Iceland, Day 7: Vik, Canyons, and More Waterfalls

Click here for a Sampler of Icelandic Waterfalls (slideshow) 

The ominous weather that threatened to take over our vacation late on Day 5 disappeared by this morning (Day 7).  The sunshine returned and continued to spoil us as we travelled among the wonders of Iceland.  At a reasonable morning hour, we departed Vatnajökull National Park and continued heading west along the Ring Road. Our first stop was an impulsive one -- at a roadside pullout that looked like an ordinary river flowing parallel to the road... until we followed the river upstream and found (surprise, surprise) another amazing waterfall.  Fossalarfoss was actually a series of waterfalls ... smaller than most but certainly not lesser.  Fossalarfoss were formed along a lava field that emerged from a massive volcanic eruption in the 1700's.  I'm glad I wasn't here for that particular eruption... I'd take the nippy breeze over molten lava flow any day.   

As we continued west, the waterfalls continued upping their game both in frequency and gawking score, so we had many stops to make, some planned and many spontaneous.  After Fossalarfoss, we stopped (by design) at a massive geological gem called Fjadrargljufur Canyon.  Two kilometers long and a hundred meters deep, the Canyon and its accompanying hike kept us busy for the remainder of the morning.  Of course, the canyon came with its own stunning waterfall (not shown here).   

Our next stop heading west was the charming town of Vik where we stopped for groceries and went in search of a campground that our GPS swore existed but didn't.  After navigating a number of truly exceptional potholes, we gave up looking and drove up the hill to have lunch in the parking lot of this adorable looking church while enjoying the view down below.  In the distance along the beach are a number of Icelandic horses trotting along the sand as if they were posing for this postcard photo.  

The lupine fields continued to add their blue and purple highlights to the fields and the hills almost everywhere we went.  I expected beautiful flowers everywhere in a humid tropical or subtropical climate but to see these blankets of color in such a cold climate was a delightful surprise that followed us around the whole of Iceland.   

Our late lunch came to an untimely end as a dense fog rolled in from off the coast and swallowed our views.  We reluctantly rolled out of Vik but the persistent fog insisted on following us to the Puffin preserve.  Fortunately, the Puffins had their cold weather parkas on and remained unperturbed by the cold wind and the wet, heavy air.   The Puffin is truly the most adorable bird that lives in the cold climates of the world (well maybe they are tied with penguins) and we were fortunate that it didn't seem particularly shy while umpteen tourists took umpteen times umpteen photos of it.   

At some point, in between Puffins and the closing of the Puffin preserve, the freezing wind finally caught up with me and I was very ready to give up for the night and be warm.  Once we got more serious about finding camp for the night, we landed without incident at a campsite in the middle of a town called Selfoss, just a few miles from the Golden circle and adjacent to a construction site (which certainly spoiled the whole camping vibe).   But our site was nevertheless functional and warm enough to cook, rest, and sleep.

So we did.

The End.