Waterfalls, geothermal activity, volcanic landscapes, & … hot lifeguards?!

Welcome back! I am so excited to tell you about my second day in Iceland. Today’s journey was The Golden Circle, which is one of Iceland’s most iconic day trips.

Despite going to sleep at 1am last night, I woke up well before my alarm. Instead of laying in bed wishing I could fall back asleep, I decided that maybe this was supposed to happen & I should just go with it. 

I was leaving Reykjavik, cruising through the 8,374 roundabouts (okay, I’m exaggerating) before 7 am. Which means I arrived at my first destination by 8:30! There were very few people out that early in the morning. It was almost eerie being the only one out on the road! 

I initially had planned to go to Bruarfoss first, but since I drank sooo much water, I decided it would be better to stop at Gullfoss instead since there is a restroom there. 

As I approached Gullfoss, I continued chugging water.

“Now’s my chance”, I thought, “my only time to hydrate”.

I arrived at Gullfoss — like I mentioned, at 8:30 am — to find out that the restrooms are located inside the gift shop, which doesn’t open until 10.

🙂 

Since I was already there, I figured I would check out the massive, gushing waterfall. Gullfoss was so powerful that mist sprayed up onto me as if it was raining!

Gullfoss

Oh, how the sound of the water running was just SO peaceful after I had just drank all that water … 

Hopefully by now you realize how I really felt at this moment 😂

But truly, the waterfall was amazing. I couldn’t even fathom how deep the gorge was, and just how much water poured out over the edge. 

I was admiring the falls when a family asked me to take their photo. After I did, the man said “do you want me to take yours?” YAY! It’s difficult for me to get photos on my solo trips! Of course I said yes.

I had almost made it to the car when I looked at my camera roll. Not only did I find a nice photo of myself (see below), but ALSO a crazy ass selfie from this man 😂 I started laughing SO hard. Knowing my brother was awake, I sent him a video explaining just how much trouble I was in… I chugged a bunch of water, saw this amazing waterfall, and now I’m laughing uncontrollably 

He sent back a video of him laughing. Thanks, Nate! LOL. But if you’re reading this, talking with you made my whole day! 

Geysir

From there, I drive 15 minutes down the road (in the direction I initially came from) to visit Geysir. Well, first the gift shop. Then the impressive geothermal activity. I went up to the biggest geyser first (not Geysir though, that one is dormant) and watched it erupt THREE TIMES IN A ROW! That was so cool. As I walked around, admiring the other natural pots of boiling water, the smell of sulfur filled my nostrils. I took a deep inhale and thought, “damn, I could really go for some scrambled eggs right now”.

Watch the geyser erupt below!

Brúarfoss

 My next stop was Brúarfoss, which was my personal favorite. From my understanding, it’s less well-known so there aren’t as many people there. By the time I got there, it was around 10 am and there were maybe two to three other small groups of people. What I love about this river is that the water looks like my favorite kind of Gatorade: glacier freeze. Don’t be fooled, though. Apparently this beautiful river is so powerful that it has sadly gained many lives over the years… enough to show a warning after purchasing the parking…

I stood on a bridge over the river, and that was enough excitement for me! I should also mention that there were soooo many flies swarming. At one point, a kid came up to me and said “HOW are you not losing your mind from these flies?!??” Then he ran away. It cracked me up!

On my way out, I saw a young woman holding three horses. I wanted to pet one so badly! After a brief mental game of “should I , should I not?” I decided to ask her if I may please pet one of her horses 🥹 she said yes! When I pet the horse, it nuzzled its head into me. So sweet!

Kerið Crater

My next stop of the day was Kerið Crater. It literally looks like an asteroid fell out of the sky and punched a hole in the earth. Oh, and there’s a lake in the middle of it?! Very unique for sure. I walked around the top of the crater. Photos don’t do it justice, but looking down from the top almost made my head spin! It’s incomprehensibly deep. Once again, I stayed very far from the edge 😅

By this time, it was only 12:30. That’s all I had planned for the day! Knowing that I will have plenty of free time in Reykjavik later in the week, I decided to do something spontaneous. I went to the Secret Lagoon! 

I drove in the opposite direction AGAIN, but it was a beautiful day for a drive so I really enjoyed it. 

Secret Lagoon

The lagoon had three different pools: a large warm pool, an ice-cold plunge, and a hot tub. There was also a walkway surrounding the lagoon where you could see the geothermal springs that feed into the lagoon! It was an incredible experience. I spent so much time in the main pool just people watching.

Then, I did the cold/hot series about 5 times. It was kind of a competition to see who could stay in the cold pool the longest. Or maybe that was just me 😜 I was actually so happy to get to sit in an “ice bath” before my race! I hope it gives my legs even more strength on Thursday. 

During my people watching, I overheard a few conversations of people saying they’re from Iowa. Another group from Wisconsin. I wanted to comment, but ultimately decided against admitting that I was evesdropping. 

I was about to leave the pool when the lifeguards switched and a new (very attractive) lifeguard took a seat. Suddenly, I was in no hurry to leave. I could have sworn that at one point, I saw him subtly flex his biceps. Maybe this was all in my head, but probably not, considering an older lady next to me looked at me and giggled when it happened. Now that I think of it, if she was laughing with me, it means she totally noticed me staring at him. OOPS

You may be wondering, “did you talk to him?! what’s his name?!”

Unfortunately, I don’t have answers for you. 

There was a sign posted on the wall that said 

!!!!!!!!DO NOT TALK TO OR DISTRACT LIFEGUARDS!!!!!!!!

So —being the rule-follower that I am— I sat there quiet as a mouse.

*sigh*

On my drive back home, I stopped by some random place that I found on the physical map of Iceland that I have. I had a little more time to kill before the street parking in Reykjavik was free, so why not?! The place is called Reykjadalur thermal river. It’s a beautiful location — mountains with steam rolling out of them. Unfortunately, as soon as i parked and did a quick google search, I realized that I would not have time to explore this beautiful place today. The hike to the thermal river is 2-3 hours. Maybe another day! 

I arrived in Reykjavik a little bit early but was very happy to find my exact same parking spot open. I had just enough time to go for a short run before hitting the grocery store for dinner.

I went back to my room and changed into my running clothes. As I was doing so, I hear someone say from the street “Wisconsin?! WE’RE FROM WISCONSIN TOO”. 

That got me thinking. I have to say, my impression of Iceland so far is that it’s comforting, it’s beautiful, and it’s quiet. It feels so similar to the Midwest! It makes sense now why there are so many midwesterners here. I mean… who else would choose to go somewhere cold in the summer?!

After my short and sweet seaside run (say that 10x fast), I headed out to the grocery store. On my way out, of my room, a guy was walking towards me down the hallway. He said “Hi! How are ya?” YAY! I love meeting strangers. Liam and I ended up going to the grocery store together and then got some gelato. It was fun making another friend! He leaves tomorrow for Ireland. 

In case you are wondering what I had for dinner… I had a chicken pesto sandwich, yogurt, and chocolate milk. 

Goodnight! Or should I say good day because the sun is still out 🤔

Clara