From my itinerary: After your beautiful hiking adventure of the Laugvegur trail and Thorsmork, today you will start your road trip around Iceland. This morning will make your way to your car rental operator and taken to their depot to get your car. You will head North out of the city on Road #1 and take the exit into the beautiful fjord of Hvalfjordur. This used to be the center of whaling in Iceland for a few hundred years, and during the Second World War over 20,000 British troops were stationed here, for training and protecting the Atlantic shipping convoy. Today you won ́t find any troops or whaling boats, instead it is an area of unspoiled beauty with high mountains, trickling brooks, and many hiking trails. The most popular is undoubtedly a challenging hike to the highest waterfall in Iceland, the 600ft Glymur. Once out of Hvalfjordur, you will join road #1 again and continue up to the next fjord, Borgarfjordur. With less dramatic landscapes than Hvalfjordur, but very energetic geology, this area is no less impressive. Make stops at Deildartunguhver, the most voluminous hot spring in Europe, for a a whiff of the sulphurous waters, and in the waterfalls of Hraunfossar. These falls are special in that it sees an underground river, which has flowed several miles, come bursting out from the edge of an ancient lava field. Overnight in area of Borgarfjordur *Pick-up for the car rental is unfortunately not available due to Covid-19. Hotel can help you arrange a taxi transfer from Hotel Borg to Holtagardard depot, which is about 10 minutes away. **Assuming you can leave the depot between 09:00-09:30, you should make your way directly to Glymur for the hike which is about an hours drive. Hike up and down will take about 2-3 hours. From there its an hours drive to Krauma, so you would arrive somewhere between 14:00-15:00. Be sure to have water and snacks for the hike Lunch - restaurant at Krauma, and at Hverinn in the village of Kleppjarnsreykir. Dinner - restaurant at Hotel Á, and at Fosshotel Reykholt nearby. Small gas station/convenience store in Reykholt.
The breakfast buffet at the hotel is quite nice and is amazing that it is a "normal buffet" - first I've seen since covid started. Lots of interesting carbs including local specialties like cinnamon rolls.
My day starts with some stress as I get over to Hertz to pick up the rental car. I had to wait about 30 minutes and was quite insecure and still exhausted from my trek and ankle. It felt like it took forever to take pictures of the car to document any damage. The car turns out to be quite good - It's a black Mazda. I caught this picture of my leg with all the support hose on - interesting perspective:)
Of course I had to hike up to the highest waterfall in Iceland - Glymur. This was a beautiful area. One portion of the hike was a stream crossing on a big log,
through a cave,
And up up up. Part of the trail was quite steep with steel cables to help the climb. There were beautiful views and areas where the birds - Fulmars - nesting in the cliffs, would fly out and wheel around in the sky.
When I finally get to the falls viewing area, I actually decide not to go higher due to my ankle - so some good sense prevails - and stop for a snack and watch the beautiful scenery. I can't stay too long as I'm on a tight schedule with lots to do today.
By about 2pm I'm back on Highway 1 and I am careful not to hit the sheep.
I make a stop at Deildartunguhver, the most voluminous hot spring in Europe, for a a whiff of the sulphurous waters and stop there for lunch. These are the Krauma Thermal Baths and one of the best that I visited during the trip. All the baths were outside and at various temperatures. One was just the right temperature (like the 3 bears) and I almost fell asleep while soaking.
Then on to the Hraunfossar Falls. On the way to the falls I have my first experience with unpaved roads which will turn out to be the majority of my driving experience in Iceland. Had I known I would have insisted on a 4-wheel drive.
The Hraunfossar falls are special in that it sees an underground river, which has flowed several miles, come bursting out from the edge of an ancient lava field. Said to have formed in ~800AD, it is named after a man who lived in the area. It is a national monument.
I overnight in a small family run hotel called Hotel A in the area of Borgarfjordur. On sale are sweaters made by the owner's grandmother and I buy one for Sasha.
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