Today was an action packed day of waterfalls, beautiful weather, and lots of adventure! We started off with a drive to Seljalandsfoss, an iconic waterfall that you can (at least in the Summer) walk behind. But first, we stopped at the LAVA Center to learn a bit about how Iceland was formed, shaped, and continues to morph over time. Did you know Iceland has had more than 50 earthquakes in just the past 48 hours? I sure didn’t! But this picture shows just where each of these happened:
Even after seeing all these waterfalls on the trip, it still amazes me just how much water continuously flows down. No wonder about 80% of Iceland’s power is generated by hydroelectric turbines, there’s just so much water flowing all throughout the island nation. We got pretty close to Seljalandsfoss, and even saw a nice rainbow after some of the rain cleared.
Afterwards, we headed over to another waterfall: Skogafoss! This was the closest we were able to get to a waterfall yet! One thing is for sure, these waterfalls put Niagara Falls to shame. We even got to take a nice brisk walk up to the top of the falls for some unbelievable views of it all.
After I got my fill of views, if that’s even possible, we took a ride down the road to the Skogar Museum to see one of the largest collections of Icelandic artifacts. Everything from boats, to taxidermized animals, to little elf houses! This museum put into perspective just how rich Iceland’s history is.
Just when I thought the day was over, we headed over to the edge of a glacier. Seeing so much ice in one spot that has been there for years is surreal. Unfortunately, we don’t quite have the gear to hike the glacier, but that only gives me more reasons to come back.
After the glacier, we stopped in the small town of Vik on the south coast to do what? To get hotdogs!! Those Icelandic hot dogs are absolutely incredible, you might be seeing a few more of those in the next few days. Here, I also took a look at the Mighty Atlantic from a different angle than I’ve seen before!
And finally, we closed off the day with a delicious Arctic Char meal at our hotel. Weather is looking a little iffy tonight for the northern lights, but hopefully we get a good window! See you all tomorrow!
Swanson School of Engineering 