After a solid nights sleep we woke to a glorious sunrise which quickly turned grey and pretty miserable, it was our longest day of driving we had planned so we got up, made a tea for the road and set off to Akureyri, our home for the next two nights. After a quick fuel and donut top-up we stopped briefly at an Artic Fox centre; it wasn’t open but we were lucky enough to sneak around the side of the building to see one in it’s enclosure! Curious, fluffy little thing! Our detour to the Westfjords was certainly fleeting and involved a lot of driving but it was well worth it, even with grey and moody sky it was simply stunning.
One of the last bridges we crossed near Holmavik.
After rejoining the ring road, the weather started to pick up but we still had another 4 hours of driving ahead of us. Sitting in the boot of the car eating noodles and checking the map we spotted another hot spring about an hour from where we were staying, so decided on a little detour. We pulled up in a car park and 2 people were leaving so we knew we’d be lucky enough to have it to ourselves again. A short walk later we spotted a huge waterfall, Reykjafoss, and right next to it was the hot spring! It’s pretty surreal being in naturally hot, calm water next to huge freezing waterfall! After a relaxing soak and firing off a few drone shots we dried off and headed back to the car for the final stretch of our journey to Akureyri.
Reykjafoss, Hotspring located the top of the falls.
Arriving in Akureyri we scouted the nearest supermarket for supplies and headed to our tiny home for the next couple of nights. The Viking Cottages are located on a hill overlooking Akureyri, it was without a doubt the nicest place we had stayed so far! We had our own hot tub so we had a quick dinner and then got straight in the tub with a beer to wind down (I could definitely get used to the Icelandic way of living!) The next morning we got up early to a beautiful, but cold day! We were booked on to a whale watching boat tour at 9am but when we got there couldn’t seem to find our group. It turned out that a group of 30 people had been booked on but had had to cancel after their cruise ship was re-routed! Our lovely guides on the Keli Sea Tours kitted us up in huge float suits and we set off with the whole boat to ourselves! We felt pretty smug seeing all the other boats absolutely packed with people trying to get the best viewing spots! After about 15 minutes we had our first sighting of a mighty Humpback whale!
We stayed with this whale for about half an hour, watching it dive down time after time! We had come a long way out from Akureyri so it was time to head back in and we were lucky enough to get another sighting along the way. This time it was a pair of whales diving together which was amazing! Back on dry land we headed for lunch; it would have been rude not to sample some fish and chips, being this close to the sea. With a whole afternoon to fill we decided to visit Goðafoss waterfall, about a 20 minute drive from Akureyri. Goðafoss, or fall of the gods, is a beautiful and powerful waterfall and it was a stunning evening but it was definitely the busiest place we’d been to so far.
Goðafoss waterfall.
Back at our apartment we took advantage of having our own kitchen and cooked a proper meal of sweet potato fajitas! With the possibility of the northern lights making an appearance, and the sky being totally clear, there was only one way to spend the evening really….beers in the hot tub. Little did Lauren know - I had other plans! After a while relaxing and watching shooting stars, I made an excuse to go inside and get my camera and tripod, but came back out with a engagement ring! I jumped back into the hot tub and didn't waste any time in asking her to marry me! It was the perfect way to end a great day.
How could you not say yes?!
Awaking to a windy grey morning we loaded up our bags, made tea and hit the road again. On to our next stop in Egilsstaðir with a few sights to catch on the way. We passed through such varied landscapes, huge areas of power plants that used geothermal energy, areas of lava fields and volcanos, and probably the most surprising of all was a desert-like part of the north where we drove though a massive sand storm! One place we’d had pinned on the map was Stuðlagil Canyon so we followed google directions along more unpaved roads until we got to a small car park where we made a quick brew and set off on the 3 mile walk to the canyon. The strangest, but most beautiful landscape we’d seen yet, huge basalt columns curved vertically out of the ground all the way along the canyon. It was really breathtaking. We took a few photos and did some clambering down on the slippery rocks to get a different viewpoint and then we were pretty much ready to head back but I just wanted to quickly fly my drone - big mistake. A massive gust of wind sent it flying over the canyon and to the other side of the valley and out of sight, the screen went blank as it was heading towards a group of trees and I gave up hope of ever seeing it again. By some miracle it sorted itself out and went into ‘go home’ mode! We saw it come back over the top of the canyon and the screen came back to life. It returned to the position it took of from but for some reason wouldn’t land. Lauren bravely offered to catch it to put a end to my stressful ordeal but as she caught it one of the propellers caught her little finger!!!! A quick makeshift bandage and a 3 mile trek back to the car later, we managed to warm up and get ourselves to our Air BnB.
