I can’t believe it — I’m in ICELAND!!!! The land of fire and ice 🔥 Iceland has been on my vision board for so long, and now my dreams are becoming reality! It’s truly a magical place, and I’m eager to show you why.
When I landed in Reykjavik early this morning, I was shuttled to the Lotus Car Rental office to pick up my rental car. Lucky for me, all I had to do was plug in my reservation number, and the car keys just popped up out of nowhere! Maybe this is common practice. I have no idea… I’ve never rented a car before!
I put my bags (too many, once again) in my tiny car and got in the driver’s seat. I sat there for a second and thought, “damn, they’re really gonna let me drive this, aren’t they?”
I know I’m 23 and fully legal to rent a car, but it just felt illegal at first to be honest 😂
Anyway, I put my Google Maps on and started driving 3 hrs north to the Snaefellsnes peninsula. The first thing I noticed was how mystical the Reykjavík area felt. It was morning, so the skies were grey and cloudy. The lava rock was black, which contrasted well with the bright blue sea. As I kept driving north, the scenery changed a bit. The grass got greener, and eventually the sun came out!
Every once in a while, I would spot a waterfall trickling (sometimes gushing) down the mountain. I also saw sooo many Icelandic horses! I don’t think it’s possible to drive more than 2 minutes without seeing a horse here. Well, except for maybe in the tunnel…
Which is something I wasn’t expecting! I had planned the trip out on Google maps and didn’t realize that there is a HUGE tunnel that goes under a mountain/water. It takes at least 5 minutes to go through! Kind of a fun surprise 😊
As I continued my drive up the peninsula, I caught myself saying out loud (to nobody): “WOAHHHH, that is SO COOL”
Like I said, Iceland is magical. I was even envisioning the dragons from my favorite fantasy books flying down and landing on the lava rock
About half way through my outbound trip, I stopped at the grocery store Bonús for some snacks and caffeine. I found this energy drink that I love called Nocco. Apparently, it has a lot of vitamins in it!
I spent most of my drive admiring the scenery and watching very closely for sheep… they’re everywhere! I actually had to stop for some to cross the road. Oh, and there are soooo many baby sheep! They’re still the size of newborn lambs but have the poofiest curls. So cute!
Okay, so aside from everything I saw on my drive… what did I do today?!??
Ytri Tunga Beach
My first stop was a seal beach, because who doesn’t love seals?! And I really needed a stretch break. The seals were adorable! They were just laying out in the sun until all of a sudden they all decided to flop into the water. It made me laugh watching them bounce around with all their blubber!
Arnarstapi to Hellnar
Next, I went to Arnarstapi for a hike. It was only supposed to be a 2.5 kilometer, cliff side hike to Hellnar, but I think somehow I got lost. It ended up taking me FOREVER to get to Hellnar. The entire time I was also sooo thirsty (hadn’t rationed my airport water smh). I finally arrived in Hellnar, but there were no restrooms and no water. So, I turned around and hiked my way back to Arnarstapi. It was an absolutely gorgeous hike, and I couldn’t have asked for better weather. I also smiled and said “hi” to a lot of strangers which was fun!
However at one point in the hike back, I could have sworn the sea birds were laughing at me for not having any water! I was sweating, thirsty and exhausted. All I heard was HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA from the cliffsides.
In WAY less time than my hike to Hellnar, I made it back to Arnarstapi where my car was waiting for me. Luckily, I was driving down the road when I noticed a public restroom. YAY! I filled my water bottle up in the sink. Perks of Iceland’s clean water!
Djupalonssandur Beach
Next, I went to Djupalonssandur Beach. The road to get down to the beach was closed to vehicles, so it ended up being a much longer walk than I anticipated. Good thing I wore my hiking shoes! It was well worth it. Look at this view! It was so cool to see the lava rock formations and the black sand. There is another black sand beach that I will be going to this week, but it’s much more well-known (and therefore touristy) than this one. It’s a hidden gem! There were some people there, but I still got to enjoy the calmness of the scenery.
Svöðufoss
Next, I drove to Svöðufoss waterfall, which was gorgeous. It was only a few minutes from the beach, AND it was on the way to my next stop: Kirkjufellsfossar!
I also saw these pretty horses 🫶🏻
I should also mention that driving to all of these locations was extremely easy. I pretty much followed the same main road the whole trip!
Finally, my last destination of the day was Kirkjufellsfossar mountain. It’s iconic because of game of thrones (which I still have not watched), but I just admire its beauty altogether.
Seeing the waterfall in front of the mountain was spectacular. To be honest, I thought I would spend a lot more time here than I did. There wasn’t a hike or anything to reach the spot… which I was actually so grateful for since I was exhausted!
At 6pm, I began my 3 hour journey back to Reykjavik! I lucked out with finding parking only a 5 min walk from the hostel, and check in was super easy. I didn’t even meet with a person at the reception desk! They sent me my code, which I use to get into the building and my room. Most of the girls in my room were sleeping already so it’s been a quiet night. I needed some real food (gotta carb load for my race on Thursday!) so I went to a place next door for chicken shawarma. When I was there, another guy waiting for his food started talking to me. Apparently he’s from Iceland and has run the Suzuki midnight race multiple times!
I’m really looking forward to the rest of my adventures this week… but first I’m most looking forward to some sleep! 😴 we shall see how this goes… it is literally still bright outside (it’s past midnight)
Goodnight!
Clara