Iceland Part IV: Waterfalls and Lava

Stunning Skogafoss Waterfall Valley

We awoke in Vik and had a leisurely start to the day in camp with coffee and a yummy french toast breakfast prepared by none other than van kitchen chef extraordinaire - moi!

We had been recommended to attend the Lava show while we were in Iceland by some dear friends who visited last year. After the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (Hey, you forgot la yogurt - a funny way to remember the almost impossible pronunciation of this volcano) which stopped much of the world's air traffic for six days, a pair of Volcanologists from Vik wondered if it might be possible to actually recreate Lava on demand and use it as a way to educate the masses about how it functions and what it does during and after an eruption. They managed to do so and "The Lava Show" was the result of their hard work and efforts. They now host shows in both Vik and Reykavik, but we opted to go see it in Vik as we thought the smaller stage would prove a more intimate and fun environment.

Watching Molten Lava made indoors at "The Lava Show" in Vik

I was thoroughly educated, entertained, and HOT by the end of the 90-minute presentation. I learned so many amazing things - like that the Laki Eruption in 1784 lasted for 8 months, killed 80% of livestock on the island, and roughly 6 million people died worldwide as the ash that blocked out the sun caused crops to fail. Some even suggest that this incident set up a pattern of events that culminated in the French Revolution.

The 1918 eruption of Katla (same volcano where we had visited the Ice caves a few days prior) was a powerful 24-day subglacial blast that produced five times more volcanic material than the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. The intense heat rapidly melted the overlying glacier, causing a massive flash flood that devastated local farmlands. This surge transported significant sediment into the Atlantic Ocean, extending Iceland's southern coastline outward by 5 kilometers.

https://youtu.be/Fa2WCLU9Z70

Once it was time for the demonstration, we were told we might need to derobe a few layers as the room was about to get very hot, and they weren't kidding! The lava itself flowed down this tube into the center of the room, 1800-2300 degrees fahrenheit, and the presenter showed us how it interacted with ice, rock and how it could be picked up (somewhat carefully!) and molded into other structures. It was thoroughly fascinating and made me wish we had similar educational centers like this for our Pacific Ring of Fire volcanos in the Pacific Northwest. I left the experience yet again reminded just how indifferent mother earth is to our presence here.

Since we had a somewhat later start, we eagerly started hiking up from the base of the famous Skógafoss waterfall where all the tourist crowds were gathered trying to get a photo, and decided to push on as far as we could with the time we had to see as much of the 11-mile roundtrip "Waterfalls Hike" that does go all the way to Þórsmörk and is often an "add on" for folks finishing the Laugavegur Trek. Once we had pased the first 2-3 waterfalls, I was in love and didn't want to turn around early just to get to the Thermal Baths we had decided to drive to afterwards in The Golden Circle.

One of the first few waterfalls after climbing stairs from Skogafoss

Our plans had shifted a little bit, since after my fall the day before, I was second guessing the booking I had made to Free Dive Silfra the next day. I was concerned that diving with an open wound would be painful but more so, just getting the wetsuit over my painful road rash might be a challenge. That and the endless negative self talk going around on an endless loop in my head was driving me mad. I was scared of cold water, so why was I making myself do this? Matt was super uninterested in going and yet I'd convinced him to join me, despite his lackluster relationship with water, even when it's warm? The noise in my head had made me send an email to the tour company the night before asking if we might be able to cancel because of my accident. Now I just wasn't sure again - that part of me that knew this was one of the most important and unique activities a tourist can do, not just in Iceland, but anywhere on the planet. So, I decided to just call FreeDive Iceland and speak to them and get their advice. When I called I immediately found myself on the end of the line with Birgir, the company's owner. After explaining the situation, he responded by saying "so...what you're telling me, is that you're regretting your regret?" I laughed and he proceeded to crack me up with constant jokes and jabs. He reminded me of an Icelandic Robin Williams, within a few minutes I was clutching my sides from laughter, and wanting to meet this person even more than dive between two tectonic plates.

He ended up kindly explaining that IF we could arrive to the meet-up site in Þingvellir National Park by 9:30am the next day, he would be more than happy to guide us through the Silfra channel, but if we couldn't make it or chose not to show up - he would issue us a refund first thing on Monday morning. I was very impressed by his flexibility and the pressure was immediately off because I knew I could back out even if at the very last mintue. And yet, I wanted to go more than ever now, after speaking to this character of a man.

We knew we had just enough time to hike the Skogafoss trail and then drive to the campground in the national park. But we also really wanted to try our first Icelandic Thermal Baths and had settled on Laugarás Lagoon, which closed at 11pm. So as we were hiking along and admiring waterfall after waterfall after waterfall, we were also calculating the drive time, whether we'd have enough time to eat dinner and get into the lagoon with enough time to enjoy the soak before heading to our campground. It was a tough decision, but I knew how much I was loving this place, but started asking hikers coming back down if there might be a good "turnaround" waterfall coming up that we shouldn't miss (there were over 20 by the time we reached our terminus). A French hiker was happy to give advice once I told him I spoke French and told us that under no circumstance should we try and turnaround before we got to the "bridge". He said the waterfalls just kept on getting more and more spectacular, and he was right!

Finding my "turbo" mode

My mind is literally blown at this double waterfall

I put my legs into Turbo mode and we ran up the hills. Soon, the glaciated/snow-capped mountains in the distance came into view, with each subsequent majestic waterfall calling to be photographed, just getting better and better. We'd stop to refill our water bottles (drinking directly from the river) every now and then, and I was excited and thrilled when we finally caught sight of the "bridge," knowing we had, at least, fulfilled the majority of the hike, or at least as far as we could practically get to on this one day. I vowed to myself that I would return to do the Laugavegur Trek and complete the Þórsmörk-Turnaround bridge section another time, and we continued in turbo-charged mode back down the trail to our van. We stopped for a photograph at the base of Skógafoss now that the crowds had thinned out.

Snow capped peaks emerge

The bridge at our turnaround point

Descending the stairs back to Skogafoss and the parking lot

Matt and I in front of the "Big One" (the ONLY waterfall 90% of tourists see when they come here)

I was grinning from ear to ear back in the van as this turned out to be my personal highlight of the entire trip. I loved how lush and verdant the greens were, I loved the cute sheep scattered all over the hills, and the waterfalls were truly mind-blowing. After seeing so many, it was almost waterfall porn-overload.

I made a quick dinner in the van when we finally got to the parking lot of Laugaras Lagoon of herbed grilled chicken, cheese filled potato croquettes and broccolli. By the time we got our very fancy locker wristbands (that sneakily also served as our "tab" because they just scanned your wrist when you ordered at the bar) it was 9:30, but we still had a nice 90 minute soak to check out the various temperature rated pools at this beautiful and newest of all of Iceland's Thermal pool facilities. We ordered the most insanely delicious cocktails made from gin and a shrub of wondrously flavorful herbs, sat in the 105 degree hot tub, cold plunged for as long as I could handle, and chatted with other tourists who seemed to be enjoying this magical country as much as we were.

Matt and I enjoying the last couple hours of daylight at Laugaras Lagoon

This was definitely one of those days that you live all the others for. Packed from start to finish with learning, visually stunning scenery, hearty exercise, fresh air, clean water, delicious food, and the bliss of slowing down in mineral rich hot water that resets your soul. I fell asleep with the little girl inside me still grinning from ear to ear.