One more Iceland post!
But first! ICYMI read about the planning and the first two days. I’ll wait for you to catch up…
Day 3 = windy, rainy, lazy day
The third day in Iceland was our day to be lazy and relax, because we woke up to rain and 50 mph winds and there was no way that we were going to drive our little rental car around.
We ventured out into the wind and rain to grab some lunch from Svarta Kaffid. This was a cute, cozy little restaurant that offered soup and only soup – two varieties served in bread bowls. We ordered two meat soups and two beers. It was everything I could have asked for… except for the hefty bill of $53.
The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out shops around Reykjavik, trying not to get blown away by the wind, and enjoying drinks at the hotel.
This was the very last day of my 20’s and I wanted my last dinner to be special, so we did what everyone recommended we do: eat hotdogs. We picked up a couple from Baejarins Beztu Pylsur (translation: the best hot dog in town), brought them back to the hotel, grabbed some beers, and gobbled them up.
It was perfect.
Day 4 = my 30th birthday, the Golden Circle & flying home
My 30th birthday!! Our last day in Iceland!! What a crazy day.
We ate a quick breakfast and headed out to drive around the Golden Circle to see Bruarfoss, a few geysers, and Gullfoss before heading to the airport. Luckily the weather was back to blue skies and slight breezes.
Our first destination was Bruarfoss. I had seen this beautiful waterfall on a couple of different sites, but did not realize how tricky it was to get to until we were in the process of getting there. Every website had slightly different directions and methods of how to find it, but The Outbound turned out to be the most helpful.
There was a little bit of trespassing and a lot of walking through mud, but then we got to this:
It was 5000% worth it. This was my favorite waterfall.
Look how blue that water is!! Magical.
Our next stop was to visit The Great Geysir, also simply known as Geysir. It has been dormant since 1916, but back in its day it would erupt hot, sulfuric water 200-250 feet into the air. There are a few smaller geysers surrounding Geysir, the best known being Strokkur, which erupts every 10ish minutes.
This was the first geyser I’ve ever seen and I was pretty excited about it.
Then we wrapped up our trip to Iceland by visiting one last foss!
Gullfoss, meaning “Golden Falls”, was last on our list and a remarkable sight. Gullfoss has two distinct drops – 35 feet then another 70 feet into a crevice with walls that reach up to 230 feet. Absolutely gorgeous.
History lesson: Gullfoss was privately owned by farmer Tomas Tomasson and was leased to foreign investors with plans to use it to generate electricity. Sigridur, Tomas’ daughter, fought hard to get this contract voided. It took years, but eventually her efforts were successful, partly driven by lack of money from the investors. Now it is owned by the Icelandic government and is a nature reserve for all of the public to enjoy.
Oh wait! Gullfoss was not our final sight. These adorable little Iceland ponies were.
I think it was Michael’s favorite part of the trip.
Then we rushed back toward Keflavik to return our rental car (remember that drama from the middle of this post?) and get to the airport. Our flight was delayed so we spent a few extra hours at the airport having a few beers and reliving our favorite memories.
Overall, it was an incredible trip. Being 30 isn’t so bad afterall 
Looking for another adventure? Read about the Inca Trail (Part 1 & Part 2) and Cusco!