[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 10 August 2014]
24 January 2014, Friday
After the almost perfect day we had yesterday – with the triple whammy of having blue skies and clear weather, experiencing the stunning Jökulsárlón and witnessing the aurora borealis – whatever transpired today would be hard to match the highs of yesterday.
When we woke up at 8am, we found the entire street covered with a sheet of powdery snow. It had snowed pretty heavily during the night, but we were all blissfully unaware as we were too tired from our aurora hunting expedition and went to bed only around 3:30am. After a quick breakfast, we checked out of the hostel and started our return journey back to Vík.
It seemed that whenever it was IJ’s turn to drive, it would snow heavily, and today was no different. It was Winter Wonderland all around and visibility was poor. There was wet snow on the road so we couldn’t drive too fast.
When we reached Jökulsárlón, we turned in to have a toilet break. I was amazed to see that it was a totally different Jökulsárlón from the one that we saw yesterday. Due to the cold and heavy snowfall, the icebergs floating in the lagoon had changed colour from white to bright blue. There was also a heavy fog and we couldn’t see the glacier beyond the lagoon. It was a total contrast from the scene we witnessed yesterday.
I decided to brave the cold and snow, and ran out of the car to snap a few pictures. We were so fortunate we got to see Jökulsárlón in its spectacular glory yesterday. If I only got to see today’s Jökulsárlón, I think I would have been very disappointed. Well, it’s a matter of luck. Nature is in control, not us.
At about noon, it stopped snowing and the clouds parted to reveal small patches of blue skies. We were also treated to a beautiful rainbow and we just had to stop our car to take a picture.
Back when we rented the car on the first night of our arrival, the guy from the car rental company told us that in Iceland, we have to be very careful when we open the car doors, because the wind can be very strong and blow the doors away. He said his company had lost a couple of doors before because of their clients’ carelessness.
At the time, I didn’t really know what he meant, but at this moment, when we stopped our car for the rainbow, in my excitement, I forgot to hold the door when I opened it, and swoosh! It sure didn’t look like it, but the wind was blowing quite strongly outside, and the door swung hard against its hinges when I opened it. Thank goodness the wind wasn’t any stronger, or we could have been driving for the next two days back to Reykjavík with one door less, and a whole lot of chill.
After ooh-ing and aah-ing over the rainbow, we got back into the car and continued driving. Just five minutes later, we were treated to an even better sight – this time, it was a double rainbow. I believe this was the first time I had ever seen a double rainbow in my life. The second rainbow was just a pale reflection but it was still a thrill seeing it nevertheless.
At 1pm, we stopped for lunch at a minimart/eatery and had, you guessed it, burger and fries. After that, we headed for our only attraction for the day – Svartifoss, located in Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park.
Svartifoss is also known as Black Fall, which came about because the waterfall is surrounded by dark basalt columns. The most interesting thing is that the basalt columns are hanging from the top of the waterfall, so it’s like a reverse of those at Dverghamrar yesterday. I had seen pictures of Svartifoss and I was very captivated by it, so I was really looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.
Before we can get to Svartifoss, we first had to hike up a steep trail path for about 1.5km, taking about 35 minutes. Along the way, there are a couple of other waterfalls that are not signposted so I don’t know their names. As you approach Svartifoss, you can spot it in the distance, a fine stream of water cascading down and carving a hole in the face of an otherwise very normal hill. It is amazing how a waterfall is formed seemingly in the middle of nowhere, where you least expect it.
Due to the snow, certain parts of the path were iced up and it was tricky negotiating certain stretches. The rocks were also slippery and we didn’t dare to go the base of the waterfall; in summer, it would have been possible to do so.
Up close, Svartifoss was even more fascinating, and the gloomy weather only made the black basalt columns more ominous. They’re like hexagonal stalactites – only there is no cave. Every waterfall is different, and what Svartifoss lacks in volume, it more than makes up for it in terms of character. It is certainly the most unique waterfall so far. I would love to go back in summer to see a different view of it, and to go near to the base as well.
We didn’t linger for long as it started to rain again, and we hurriedly made the hike downhill. Halfway through, it started to pour and we were all drenched before we got inside the sanctuary of our Suziki 4WD. Luckily we still had some hot coffee in our thermos flasks – a godsend in that kind of weather.
We continued our drive back to Vík and we stayed back at the same hostel as two days ago. It was nice coming back to Vík and to a familiar place. As we were sick of having burgers and fries, and because we didn’t want to eat at the same (and only) restaurant again, we decided to cook our own dinner for a change. It would be cheaper too. So we headed to the supermarket, grabbed some stuff and got down to preparing our meal.
As I was the least experienced cook among the four of us, I was happy to be told what to do. SY It was a team effort and it turned out to be a simple but decent meal. The mushroom soup was a little dilute because I added too much water (oops) but it was passable. The tomato pasta tasted yummy. Rounding it off with red wine, everything was fine. Eat, drink, sleep…life was good.
