Posts with the label Iceland
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
16 Apr 2017
In Icelandic Water: The Steam Valley and The Blue Lagoon
Two reasons to remember to pack your swimsuit and two absolute must-have experiences if you’re going to Iceland.
Reykjadalur Hot Springs
Reykjadalur directly translates to ‘steam valley’ and you will understand the name once you get hiking. The valley is full of hot springs billowing out steam and mud pools which bubble and splash you (don’t wear shorts). And at the top, you’ll find a hot river that you can bathe in.
It’s a 45 minutes to an hour to hike to the top and it’s not majorly difficult but you will need to catch your breath at times. There’s loose gravel paths which are slightly nerve wracking (maybe not one if you’re terrified of heights) but the views are spectacular. There’s a waterfall about half way up and we saw ducks, of all creatures, swimming about in the stream. There are moments where you can’t see in front of your own nose cos the steam is so thick (not on any of those loose gravel paths don’t worry) and it’s all a bit magical.
I’ve never felt more surreal, clambering over a muddy river bank (trying not to slip on my arse) in my swimsuit whilst the wind and drizzle gave me the mother of all goosebumps and then going to sit in a shallow, muddy river full of weeds.
But it was dreamy. Genuinely like sinking into the hottest, steamiest of baths (cept without the bubbles) with a very real view of the mountain top.
It’s pretty busy, which also feels quite bizarre, but we found that it didn’t feel overcrowded – it’s a big river and everyone could stick to an area. I think there was actually a suggested time limit for staying in the water (not that anyone could really enforce it) because the heat does start making you feel fuzzy after a while (definitely take a bottle of water in with you) and you do have to walk back down the mountain again. We stayed in about an hour altogether and that felt just about right.
The Blue Lagoon
Our final day of the trip was spent entirely at the Blue Lagoon. If you don’t know what it is – check this website out – but I suspect the majority already know of these creamy blue geothermal waters.
You can book different packages for your Blue Lagoon Experience and we decided to go the full hog. You get dressing gowns and slippers on arrival, as well a wrist band which you use to open/lock your locker and put drinks etc on your tab. There are also hooks by the waterside to hang your gowns on.
The water was just gorgeous. The colour is other-worldly and it’s so lovely and warm… which sounds a pretty pathetic way to describe it but I can’t describe everything as FLIPPIN’ MAGICAL all the time…
We spent the whole day floating amongst the water, or perched on the volcanic rocks. We’d mosy on over to the water bar (those strawberry smoothies <3<3) or brave standing under the waterfall – like getting a very brutal, painful massage but it did bizarrely loosen up your muscles. At one point we discovered a secret cave which was giving a history of the Blue Lagoon over the sound system (in several languages) and obviously at times, we'd step out of the warmth of the water to grab our cameras and stand on the little bridges to capture the magic.
We took a break to have a fancy three-course lunch, plus processco, in the restaurant. It was very weird being sat in such a classy environment in your dressing gown but you didn’t have to worry about un-doing any buttons half way through dinner *insert smug emoji*.
After lunch we headed over to the facemask hut in the water to try out the two different types of facemasks, all made of completely natural ingredients from the lagoon. They did make you look a bit like a sea creature lurking in the water but omg my skin felt so super soft for the next couple of weeks.
If I had to give you one tip about visiting the Blue Lagoon in the summer it would be this: sunglasses and sun cream. That water is freakishly bright even when not particularly sunny and I was bemused to discover I had major tan lines when I got out at the end of the day. It was fun telling people back home that I was tanned from a trip to Iceland…
Things to do on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
As you read this, I'll probably be curled up in a bereft heap as the jetlag and post-New York blues hit me during Easter weekend. I only hope future me has the foresight to stock up on Easter eggs before she sets off to the Big Apple. In the meantime, I'm writing my final two Iceland posts because it makes sense to finish talking about one travel experience before moving on to the next. Soz for being that person.
I think most people head to the Reykjanes Peninsula to go to the Blue Lagoon, which is why we were there, but it’s well worth visiting as a standalone place; and it’s about an hour’s drive from Reykjavik so you can easily go for a day trip.
We drove over on our second to last day to set up camp in a new hotel for our final two nights of the trip. We planned to spend our final day at the Blue Lagoon so, by the time we got to the hotel, we had an afternoon to fill on the peninsula. Here’s what I’d recommend doing:
Gardskagi Headland
If you drive through the village of Gardur, you come to this gorgeous piece of headland. It’s wind-battered yet tranquil, rugged yet beautiful. Apparently, it’s a great spot for viewing wildlife although I can’t say we saw much more than a few seabirds. There’s a little beach and two picturesque lighthouses, one of which has a tiny café inside and you can climb to the top of the lighthouse for free if you buy something from there. The food was basic and very Icelandic so you may prefer to simply pay to climb to the top – I’ll leave it to your judgement. The views at the top are very dreamy.
The Bridge Between Two Continents
What it says on the tin. The peninsula lies on one of the world’s major plate boundaries, the Mid Atlantic Bridge, and this is a small footbridge over a major fissure which was built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America. Essentially you can walk between the two continents (supposedly, it’s lucky but if not, it is very cool) as well as walk in the mini canyon itself (yeah you will get black sand in your shoes).
The 100 Crater Park
Miles and miles of lava fields and wild volcanic craters – dubbed the 100 crater park. You can drive through it and feel a bit like you’re on The Martian movie set. There are power plants dotted about which use geothermal heat to produce salt from seawater and generate electricity (I think you can arrange visits to look round the power plants). In my opinion, the best place to stop is Valahnukur which is the most wild spot; a multi-coloured geothermal area with hot springs. The mud pools and steam vents are collectively named Gunnuhver, after a female ghost that was supposedly laid to rest there. We saw a lot of hot steam billowing out the ground in Iceland but this was by far the most aggressive one. The steam was exploding out so big and fast and loud. There were warnings everywhere telling you to STICK TO THE BLOODY PATH but you weren’t remotely tempted to disobey the rule. Mainly cos, when you got right up close, you could see the remains of what we assume was the original bridge for tourists to walk across; I’m guessing the hole in the ground began to expand, and the hot lava/steam destroyed the bridge. I’m also guessing no one was stood on it at the time…?
Obviously there will be other things to do on the peninsula but obvs I won’t recommend somewhere I didn’t get chance to go. There’s more on the visit Iceland website here. If you’re looking for somewhere to eat in the evening, I recommend the restaurant Kaffi Duus. And this was the hotel we stayed in, which was genuinely one of my favourite hotels ever. It looked over the harbour and had big glass windows everywhere, so you could always enjoy the sunset.
1 Dec 2016
An Icelandic Road Trip | The South Coast
You've opened your advent calendar right? RIGHT?! It's a bloody good job Christmas is around the corner cos I am grumpy af atm. Someone just come and take away all my responsibilities. Please and thank you. In the meantime, I'm gonna keep writing posts about Iceland cos it gives me an excuse to look at photos of waterfalls.
Right, so, second part of this road trip (Golden Circle section here), and we're now heading to the south coast.
Stop 5: Seljalandsfoss waterfall (the one you can walk behind)
Yep, you can walk behind a waterfall. Is that not incentive enough to go pay a visit to this babe? You don’t come out resembling a drowned rat but I would still recommend waterproof trousers if you have them (which I didn’t lolz). There’s a little café (I recommend the smoothies) here so you can enjoy a picnic (if you’re going during the summer that is) in front of the waterfall, which falls over a mini cliff face. And then you can edge your way under the cliff face and around the back of the water which roars in your ears and soaks your jeans. Utterly amazing.
Stop 6: Reynisfijara beach
Technically, stop seven is closer to stop five, but we drove on to Reynisfijara beach so we could break up some of the journey on the way back by stopping at Skogafoss and it worked for us.
If you were going to imagine an Icelandic beach, this would probably be it. Volcanic, black pebbles with a glacier (man I wanted to go on that glacier) looming in the background. Mind blowing.
This particular beach is also famous for its unique, naturally formed rock sculptures. Some are in the sea, some hang over the sea and there’s an amazing sculptured cliff face and cave actually on the beach for you to check out and use up your camera memory over.
Stop 7: Skogafoss waterfall (the one with the rainbows)
This is what you might call a classic waterfall, in that it’s a complete vertical drop. This creates a crazy amount of spray so that, when the sun comes out, you can see all these rainbows in the mist. It was absolutely stunning. It was amazing to get up close to the bottom of a sixty foot waterfall (again, the spray) and fascinating to feel the temperature drop the closer you got. In terms of picture-taking, this was probably my favourite waterfall and I could have sat and watched it all day.
Iceland, you babe. <3
30 Nov 2016
An Icelandic Road Trip | The Golden Circle
Hey babes, how’s it hanging? I’m currently wrapped in a blanket because THE FROST IS HERE. The bedroom window has frozen shut so my morning has consisted of clearing up all the window condensation pooling on the windowsill with kitchen roll.
Hashtag living the dream.
Anyway, back to Iceland (first post on Reykjavik here).
I’m going to say from the outset that, even in ten days, there were plenty of other places to explore that we didn’t have time to fit into our trip so don’t hate on me if you think I’ve missed out some key places. But do hit me up with suggestions of different road trips for my next visit (lol why do I always like to pretend I’m rich?).
If you’re going to Iceland, ya gotta do the Golden Circle. That’s what everyone, literally everyone, says. And they’re right. If you’re on it, you can do the key stops on the Golden Circle in a day and there are loads of coach trips that will take you so you don’t need to worry about hiring a car. However, if you can hire a car and have a bit more time, then I would absolutely suggest doing so. We decided to split the Golden Circle up over more than one day, and intersperse it with extra stops on the south coast. If you have the time, dear lord, you gotta do this. Hands down, my favourite days of the trip.
And these are the places you should be going.
Stop 1: Thingvillir National Park
First stop of the Golden Circle should be this little babe which is so flippin’ pretty that you won’t know what to do with yourself. You’ll probs be so snap happy that you’ll use up all your camera battery and get finger cramp. Worth it though right?
Thingvillir (English spelling) National Park is the place where the national parliament of Iceland was first established and is home to the largest lake in the country. I wanna tell you how gorgeous it is but I’m worried you’re gonna get bored af with me talking about pretty lakes in Iceland. Just go okay?
Top tip – if you can go in the evening, and wander round that lake when most people have headed home, I’d absolutely recommend. It’s all sorts of peaceful; the kind of quiet you can never find back home.
The other big, exciting thing is that it lies in rift valley which marks the place where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. You can actually stand/walk in the canyon where the plates have hit and shifted the earth. HOW COOL?!
Stop 2: Alright geezer?
I guess if I absolutely had to pick one thing that amazed me the most about Iceland, it would probably be the boiling water exploding out the ground. I mean, as a Brit, how often do we see something like that?
Srokkur geyser goes off every few minutes and it’s utterly insane. It’s so hard to describe unless you’ve seen a geyser, because there’s nothing quite like it. There’s no barriers or safety precautions cos, lol, Iceland is hardcore so what you essentially get is a load of tourists standing in a huge circle around this smoking bit of ground. Right in the middle is a churning pool of water which everyone stares at on tenterhooks. It’s surprisingly quiet and you find yourself laughing unnecessarily cos omg the tension and then BAM, boiling, steaming water explodes out the ground and shoots over 20 metres up in the air. No matter how many times you watch it, you will jump every.single.time and also kinda wonder if you’re gonna get soaked in boiling water and get third degree burns cos seriously, there are NO SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.
There’s also mini geysers, and mesmerising, magical pools of bright blue, opaque water. Steam everywhere and the intense smell of eggs. Goddamn you pesky sulphur; putting me off boiled eggs for life.
Stop 3: Gullfoss waterfall
You hear this little fella (lol try really, really big fella) before you see it. It thunders. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. The noise. And the spray. You’ll need a waterproof jacket (and trousers if you’re that much of an adult) and a lack of care over your hair or make up. Think frizzy. And your make-up is not staying on. On the plus side, you’ve saved on a face wipe. Win.
I so want to do the Golden Circle again in the winter and see this mighty babe when it’s frozen over. I’m imagining magical, Narnia-like scenes. Plus, I bet in comparison, the silence is really eerie.
In the meantime, seeing all that water thunder over the edge and the sheer amount of spray that follows back up… urgh there really are no words. It was something else, and made you feel very, very small compared to what nature can produce (soz for the lameness).
If someone could put a waterfall in my back garden, it would be muchos appreciated. Please and thank you.
Stop 4: Kerid crater
A volcanic crater lake. That’s right, you heard.
Approx 3000 years ago, the ground exploded (happens a lot in Iceland) and left behind this flippin’ huge crater. And in the middle is this deep blue, opaque, shiny mini-lake (I can only apologise for the amount of times I’ve tried to describe the colour of water in these Iceland posts). You can walk around the top of the crater, and then one side is slightly more sloped so you can actually walk down into the middle and stare at that incredible water colour (soz, I can’t help it) up close.
There are three more stops on this road trip but girl needs her lunch. Check back tomorrow!
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