Meandering the Country

Day 6  June 12, 2025 We all woke up a bit blurry-eyed this morning, as the fire alarm went off around midnight.  It took the owner of the hotel about 10 minutes to arrive which, for the middle of the night, I thought was amazingly quick!  She had quite the time figuring out how to get it reset, but eventually the beeping stopped and we were all able to go back to sleep.  The good news: there is a fire alarm and we all know it works! Our sleepy brains weren’t the only thing foggy that morning.  We got to take in the mysterious view the fog gives to the mountains on one side of “The 1” and the North Atlantic shoreline on the opposing side during today’s drive to Egilsstaôir.  This drive took us alongside the many fjords the east coast of Iceland offers. Once we arrived in the town of Egilsstaôir, we kept on trucking and drove to the small coastline town of Seydisfjördur, located at the cove of a fjord.  Also, it is located at the base of the mountain....

Day 5 We had a light rain off and on today.  It seems like the rain gods often save the precipitation for when we are in the car, clearing the clouds away while we are sightseeing!   Typical Breakfast! Today’s sightseeing was all about the glaciers.  It is along the southeast coastline where you find amazing views of several glaciers, including Vatnajökull .  We learned jökull translates to glacier, giving us a little excitement anytime we saw a word ending in jökull!  Vatnajökull is the largest glacier not only in Iceland, but in all of Europe!  It is such a recognized glacier that Vatnojökull National Park sits at its base.   From the park’s visitor center, a trail leads you close to the base of this enormous glacier.  You are required to go on a guided walk if you want to actually walk on the glacier itself.  They were sold out the day we were there, but if I were to go again, I’d reserve it ahead of time and do this!  Vat...

Day 4 Having seen the sights along the Golden Circle, it was now time to begin our 6-day trip around the Ring Road!  This island is filled with active volcanoes and some of the largest glaciers in the world, appropriately giving it the title, “Land of Fire and Ice”.  Containing such imposing features, the interior of the island is mostly inaccessible.  The Golden Circle is as close to the interior as we got.  Highway 1 (the Ring Road) follows the perimeter of the island taking you to some really incredible sights along the way.  The southwestern coast of “The 1” was our agenda of the day, as we will be driving the Ring Road counter clockwise.   Seljalandsfoss was our first stop.  Donned with raincoats and rain pants, we boldly began our approach to this stunning waterfall.  The water descends from the glacier Eyjafjallajökull, spills over a cliff and into a pool below.  There is a cave like path behind the waterfall where you have an ama...