Ísland - Part 2

More Iceland!!! Yay!! Hopefully this is just as exciting for you to read as it is for me to write. I am going to split up the rest of the Iceland blog post into two from our journey with Matt and Mel. So now, in lieu of the second Iceland post, I want you to go turn on that Of Monsters & Men album, and then you can proceed. 

Day 1

Welcome back! So Dave and I got to the airport well in advance of Matt and Mel's arrival, and I just got unbelievably antsy, so when they finally got off their plan I bombarded them with screaming and jumping and hugs and god their jet lag must have just disappeared immediately with all of the emotions I was throwing at them ;-) But anyways, Mel and Matt graciously rented a car, that we then proceeded to take clockwise around the ring road. We decided to make the Snæfellsnes Penninsula our first destination, with a planned hike at the filming of journey to the center of the earth in Snæfellsjökull. http://goo.gl/maps/hdd3R

Basically this turned into a sight seeing day by car, with a nice 2 hourish hike near the mountain. It was a beautiful day, but one of some leisure since everyone was quite tired. And we ended the day with the tents in perfect view of some fjords. It was an excellent way to end our first day in Iceland with our amigos!!! And no rain on day one, with even bouts of sunshine, it was just great! The following are all going to be stolen photos from Matt and Mel because I was pretty lazy about taking pictures once they arrived; in my unfortunate typical fashion I always rely on other people documenting my life for me. But anyways, you should also go creep on their amazing blog as well if you're interested afedbearisadeadbear.blogspot.com

Not to shabby of a spot to stop and have lunch.

Taking in the views from the car.

Absolutely perfect spot for a hike.

It was still so surreal to be with these people in this beautiful place, day 1 was an emotional overload, for sure.

Not a big deal, the water is just so clean that you can drink straight from the streams.

REAL LIFE FRIENDS!!

Walking to our homes after a perfect day.

I could wake up here every day and never feel a worry again.

Day 2

We all awoke on day 2 ready to rock! We were in Iceland and we were hell bent on completing the entire ring road in 7 days! So off we went. Our first destination was Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland http://goo.gl/maps/crw9U, and as Mel and Matt perfectly say in their blog, it's shocking once you realize how small it is. Anyways, the drive there was stunning, and largely filled with miles and miles of gravel road, but if you just turn up the music I've noticed that you can barely tell how loudly the rocks are pounding against the car ;-) But once we got to Akureyri, we stopped in the bank, so that money could change hands, and to our amazement the banks just give away coffee and ice cream, just for being a loyal patron, so naturally we were all thrilled, and Akureyri is going down as one for the books for no other reason then the ice cream scene. 

After Akureyri was seen, we decided to press onward towards Lake Mývatn 

http://goo.gl/maps/Nxydw. Between Akureyri and Mývatn, however, lies Godafoss, a massive and stunning waterfall, so naturally we detoured to this destination for a bit of a look around. 

Godafoss being impressive.

All smiles for waterfalls!

 After Godafoss, we made it to Mývatn, and decided to go on a nice long hike on the east side of the lake! The hike passed through some crazy looking lava fields, and ultimately ended at a steep climb up to the dormant Hverfell volcano. The hike was beautiful, and worth the view at the top for sure. 

Our destination was the top of that crater!

Friends in a lava hole!

Forward march!

Stunning views.

It was insane to be next to mother nature in this way. 

Supposedly the Yule Lads live around here, and Mel and I were trying to fit in with them.

After the hike, we decided that this was going to be the day that we went in search of a hot pot. We asked a local for some advice, and she guided us straight to a hot pot. The hot pot seemed quite perfect, and we were all excited about getting in (despite the signs warning you of the possibility of falling rocks ;-) ). So we decided to set up camp, and cook, but not before another local came up to us straight away and asked if we were intending to camp. After telling him, well yeah, he said that another local dude comes trolling around the area at approximately 3am waking up campers, yelling at them to go to the pay camp sites. Needless to say, the guy discouraged us from camping in this area, but directed us to a more private, off-road location, where we could safely camp for the night. 

Once we got to our new spot, we finally got out our stuff, and made dinner (around 11pm), and while doing so, we watched a car of 3 local girls park, get out of their car carrying towels, and walk into what appeared to us to be an abyss of lava fields. After watching this curious occurrence, we also then noticed another couple of locals coming back towards us, and were also carrying towels. Needless to say, our curiosity got the better end of us, and we put two and two together and concluded that they just had to have all been going/coming to/from a hidden hot pot. So off we went in search of this secret hot pot that these random people were going to. After searching to no avail, Matt wandered off a tad further in search of anything, and to everyone's amazement, he was able to hear the sounds of girls laughing down in the canyon ridge below, meters away in the distance. We proceeded to walk closer to the voices, to ultimately find a make-shift ladder going down at least 30 ft into a hot pot. We were all completely in awe at this discovery, and beyond giddy to be finding such a secret hot pot. Iceland is renowned for its hot pots, due to all of its geothermal energy, and they are all over the country, but virtually all of them are known about by tourists nowadays, and therefore inundated with people making them lose some of their allure. 

Rightfully so, as soon as we started to go down the ladder, the girls yelled up at us asking who we are. We said that we had managed to gather that there must be a hot pot out this way because we saw people walking etc., but yet they were really skeptical about us. They insisted on knowing who told us about this secret location, but we swore that no one gave up their secret, and that we rather found it on our own. Once they reluctantly let us join them, we were all friends. And damn, was this one of the most perfect experiences of my entire life. I have never been to such a magical spot. The water was perfect bath water temperature, and it was clear as day; you could see down for at least 20 ft straight to the bottom. And then conversely, when you looked straight up you could see the 'night' sky and it was just perfect. We stayed down there for over an hour just relaxing and enjoying life. When we came out around 1:30am, the sun was still on the horizon, wowing all of us, especially Matt and Mel who had never come close to being this far north on the globe before, it was a perfect night, and everyone's favorite looking back at the trip. 

Looking down into the first hot pot.

The ridge where the second hot pot was located

The second make-shift ladder going down to the hot pot.

The view as we came out at 1:30 am.

Stoked about Iceland and hot pots and geothermal energy, damn!

Home for the night.

Day 3

We woke up on day 3 in truly the best of spirits after having had one of those perfect days/nights, and decided not to let the rain get us down! So on we went, and our first destination was a hike around some geothermal energy fields, Námaskarð, and a dormant volcano filled with electric blue water. They were next to each other, and also close by where we camped, and though the rain/fog hadn't really lifted when we started our journey, we still trudged on! 

Hiking through the boiling mudpools

The smell was pretty intense at times.

More bubbling.

And so much steam!

Psyched on geothermal energy!

Craters filled with water this blue, whoa!

It's just a little rain :)

After our hike around the bubbling mud pots, we pressed onwards! Despite our pit stop for lunch, our next main stop was at Detifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall. But we were already wet when we arrived, and the rain seemed relentless in this moment, so we did a quick once over of the epic waterfall before rushing back to the car :-/ it was damn impressive though, just so much water rushing and gushing full steam ahead.

Detifoss

Dave venturing out

They're pretty cute.

After grinning our way through the rain, we coincidentally set our sights on Seyðisfjörður http://goo.gl/maps/QtF4N. We decided that it would be amazing to go back here and hike around the fjords all over the east coast. Along the way we made a beautiful pit stop, and then immediately upon arriving in Seyðisfjörður, we found a perfect spot for the tents up on the side of a mountain. And the sky had managed to clear, and you could get an amazing view of the harbor, the quaint town, and the fjords! We also connected the dots that a show was going on that night, for which we had noticed posters for a couple of times prior, and the gig was free, so we figured this was a perfect opportunity to go out for the night! Turns out the band was an amazing folk band from Poland, you should go creep on Domowe Melodie here.. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjpdgvPnOEQ they had such amazing energy and presence, and it was a perfect ending to what was prior a soggy, rainy day.

Pit stop on the road to take in this stunning view.

Just trying to photobomb Mel & Matt's christmas card shot for next year..

This is where we called home.

And again...

Suns out, tongues out

This was 'our' waterfall.

Pretty hyped on this spot.

To be continued in another post! <3

Ísland - Part 1

So I've been back from Iceland for two months now, I get it, I'm awful at this. But yeah, better late than never. It's just that I don't know where to start! Okay, I guess I start at the beginning. First of all, I highly recommend you be cliche about this post, go and turn on some Sigur Ros, and then come back and proceed.

So Dave and I arrived to Iceland by ferry. We left from Denmark on a Tuesday, and got off the boat in Iceland on a Thursday. Needless to say, we had two nights of fun on the ferry. But mostly it was just an amazing boat ride, because I love being in the middle of the sea, surrounded by nothing, it's a very humbling feeling. And secondly, we got to sail through the Faroe Islands, because the ferry made a stop on Wednesday in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and holy shit (pardon my French) they were stunning to sail through! I wanted to jump ship and go explore every inch of those islands! These big majestic islands that constitute the Faroe Islands, look like massive mountains jutting out of the sea, it's incredible really. I can't wait to go back some day and adventure there. So enjoy the bombardment of Faroe Islands photos, which are oddly many seeing as how I never even got off the boat here, that's how obsessed I was by their beauty!

This is what the Faroe Islands look like, and this is what I look like when the wind is blowing in my face.

Faroe Islands, hello!

Taking in the views of Tórshavn 

The lighting was incredible, it was as if the sun was setting a stage.

And again..

A little 'town' in the Faroe Islands, I want my future to be in a place like this.

Good god I can't wait to go back.

So on Thursday morning the ferry started to sail into Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, and the low lying fog made sailing into these fjords a really mystical way to be greeted by the country of mythical folklore. When we got off the ship, Dave and I managed to get a lift from a guy, whom we took the ferry with, who is from Barcelona, all the way to Skógar, the first destination that we had chosen for ourselves. It was really fun to get to speak Spanish for 8 hours as we made our way west. Anyways, we decided upon Skógar because Dave has lived in Iceland twice in the past, and promised me that the hike from Skógar to Þórsmörk is stunning and well worth braving the cold. This is where I now direct you to a map of Iceland so that you can follow along http://goo.gl/maps/3EIR3

The fog greeting us to Iceland.

It was so eerie and beautiful.

Already wet as we sailed in, but all smiles because we are in ICELAND!!!

So with 5 days before Melissa and Matt arrived in Iceland, Dave and I originally set out to hike from Skógar to Landmannalaugar, which would have made for 3 days of 23km - 25 km hikes; it would have been intense, but we were both up for seeing as much as we could, plus we're young and resilient still, so we figured why not!  So we set off on Friday morning, and did the 23 km hike to Þórsmörk in one day, and damn was it epic. This journey, if you check out the map, goes between two glaciers, so in other words it gains quite a bit of altitude. The hike starts at a waterfall in Skógar, climbs up to the Fimmvorduhalsf pass at 1100m and then meanders its way down to Þórsmörk valley. The weather started to get pretty nasty as we started getting close to the pass, and we decided to attempt to wait out the crazy storm at the emergency hut at the top. After warming up in our sleeping bags for close to an hour, two other groups of hikers also ventured into the hut, all leery of braving the storm to make their way down. The snow/ice/hail storm was pelting at the walls of the hut, and it made for quite a creepy and desolate feeling. But hell bent on not being stuck at the top of that god forsaken mountain pass, we decided to join forces, and all 6 of us would manage down together. I am unbelievably grateful for having met these 4 other people, because had it been Dave and I on our own, I know we wouldn't have braved going down; it was honestly the comfort in numbers that got us all down to the bottom. We all hugged each other at the end of the hike and thanked one another for their moments of strength as we braved the nastiness, most strenuous hike of my life. The reason it was such a daunting hike is because the snow that was plummeting down had managed to bury some of the guidance sticks, and the snow was so thick and dense that you couldn't see in front of you to the next stick regardless of whether it was buried or not, so you were left staring into the white abyss trying to guess which way to go next. We managed whenever we would catch moments of relief in the snowfall/fog and would hurry along to the next guide marker. In the end, it was an extremely rewarding, and satisfying experience, but not for the faint of heart. But with all of our clothes and worldly possessions soaked, we decided to call it quits in Þórsmörk, and hike around there for the remaining days.

Views shortly after leaving Skógar.

Stunning waterfalls everywhere you turned.

Wes, one of our new friends, managed to snap this photo when we all stopped to read this sign, note how dense the fog is. This was the last photo taken and the only photo taken once the storm started. I love these people and hope to see them again some day. 

So after arriving in Þórsmörk, Dave and I put up our tent, and collapsed for about 12 hours of z's, but not before Dave's generous soul made me a lovely dinner of lentils to recuperate from my exhaustion, he's pretty cool like that. Anyways, when we woke up in the morning, and our clothes were still soaked (neither of us had adequately sufficient waterproof gear for how wet it was during the storm - investing in some GoreTex stuff is worthwhile if you ever go to Iceland) we decided to just stay in Þórsmörk and take in its relaxing views. We figured we would just do some shorter day hikes around the Þórsmörk valley, rather then two more days of 25 km hikes to Landmannalaugar in soaking wet clothes. We didn't regret not making it to Landmannalaugar, because we had a lovely couple of days/nights in the Þórsmörk valley, hiking around there, but next time I go to Iceland I will definitely have to finish the hike, because I hear the rest of the hike is stunningly beautiful. We spent our days in Þórsmörk well, and even did a hike to a hot pot, and another hike to the glacial tongue, which was 25 km to the tongue and back to our tent, so in the end we didn't really skip out on lengthy hikes haha, but it was so good to be out hiking that much. 

This is where we called home for a few nights, it was beautiful.

The view from our tent, note the car in the distance, it really gives you some perspective.

On our hike to the glacial tongue, trying to act like I'm not wet!

Check out that tongue in the background, and the valley below, we started from the valley and up to the ridge this photo was shot at, over to the tongue, and ended back down in the valley again.

Some crazy moss circles we saw on our hike. 

We made it to the tongue, and found this ice cave, pretty cool!

Finally we had one day of sunshine, and it was beautiful looking out from the tent.

Good morning Þórsmörk

After our time here was finished, we ventured to Reykjavik to meet up with Matt and Mel, and damn was I excited to see their faces!!! To be continued in another post alllll about our time with our amigos! :)