On the road to Skaftafell
When the bus stopped in Vik, we borrowed a cell phone from our bus driver to book a guesthouse, but every place I called was fully booked. It seemed like a virtual non-existence of travel planning started to take a toll on us early on. Our sweet driver took charge, and he got us a room an hour later. It was not in Skaftafell, our destination, but in a neighboring town called Littla-Hof. He was going to drive us to the place, so there was little trouble—at that time, at least. What we had to go through the next day.. I can't even tell you.
We arrived at a cute farmhouse in the evening. Our room was in a cabin with two other rooms, and it was superbly clean and felt very cozy. We had absolutely nothing to eat, and ended up getting fed by a French couple next door who pulled off a magnificent pasta dish only with salt and butter.
Jokulsarlon
Everything that went wrong started with an incident in the morning. We wanted to go to Laki, a volcano 4 hours away from Skaftafell, and the driver, that sweet, kind, helpful driver from yesterday was supposed to pick us up at the guesthouse at 7:20. He stood us up. We waited for an hour in case he had meant 8:20 instead, but he was still a no-show.
The bus to Laki left Skaftafell at 8:30, so no Laki for us today. The alternative was Jokulsarlon, where you can see glaciers and icebergs. We walked down to the main road, and after waiting for 15 minutes or so, we saw the bus coming and stopped it on the way.
The scenery in Jokulsarlon was not exactly spectacular but weird enough. There were numerous icebergs on the sea, and above it was a mountain laden with glacier.
The bus to Laki left Skaftafell at 8:30, so no Laki for us today. The alternative was Jokulsarlon, where you can see glaciers and icebergs. We walked down to the main road, and after waiting for 15 minutes or so, we saw the bus coming and stopped it on the way.
The scenery in Jokulsarlon was not exactly spectacular but weird enough. There were numerous icebergs on the sea, and above it was a mountain laden with glacier.
Skaftafell
It was around 1pm when the bus dropped us back at Skaftafell, and we started hiking.
The 6.5-hour-hike around the mountains and glaciers was more strenuous than I expected but I was fully rewarded with the spectacular view. The glacier was enormous. The one I saw in New Zealand was a baby compared to this guy. It was making many streams under the mountain, and the look of those was quite sinister due to their milky color (or cement color, more like) and surrounding black sand.
When we reached the ground level again, my face was frozen and my legs were in pain. But we had to figure out how to reach Littla-Hof from there. We tried hitchhiking, but there was not much traffic to begin with, so the chances of getting a lift seemed very slim. We ended up walking about 5km to a diner in a town nearby. (My legs were going to ache for the next 3 days from that roadside walk.)
We couldn’t walk anymore when we got into that diner, and I asked a waitress whether we could get a ride from anyone. She said many truckers stopped by to eat and they might give us a ride. We ate dinner there, and she explained our situation to every person stepping in, and around 11pm, she finally got us two truckers who were to drive pass Littla-Hof. The size of the truck, boy, I gotta tell you, was massive. I think it had at least 18 wheels, and there were 4 high steps to reach the passenger seat. Yet, the truckers weren’t squeamish about narrow bridges or speeding. We finally got to Hof, thanked them profusely, walked through the town in pitch-blackness, got to the Littla-Hof part of Hof, found the cabin, and got in.
We were supposed to do Jokulsarlon-hiking combo the following day, after we changed our lodging to Skaftafell. But what can you do. We didn’t book hostels in advance. The driver didn’t show up. We didn’t arrange the transportation to Littla-Hof.
Oh, did I mention it was raining?
Laki
On the way to Laki
We finally went to Laki. (The driver did show up this time.)
The road to Laki was very bumpy and was accessible only by 4WD vehicles. We had been hesitant about going to Laki cause it was freaking expensive, but thank god we went. The view was so great along the way, and when we finally climbed up the mountain, we could see a row of volcanoes and their craters all the way to the horizon. A light walk along the moss-covered lava field was pleasant, too. At the end of the pleasantness was an absurdly charismatic black mountain.
Textures of Iceland. Moss-covered lava field. Feels like a foam mattress.
Landmannalaugar
We woke up at 6:30 to catch a bus to Landmannalaugar. I ended up dozing off a lot in the bus, and fully awake only when we got off the bus for a short walk to a waterfall. The scenery outside became quite dreary (and beautiful) from that point, and I couldn’t stop pressing my nose to the window. After several hours of bumpy ride and many river-crossings, we arrived in Landmannalaugar.
We thought about going on 10km-hiking, but felt lazy and decided against it. We just walked around the campsite a little. The warden said the weather would be pretty same tomorrow, but I sincerely hoped it would clear up.
Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker
The weather did clear up, just for an hour or so. The warden warned us that it could be raining in the mountains. She had a big problem with Jiyoung’s clothes, and told us to have the warden at Hrafntinnusker call her when we get there. She had a situation last night, where two French girls almost got lost, soaked wet, found their way to the hut at 10pm, completely distressed.
But when we headed out around 10am, the weather was sunny and rather hot. We walked through all kinds of volcanic landscapes—rainbow mountains, steaming rivers, glittering black rocks. When we went high up the mountain, the weather changed drastically. Wind was blowing crazy and it soon started raining, too. Rain was more like horizontal icy mist and it often turned into hail or snow. But the hut at Hrafntinnusker showed up soon enough because we finished the hike in 3 hours even though it was supposed to take 4-5 hours.
While we got settled and had lunch, the weather became even more atrocious. It was snowing really hard—horizontally, still—and it wouldn’t melt away anymore. The fog and clouds became thicker, and we were so glad that we started out at 10, not 11. We were the first guests when we arrived at the hut, but because of the weather, campers and hikers gave up their outdoorsy plans and poured in eventually.
But when we headed out around 10am, the weather was sunny and rather hot. We walked through all kinds of volcanic landscapes—rainbow mountains, steaming rivers, glittering black rocks. When we went high up the mountain, the weather changed drastically. Wind was blowing crazy and it soon started raining, too. Rain was more like horizontal icy mist and it often turned into hail or snow. But the hut at Hrafntinnusker showed up soon enough because we finished the hike in 3 hours even though it was supposed to take 4-5 hours.
While we got settled and had lunch, the weather became even more atrocious. It was snowing really hard—horizontally, still—and it wouldn’t melt away anymore. The fog and clouds became thicker, and we were so glad that we started out at 10, not 11. We were the first guests when we arrived at the hut, but because of the weather, campers and hikers gave up their outdoorsy plans and poured in eventually.
Hrafntinnusker to Alftavatn
When I woke up, outside was all white with snow. I had to desperately hope that the trail wasn’t slippery with frozen snow, but it wasn’t at least snowing at the moment. When we headed out, the scenery was so breathtaking that after awhile there was no breath left in me. (That, and the trail became steep uphill.)
Climbing through snow-filled mountains was no problem, but a real challenge came when we reached a river. It was supposed to be a small stream, no need for wading, but because of the snow/rain yesterday, it got bigger and finding a way to hop over it took quite some time. Soon we could see the hut by a lake, but it was still far away, and it started to rain rather heavily. I think we practically ran to the hut once we hit the flat land.
Climbing through snow-filled mountains was no problem, but a real challenge came when we reached a river. It was supposed to be a small stream, no need for wading, but because of the snow/rain yesterday, it got bigger and finding a way to hop over it took quite some time. Soon we could see the hut by a lake, but it was still far away, and it started to rain rather heavily. I think we practically ran to the hut once we hit the flat land.
Next morning, it was still raining and it became really cold, too. Our flimsy poncho would not hold. And even worse, I felt like I was catching a cold. I really wanted to keep hiking, but at the same time, the combination of rain, our clothes, Jiyoung’s shoes, my cold, and three rivers to wade, could be disastrous. We talked to the warden, and after several changes of arrangement, she got us a lift to Landmannalaugar for the next day.
Alftavatn to Landmannalaugar
The car we got a ride was for a French tour group. They put all their luggage in the car, and went on hiking to Landmannalaugar with a guide. Even though I felt sheepish about being in a car rather than up and running on the trail, it was quite fun to be in a 4WD and ride through a gorgeous landscape without exerting any energy.
Colors of Iceland 1
Colors of Iceland 2
We wanted to catch a 3 o’clock bus departing Landmannalaugar to Reykjavik but we couldn’t make it there by 3. Instead, the driver parked the car at an intersection, waited for 10 minutes or so, and stopped the bus on the road. He didn’t even charge us anything unlike the warden had predicted.
During this travel, 80 percent of the plan didn’t quite come through, but everything still worked out thanks to the locals who helped us out with a cheery smile and full willingness.
The bus took us to Reykjavik, a city at last. It was a relief to be back in the city, where hot water, public transportation, and access to food were given, but I swore to myself that I would come back to Iceland, probably in July, and finish the Landmannalaugar-Thorsmork trail.
The bus took us to Reykjavik, a city at last. It was a relief to be back in the city, where hot water, public transportation, and access to food were given, but I swore to myself that I would come back to Iceland, probably in July, and finish the Landmannalaugar-Thorsmork trail.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is small, yet fun to walk around. We went into virtually every store on Laugavegur, the main street, and we had a really nice meal at a restaurant on a tiny side alley. And then we separated, Jiyoung kept on shopping, and I went to the National gallery of Iceland (because I'm a nerd). The exhibition there wasn’t exactly mind-blowing, but I got to see an interesting video installation, and had a deja vu with an artist I saw at the Venice Biennale 3 years ago.
It didn’t take too much time, so I walked around a little and then settled down at a beautiful café with a beautiful latte. Why there’s no such café in New York?
It didn’t take too much time, so I walked around a little and then settled down at a beautiful café with a beautiful latte. Why there’s no such café in New York?
Blue Lagoon
Famous Blue Lagoon was our final destination before leaving Iceland. It was raining again, but the bright blue water was very pretty (and surreal) even under the gray, wet sky. The air was so cold that after jumping into the steaming pool, we found the hottest spot and didn’t move for an hour.
