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, this was probably the best day of our trip. We saw a couple taking their wedding pictures there, and it is understandable, as this canyon is truly a great sight. In the evening, we drove to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where we got to relax in the local hot tub with a superb view on the Klaustur waterfall. Needless to say, this completed the day perfectly.
The next day, we got to see the nice black sand beach Reynisfjara. Apparently, the waves there are sneaky and treacherous, so you can’t swim, but we found it was beautiful and enjoyed it a lot. In addition, there were big caves and impressive basalt columns, this truly is a must if you’re heading to the south coast of Iceland. Another highlight of our trip was Seljalandfoss, a 65-meter waterfall you can walk behind.
That was pretty awesome, but be prepared to be dripping wet! On top of that, we were lucky enough to see the beautiful Aurora Borealis that night, which was even prettier than we imagined, with colors ranging from green to yellow to orange and even some pink. Our perfect honeymoon ended in beauty at the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir, where we enjoyed an Icelandic beer inside the lagoon. Iceland will always be dear to our hearts, and we are already planning our next visit.
Myriam&Keven
Read more: Dreaming of Iceland
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