Iceland – Hofn to Vik – Iceland’s South Coast Day 11

We woke up to a different kind of day in Iceland. No wind! “What?” Impossible! The gods, however, are not that forgiving. It is cloudy and there is definitely the likelihood of rain in the near future. However, we will take what we can get and damn it, we will enjoy it!

Rare calm waters on a small lake near Hofn

We chowed down on the continental breakfast at the Seljavellir Guesthouse before getting in the car and heading east towards Vik for the next two night stay on our Ring Road adventure. We had to retrace our route to the Jokulsarlon Lagoon that we took the day previously and I wanted to stop and have look at the lagoon again because it was such a different day. Yesterday was blue skies and wind, today was overcast and calm. The lighting and mood at the lagoon would be dramatically different.

Jokulsarlon didn’t disappoint! It was spectacular! I think I liked it more than the day before and fortunately the overcast was high enough to not completely obscure the mountains and the glacier in the distance. (This post’s feature image features Breiðamerkurjökull flowing into Jokulsarlon)

An calm, overcast day at Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Leaving Jokulsarlon the weather began to deteriorate, the rains began and the winds started to pick up. The drive was still very pretty, and there were still lots of good photo opportunities but at times, the cloud was so low you couldn’t see what was around you. We did stop at a few pullouts where we had some good views of the glaciers flowing off the icecap.

Glacial tongues coming off  Vatnajökull (Vatna Glacier)

We also stopped to check another small glacial lagoon below the Kvíárjökull Glacier. It was nothing spectacular as the water in the lagoon is muddy and the glacier had retreated well above the lagoon. The low overcast and drizzle also obscured the views of the glacier and mountains. The surroundings of the glacier are still quite interesting because of the large terminal moraine left behind by the retreating glacier. They show how big this glacier once was.

The Kvíárjökull Glacier

At this same spot there is a plaque and some equipment documenting the loss of the British steel trawler CLYNE CASTLE, which ran aground on a beach near here in 1919 and couldn’t be pulled off.

The ‘Clyne Castle’ monument at Kvíárjökull glacier and terminal moraines left by the retreating glacier in the background.

We continued on, driving past glacier after glacier.  As well, there are many beautifully idyllic farms along the way.   Everywhere you go in Iceland there is something spectacular to see!

So many beautiful farms along the way!

Skaftafellsjökull Glacier

Native woolly willow framing yet another glacier

For most of the drive from Hofn to Vik you are driving across the vast alluvial plains created by the glaciers. As you get closer to Vik the terrain changes and the road cuts through a huge area of volcanic rock all covered in a thick coat of emerald green moss. This is the Eldhraun lava field. There is a pull-out where you can park and have a closer look at this interesting phenomenon.

Eldhraun lava field

Vik

By the time we arrived in Vik, it was pouring rain. I’m talking torrential downpour with the overcast practically reaching the ground.

The village of  Vik (full name – Vík í Mýrdal) is tiny, with a population of only 300 inhabitants. Despite this it is one of the most visited villages in Iceland. This is probably because of the many beautiful sights to be seen around Vik as well as its proximity to Reykjavik, which is less than 3 hours away.

These reasons also account for the many more amenities that can be found in Vik including a small, modern mall and on this day, not only was the rain torrential, but so were the crowds…quite a few tour buses were here, and remember, this is pre-tourist season!

The mall houses a good size grocery store, a cafe, a restaurant and a huge Icewear store which carries a wide range of outdoor clothing and gear as well as lots of wool clothing including Icelandic wool sweaters. The whole thing was a bit incongruous after days traveling the barren landscapes and visiting the minimalist villages of eastern Iceland.

Shopping Centre in Vik

Since it was raining so hard we figured we may as well leave off any outdoor exploration to the next day as the weather was forecast to clear up.  We spent a bunch of time wandering the Icewear store…lots to look at. I marveled at the number of people lined up buying rain gear. I guess they hadn’t heard about Iceland’s changeable weather!  I’m sure I heard some deep chuckling coming from somewhere…or was that just the thunder?

Linda bought a beautiful sweater made of Icelandic wool. She had been looking for a traditional hand-knit Lopepeysa as we traveled but so far hadn’t found one that she liked or that fit well. The Lopepeysa is a wool sweater and probably the most iconic piece of Icelandic clothing. The name simply means an unspun-wool sweater, as “lopi” refers to a type of unspun wool, and “peysa” is the Icelandic word for a sweater.  She found one she really liked at Icewear, and while it wasn’t hand knitted like the ‘traditional’ ones are, it fit her better than many of the Lopepeysa she had tried.  As a bonus, it was 1/2 off ! She also got a couple of pairs of wool socks… I got a belt. Oh well, if someone has to shop … it might as well be Linda!

Linda in her Lopepeysa

We shopped ourselves out at the Icewear store, hit the grocery store to buy some Icelandic chocolate bars to bring back for friends and family and then then topped up our caffeine and sugars levels at the cafe since the crowds were beginning to thin.  Whew, Iceland at it’s best!

Since it was still pouring rain we decided to head off to our next accommodation a bit early. We were booked at the Farmhouse Lodge, a few kilometers east of Vik. Check-in was at 4:00 (like most places) and we got there around 2:30. All our other accommodations had graciously let us check in early. Not this place! It was too far to drive back to Vik, the weather was just to gnarly to do anything else and our colds were wearing us down, so we sat in the car till they let us in. Do you think they’d let us in even 15 minutes early? Nope we had to wait right until 4:00. “We have to make sure all the rooms are ready!” Well, it’s not like they had hundreds of rooms, but whatever. It was a nice place once we got in.

The Farmhouse Lodge

After we had a bit of a rest we drove back to Vik for dinner as there is nowhere else to go! We found a place on-line that had good reviews with many commenting, “you have to try the lava soup!” The Soup Company (Súpufélagið), did indeed have wonderful ‘Red Hot Lava Soup’, probably named because of the adjoined business, the Icelandic Lava Centre, which features an interactive exhibit on Iceland’s volcanic activity including a live, ‘fake’ lava show. The 2 smallish servings of soup in black bread bowls set us back $65.00 before the beer!  We didn’t feel inclined to take in the Lava show at $60.00 each!

Lava Soup at The Soup Company, Vik

We headed back to the Lodge after dinner for another early night. The rain had finally eased a bit and it was beginning to brighten up but no surprise, the winds have been forecast to be high again tomorrow! We’ll have to wait and see.