1. Exploring Reykajvik
Our first stop was the northernmost capital city in the world, the small city of Reykjavik. We landed at 9:30 in the morning and spent somewhat of a jet-lagged day there, but were able to see some of the main sites, including the view from the tallest church in town and a stop at the house where the Reagan-Gorbachev summit was held in 1986.
2. Snorkeling on the Rift Between the Continental Plates
The European tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate meet in Iceland, and you can see where each ends; there is a valley of what has been filled in with lava between them. There is a lake at one point between them as well, and you can snorkel or dive in that lake. The water is incredibly clear, as it comes from the fissure having been filtered by the rocks for decades. We spent 30 minutes snorkeling through, well suited up in wet suits so as not to get too cold!
3. Lots of Waterfalls
We saw well over a hundred waterfalls over the course of the week - many streams cascading down mountainsides while we drove. We stopped at a few of the major waterfalls to hike or take photos.
4. Long and Windy Hike in Klaustar
The weather was a bit cold, dreary, and windy. We took one hike up along a waterfall and then along a ridge that was very windy and wet, and a bit longer than we had thought.
5. Beautiful Canyon
We took a hike in a beautiful canyon, though it started pouring while we were there and we all got pretty wet!
6. Boating among Icebergs
In the south-eastern corner of Iceland you are able to take boat rides in lagoons fed by glaciers that stretch down the mountains, with icebergs calving off before melting or heading out to sea. It was dreary weather but it cleared up and the sun shined for our outing!
7. Enjoying the Black Sandy Beach of Vik
We stayed two nights in an Air BnB in the town of Vik on the south coast. It's a beautiful town with a nice black sandy beach.
8. Hunting for Puffins
Vik is one of the prime spots to see puffins. While the end of August is late in the season, we were able to see many of them flying around and roosting in the cliffs near our house.
9. Lava Tunnel
Several of our activities were canceled due to weather - we weren't able to do our two main hikes, in Thorsmork or the summit of Snaefellsjokul. We decided to do another tour spur of the moment, which was a tour of a lava tube from an old volcano (now extinct!).
10. Beautiful Hike from Hellnar to Aranstarpi
Our final stop, Hellnar, is right on the coast, and there's a beautiful hour-long hike along the water to the neighboring town.
11. Long Hike On Snaefellsjokul
Our final hike was to a mountain ridge under the glacier Snaefellsjokul, in a national park on a peninsula in western Iceland.
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