We left Grundarfjordur and drove all the way to the southern coast of Iceland, to Fagradalsfjall Volcano, which is currently erupting. It is also very close to the airport, and Stephanie would be leaving the next morning. While the weather was nice when we woke up, the more south we went, the worse the weather became. When we finally arrived at the volcano parking, it was extremely windy, rainy, and dark. We struggled with paying for parking, as the website wasn't working. We had to download the app in order to pay.
By this point in the trip I was tired. We had been going pretty much non stop. When we arrived at the volcano, I was also hungry and a bit grumpy due to the weather. I decided that I just wasn't going to have fun doing the hike under those weather conditions while being tired. I napped on the top bunk while the car shook to the wind. Stephanie decided that since this would be her only opportunity, she went for it. A few hours later she returned, soaked through to her socks. She reported that I would not have enjoyed it, especially with my camera gear in tow. That being said, she said that it was never steep enough to trigger my height anxiety.
After she changed clothes and warmed up a bit, we decided to try to make it to the local cafe before it closed. We arrived at Cafe Bryggjan within ten minutes of closing time. They graciously let us order anyhow. I ordered coffee, and two desserts. One looked like a folded pancake which they said had cream and rubarb jam and the other looked like a coconut munchkin. Stephanie had the coconut munchkin, which she reported was like a truffle. I do not like coconut. The pancakelike dessert was good. The owner gave out pancakes to the few patrons, as I assume they would have gone bad. They were rolled up tightly, like a cigar.
The next morning we woke up to good weather(for Iceland). I drove Stephanie to the airport and then pulled into a parking area connected to the highway. I had a long drive ahead of me to get me to where I needed to be for the next part of the trip. On the other hand, the weather looked decent and the weather report looked decent. I pushed myself to give the volcano hike a try and so returned to the same parking area.
I put on my waterproof jacket with a light rain jacket on top of it. I gathered my camera gear and put the rain covers over the bags. Within five minutes it had begun to drizzle, which continued in a heavier and lighter version all the way to the top. The first third of the hike is relatively flat before ascending a few more times. Stephanie was right in that it was never steep and there was plenty of room to not get anywhere near the ledges anyway. Along the path I asked a small group about how far away I was. In their answer, they included the information that the crater goes off every twenty minutes or so, so not to worry if I don't see anything at first.
Eventually you reach a landing where to your left and down you could see people standing near the cooling lava fields. To the right and down you could see some people diverting from the path to look at a lava waterfall. I continued up the steepest climb to reach the top. As soon as I crested the top I saw a glorious eruption. It would be the best one that I would see. I was too far away to take pictures.
It was still raining, so I tried to hide my camera gear on the ground behind a tiny rock. It did not have much of an effect. After waiting for a bit, another eruption came. I tried to take out the cameras quick and then furiously dry them off and get them back into the bag and under the rain cover. I was more prepared for the next eruption, but just one minute before it happened, some guy decided to climb farther down than anyone else, and ruined the picture that I had intended to take, so I had to frame it more to the left, blocking out a lava stream on the right side.
Many of my pictures ended up out of focus due to all of the smoke. The eruptions also seemed to cause the rain to grow stronger. After this third eruption, I decided that it had been enough and that I would head back down. I went down the first descent and decided to go left and down toward the lava waterfall. I had to play the same game with the rain to try to get these shots.
I climbed back up off this side of the mountains(I am not sure how to describe the land that I was walking). The rain stopped for a bit. I went down to the right to check out the cooling lava field. I took many pictures and patiently awaited for the next eruption, to get in the distance of my shots. Unfortunately, every single picture with the next eruption was out of focus. So, here is what the field looked like. Parts were smoking, and just being near to it I felt warmer. It was like being near a fire. A handful of people were taking selfies while standing on parts of course.
I arrived back at the car with my feet dry, but I was wet with sweat from wearing so many layers combined with the exertion and I assume, partly, from how out of shape I am.
After changing, I began my long drive. I stopped at the same Kronan discount supermarket for the third time of the trip. I filled up my gas next door at the N1 gas station. This gas station is unique in that an attendant always comes over to you to ask if you need any help. This time, I asked the fellow if they sold hot dogs in the gas station store. He answered in the affirmative. I proceeded inside and ordered my first and only hot dog of the trip so far. Both types of onions and I asked for his sauce recommendations, since he gave it to me plain. His answers were by telling me the color of the bottle, from a selection of at least eight bottles. I kept raising bottles, he would tell me the other one, and we proceeded with that dance until I had succeeded.
At this point in the trip, I decided that my interest in waterfalls had waned, so I crossed one off my list that I would have visited on this trip. After about four hours of driving, I stopped to see the Þingeyraklausturskirkja church. Good luck pronouncing that. It had a long gravel road off route 1 before I reached the church.
The church was locked, unfortunately, so I peaked in through the window.
Route 1 is the "Ring Road" that goes in one big circle around Iceland and which many tourist attractions are off of. I had been able to avoid it for most of the trip, but on this day I was forced along it. I discovered that most of the western to northwestern part of the road had extremely boring and pedestrian sights. The traffic was also heavier than I was used to. Luckily, most of the traffic seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the road. I had seen many people online recommending going counter-clockwise on the ring road, so perhaps this was the reason.
My next stop was an older style church in Vidimyri. Keep in mind that in many of the locations that I have mentioned on my blog, the "d" in the words are actually a letter in Icelandic that we do not have, but looks like a "d." The church officially closed before I arrived, so I just walked around, with the door to the inside being locked.
Despite being sick of waterfalls, I tried to stop at Reykjafoss, since it showed as being right next to the road. The google location was wrong and led me on a twenty to thirty minute waste of my time trying to track it down. I had to go over an extremely rickety and narrow bridge twice. I eventually had it within my sights, but wasn't sure the walking path through private fields to get there. Google reviews noted that this was the way, but I had just had enough and was tired.
I planned to stop at the Holar campground, right near a tiny and seemingly beautiful little village. Just a minute or so from the city center, signs directed me into a little forest where the camp was. It was super secluded, but I could no longer see the town, or anything for that matter. The camp had no wifi and my wifi stopped working. I wanted the internet, so I got back into my car reluctantly, and went up the road a little farther until I reached the Hofsos campground and went to bed.
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