We had a long day of driving ahead of us so we had to leave the igloo earlier than we wanted to, as it was quite relaxing to sit there and view the countryside and the horses. The wind had died down a bit today so it made packing up much easier, aided by the fact we had repacked so we only needed our small carry-on suitcase and our bag of groceries for the night.
Our first stop was the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, part of the Seljalandsa River, which originates from meltwater of the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier. The cascade of the waterfall is relatively narrow but falls from a tall cliff that once marked the country's coastline centuries ago. The sea is now located across a stretch of lowlands and is visible from the site. There is a warning that visitors should be prepared to get damp due to the perpetual mist of the falls, which also tends to make the rocks of the pathway slippery, which J. R. found out as he tried to step aside to avoid a woman coming down the other way, and lost his footing. The waterfall was a waypoint during the first leg of the sixth season of "The Amazing Race".
After visiting Seljalandsfoss, we continued north to several other waterfalls, finishing with Gljufrabui, which was partially hidden behind a rock cavern.
After Gljufrabui, we traveled to Íráfoss, which plunges 135 feet with mossy basalt rock as the backdrop. Although visible from the Ring Road, Irafoss is more impressive up close which required walking on a short, easy, unoffical trail through a gorge. Íráfoss supposedly got its name from an Irish immigrant who was chased out for being Christian as the name directly translates to "Irish waterfall". We were the only people there which gave us time to enjoy the falls in private.
Eyjafjallajökull made headlines in 2010 with a series of dramatic eruptions that disrupted air travel throughout Europe because ash released by Eyjafjallajökull was thrown high enough into the sky to make flying unsafe. The ash fell across large areas of Iceland and altered soil composition and required changes in farming practices. Sixteen signs have been put up at the view point and each sign has one photo from the 2010 eruption and information on the rock next to the sign. A bus had just left when we arrived so we had the place all to ourselves yet again.
Skógafoss, our next site, is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, with a drop of some 60 meters and a width of 25 meters. We were able to walk right up the edge of the waterfall. There are 527 steps up to an observation platform above the waterfall. J. R. was going to walk to the top but his knee started hurting after about 30 steps and with a glacier walk planned for the next day, he decided to abandon his climb.
We walked into the hotel next door to use the toilet and saw the restaurant was opening in a few minutes so we decided to have lunch there. We each had a Snorn beer. J. R. had the Viking burger, made with Icelandic beef while Janie had the lamb burger.
Right next to Skógafoss was Kvernufoss waterfall, a beautiful 30-meters high waterfall half-hidden in a gorge. J. R. walked up to get a view of the eighth wonder of the world, the backside of water as there was a path that led behind the waterfall.
We drove to Loftsalahellir for a view of Dyrholaey (arch with a hole) and the famous black sand beach.
Our next stop was the famous black sand beach. Just a few weeks before we visited, in early February 2026, a large section of the slope beneath Reynisfjall mountain collapsed onto the beach and severe coastal erosion swept away huge amounts of the black sand. This meant it is not possible to walk up to the famous basalt columns and the Hálsanefshellir cave is cut off by the sea and closed. But despite all of this, the view was still magnificent.
We reached the town of Vík and made a quick stop at Icewear to look for souvenirs. We stopped at Ströndin Pub for dinner. Janie had lamb stew and J. R. had fish and chips with fresh Islandic cod. Janie had a Helga Raspberry Sour, which she liked so we made a quick stop at the liquor store across the street to get some Islandic gin and to pick up some of that cider for Janie.
Our stopping point for the night was the Hótel Kria, a utilitarian looking hotel downtown, which nonethless had very comfortable rooms and a great view of the mountains.
