Today we started our journey back to Reykjavik, first stopping at the Black sand beach, then the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, the kerid crater, and finally ending our day with a delicious meal full of unique Icelandic dishes.
It was both amazing and frightening to see the power of the waves at the black sand beach. The waves were huge and frequent making the beach very dangerous. We were told that some people in the past have been swept out into the ocean when they had their backs turned towards the waves. We then continued on to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall where we were able to walk behind the falls to witness it. We had to make sure to dress up in appropriate waterproof attire because the mist behind the falls would immediately soak you. Our last outdoor portion of the day was the kerid crater, a crater lake formed by a volcanic fissure causing the volcano to collapse in on itself. I have never seen anything like it before so it was incredible to see in person.
We ended our night at Sæta Svínio Gastropub where we had the chance to try a variety of traditional Icelandic foods like horse, puffin, lamb, and arctic char. The original people of Iceland began to eat these foods because it was what was easily accessible to them. Horses and sheep were able to withstand the climate making them relatively easy to raise and arctic char and puffin were easily hunted. I enjoyed everything we had on the menu tonight a lot, with my favorite dish being the Icelandic Horse Tarare with puffin in a close second. The horse tasted pretty much exactly like what I thought it would be like. The puffin on the other hand I thought would taste more like chicken but it was something else incredibly unique. I’ve had both arctic char and lamb like that before and they were delicious.
The food on this trip was delicious and I can’t wait to continue trying new foods from other countries and culture as I continue to explore the world.
Swanson School of Engineering 