I arrived in Iceland on May 25th (unfortunately a full day late because of flight delays), and met my friend Tori who had flown in from Colorado. We picked up our campervan from Camp Easy, and they had upgraded us to a brand new Easy Clever 4WD. It had seats and a table in back, which easily converted into a bed. Also equipped with a sink, cooler, heater, and gas stove. It came with all the linens and kitchen items we needed as well. We were all set for our road trip around the Ring Road, but we had to wait for the Bonus grocery store to open at 11am so we could stock up on food. The map showed very few Bonus on our future route, but ACTUALLY they were everywhere. That's okay, we killed time by getting brunch at the Bike Cave which was vegan friendly and delicious.
Finally on the road, our first stop was 1.5 hours outside of Reykjavik- Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrafoss (also known as Gljufrabui) waterfalls.
Seljalandsfoss you can walk behind, so be prepared to get wet and secure your camera. I used my cheapo waterproof camera for these shots of the path behind the waterfall.
From Seljalandsfoss there is a very obvious path that leads to Gljufrafoss.
To get to Gljufrafoss you walk into a canyon and a short ways through a river. My waterproof boots were put to the test and passed. At first I was skeptical, thinking it looked a bit rushing and deep but it was easy, just be prepared to walk in water and go for it. This waterfall was one of our favorites of the trip. Sorry I don't have good photos of it.
Back on the road, we were driving past these beautiful farms at the edge of the mountains, and each one seemed to have it's own backyard waterfall. It's very windy in Iceland, and some of the waterfalls were literally blowing away....
We also passed the beautiful old turf houses of Drangshlid that were built into a rock and covered in birds.
Next stop, Seljavallalaug Pool. This pool is tucked away in a beautiful valley and short hike to get to. The hike is full of fantastic views and cool rock formations.
There is a river to cross, and at the time we were there someone had put a pallet in there to make crossing easier.
Almost there....
I had read reviews online beforehand which are all over the place, from amazing to disgusting. The pool was built in the 1920s, is fed by natural hot spring water, and one of it's walls is just the rock mountain it's built up against. The changing room building has three rooms, and they are wet and muddy and unfortunately people leave trash in them. It's not great, but it's there. The pool itself is green and slimy and pretty iffy- but we went for it anyway and it is warm and cozy and certainly a unique experience. I don't regret it, even with the slime found in my swimsuit later...ew.
Next stop, Skogafoss. I took so many photos there that it will continue in the next post!