Kidd Family Scandinavian Trip: Day 5 - Iceland in one day and puffins too (August 9)

Behold the noble Puffin

Sorry for the delay in publishing this page of the blog. A few technical difficulties have slowed me up.

On Day 5 of our Scandinavia trip we did the Iceland tourist thing and visited a number of scenic sites along the southern coast of Iceland.

To begin, not to knock Snӕfellsnes, but if you only have one day to spend driving and touring Iceland, I would head south. On a per kilometre basis, the landscape and scenery is more varied and spectacular (and greener). On one side of the road, you have sheer cliffs interspersed with large and small waterfalls. On the other you have flat farm fields, random igneous summits, and views of the ocean. However, the nice thing about Snӕfellsjӧkull National Park is that it offers easy access to a lot of hiking trails that you don’t need a 4x4 or the voiding of your rental car insurance to get to.

We left Reykjavik around 9 a.m. and drove a couple of hours to Dyrhólaey, which is the southernmost tip on the mainland. To put it simply, I loved Dyrhólaey. As you can see from the pictures, it is where old fire (lava) meets the sea in dramatic fashion. You can stand on this point of land and see and feel the surf pounding into the cliff below you. Away from shore the ocean was relatively calm and still swells would hit the cliff and the spray would splash metres above your head. I can only imagine it on a rough day. Karen and Marshall were very patient with me at Dyrhólaey and let me spend a long time taking in the vista.

A view of Dyrholaey

Another view of Dyrholaey

The other fun thing about Dyrhólaey were the PUFFINS! (Sorry, my writing can’t capture the enthusiastic way Karen says it.) When we got out of the car we saw a crowd of people taking pictures of something. I thought it might be seals, but it turned out to be a PUFFIN colony. The cliffs are fenced off, but we were able to get a very good look at some of them. Seeing them closer, I agree with Karen that they are cute.

After Dyrhólaey we drove inland a bit, sat on some lava outcroppings, and ate our picnic lunch; Kraft peanut butter all the way from Quispamsis. Karen always like to bring a small jar when we travel for a long time. Even though it is heavy, it travels well and goes good on lots of things.

We now started heading back to Reykjavik, stopping along the way at a number of sites we passed by on the way to Dyrhólaey. First off was the Mýrdalsjӧkull glacier. (Again, jӧkull means glacier.) Like Snӕfellsjӧkull, Mýrdalsjӧkull has a volcano under the ice waiting to erupt again. The part or shoulder of the glacier that we visited after a short walk is called Sólheimajӧkull. Because of a warming climate, Sólheimajӧkull has retreated by over a kilometre up the valley and lost over 100 metres of its thickness in the last 15-20 years. Although unplanned, this was a fun stop and got Karen and I talking about other glaciers we have seen, such as in Glaciers Park in B.C. (2013) and the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska, that we saw on our honeymoon (1992).

A happy family at Sólheimajӧkull

Sketchy Seljavallaug

From Mýrdalsjӧkull we drove and walked into the Seljavallaug pool (laug = pool). This 25 metre pool captures water from a hot spring. It was built in 1923 by a Seljaland local along the banks of a river that runs off Eyjafjalljӧkull (the same volcano/glacier that erupted in 2010 (see Day 1 blog for more info)). Apparently despite Iceland being a nation of fishermen, most people did not know how to swim in 1923 and this guy wanted to change that fact. Until the 1930’s it was Iceland’s largest pool and lessons at it were mandatory for some school children.

Marshall was not too impressed by the pool. “Sketchy” and “nasty” were several words he used. (Because the water is warm, the water doesn’t look great. He’s been spoiled by the clear waters of Pickerel Lake.) I’ll admit the pool and change rooms do have a Bohemian-ness about them which is typically far from my style. However, there was something about the location and view, which was fabulous, and the reasons behind the pool that captured me. Also, I felt like we were doing something a little unique. Even though other tourists go there, it is not a tour bus stop.

Another hour of driving and a few more photo stops later and we were back in Reykjavik for dinner and packing. Although we spent a lot of time in the car on Saturday, we ended our last full day in Iceland with great memories and as you can see, many pictures.