This Southern Iceland tour was my favorite tour we booked on this trip. Our first stop was the Skogafoss waterfall (In the Icelandic language, “Foss” means waterfall). This was my favorite stop of the tour. The waterfall was so thick and MASSIVE. In person it did not feel real and I could feel how powerful the energy was. We were lucky to catch this stop with a small crowd so we were able to get really close to it. It was freezing and the breeze blew water all over everyone, but it was worth going to see Skogafoss up close. Next we visited Reynisfjara beach which is considered one of the most dangerous beaches known for its rogue waves. It was a long beach with thick grains of black sand. Our tour guide emphasized not getting too close to the water because of the rogue waves that can sneak up on you. There had been many incidents where tourists got too close to the water and got swept into the powerful ocean. Because the water is so cold, your muscles tense up almost immediately and if you are the unlucky one to get pulled into the ocean, you will drown from not being able to tread water. No one will hop in to rescue you either so by the time a rescue team comes, you will already be underwater. That warning was very intimidating so I made sure to stay far away from the waterline.
Next we stopped to see the Solheimajokull glacier! Sadly the glaciers are continuously melting and it is predicted by 2050 they will all disappear. The walk to the glaciers from the parking lot was around 15 minutes. However, our guide mentioned that a few decades ago, the glaciers were visible from the parking lot we were at. Our final stop was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. As soon as we parked, everyone ran out to the other side of the road to look at the insane sunset. The sky was lit up so brightly with orange, purple, and yellow colors. It was the most vibrant sunset I ever saw in my life. After admiring the sunset, we headed to the waterfall where we could actually walk behind it. The view from behind the waterfall looking to the sunset was a dream. The whole day felt so magical. Iceland was full of pleasant surprises and is by far one of the top three places I have traveled to.
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We booked day tours for every day we were in Iceland in order to make the most of our time there and to see every sight we wanted to with the guidance of a knowledgeable tour guide. Our first stop on this tour was at this waterfall the viking supposedly created. In order to get to the waterfall, we followed a nice wooden boardwalk that was easy to follow. It was the first of many waterfalls we were about to see. We then stopped at the golden circle/golden waterfall which was so beautiful as we arrived when the sun was out. The rainbows created from the mist of the waterfall crashing into the side of the cliff made it even more magical. Our next stop was Geysir where we watched the field of hot water erupt into the sky. The cause of this phenomenon is due to the over heating of the water underneath the surface. When the heats up it creates a pressure that eventually releases itself by erupting through the waters surface. After lunch by the Geysir area we made a quick pitstop at Kerid crater which was a beautiful crater filled with water. It is a lot larger and steeper in person than in the pictures. Finally, to end our day we were able to swim at blue lagoon which is a natural hot spring. There were locker rooms to change and store all of your clothes and belongings. After we showered off we waded into the very warm water and walked around the lagoon to get our complimentary beverages and face masks. The blue lagoon activity was my favorite activity of the day and it was so relaxing in the warm water with the cold outside Iceland breeze. On our way back to Reykjavik we actually saw the northern lights passing over us on the bus, it was the perfect way to end our long day.
Our tour guide for this tour was really funny and interactive. He has seen many nights of northern lights and was knowledgeable about the best place to watch them and what nights to look out for the storm. Three major things must happen in order to see the northern lights. One, the KP index must be 3 or higher. Two, the sky must be clear and free of clouds that can block your view. Three, the sky must be dark and free of any light pollution or sun. He took us to a lake around an hour from the main city to make sure we were away from the light pollution. He prepped all of us in the beginning to not get our hopes up since we all have a high expectation in our head about what the northern lights will look like. Our eyes can only see a certain amount of light on the electromagnetic spectrum so in person the aurora borealis looked like a faint green wave in the sky compared to the pictures we took. But it was still an amazing bucket list activity/core memory that I am very grateful to have experienced especially after learning how rare they occur and how lucky we were with timing. Our cameras are able to capture the deeper colors of the ultraviolet and infrared light and the trick was to set your iPhone's night mode camera to ten seconds then capture the picture. I would love to see the northern lights again one day and do a possible road trip around Iceland, Norway, or Finland.
A few other spots our tour guide recommended to go to see the lights on our own in Reykjavik was the Grota lighthouse (the western most point in Reykjavik) and Perlan which is on top of a hill. In November, the sun rises around 10am in Iceland. I was happy we got to sleep in and witness the pink sunrise at the light house. In the distance we could also see the snow caps covering the tip of the mountains. From the light house we walked to the center of Reykjavik where we grabbed lunch at a hotdog stand. Supposedly Icelandic hotdogs are unique and very savory. The brown sauce was their version of "mayonnaise" and they also topped it off with mustard and ketchup (it was good but tasted like a normal hotdog).
We continued strolling through Reykjavik and stopped at the Hallgrímskirkja (a Lutheran Perish Church), the rainbow street, Harpa Concert Hall, the Aurora Borealis Museum, and an Ice Bar which was literally made of ice. I learned a lot about the northern lights at the Aurora Borealis Museum. The northern lights occur when charged particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere. We also got the great news that the KP index would be around 5-6 on the night we booked our northern lights tour. A KP index of 5-6 is excellent and means the chances of us seeing the lights are high. The KP index ranges from 0-9 and the higher the index means there is a stronger storm and higher chance of seeing the dancing lights. I got really excited after hearing the news that we timed everything perfectly with the northern lights. For the ice bar, we had to put on these special ponchos and gloves to protect the ice in the room. All of the walls, tables, and sculptures were made of ice which was really cool and the entrance ticket came with free beverages in ice cups! Upon arriving in Iceland, the Keflavik airport is around 45 minutes away from Reykjavik. You have to go to the Flybys desk (which you can find towards the exit of the airport) and purchase a ticket. From there the bus will take you to another area where you transfer into a smaller van. They then take you to the nearest hotel drop-off near your destination. Luckily our airbnb was a 5 minute walk from one of the hotels we were dropped off at. The first thing Kaylee, Kaycee, and I did after arriving in Reykjavik was shop for our groceries and get our Thanksgiving pizza! Although it was not the usual turkey-stuffing feast, it hit the spot after a long night of traveling.
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