We woke up early for our big adventure! A tour called Fire and Ice Tour that was included in our package from Iceland Air. [they ran a special on this package from TravelZoo which made it a bargain!] We knew it took you from Volcanoes, to a glacier hike and black sand beaches but we had no idea how incredible the day would be. It was our best day ever and we had the best guide ever in Reynir Jonsson!
There were two other couples in our group and I got the front seat!
I took it all in and enjoyed chatting with Reynir along the way!
It was an off-the-beaten-path Icelandic Adventure we will never forget!
Our first stop was a crater at the Volcano of Eyjafjallajokull which last erupted in 2010.
Next we visited Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It was magnificent! Kelly ventured all the way behind it but the sprays from the waterfall were so strong that I feared damaging my camera so I stayed back.
Our guide was so awesome that he knew I was aching to photograph every inch of what we were seeing stopped along the road for me to take a photo of another waterfall [below]! Loved him for that!
Then we stopped for lunch of tomato and onion soup with carroway bread at Hotel Anna with our group pictured here from left to right: Amy, Kelly, Donna, Julie and Steve. We all got along and really enjoyed each other's company on this adventure!
Then it was time to set off on our much-anticipated glacier hike!
We got fitted for crampons and were given a pic and we set out towards the ice.
All the black you see is ash from the volcano beneath the glacier. They spoke of how the ash is brought to the surface on purpose because it deflects the sun and helps preserve the glacier [hopefully I understood that right]!
And here is Kelly with our guide, Reynir!
This hike was described as easy in the tour description. I would beg to differ on that! LOL! It was tough but I'm so glad I did it! It's an experience I will not forget!
Off to the black sand beaches we went from here!
The beach was awesome!! The waves were so intense and the black sand was like nothing we'd ever experienced before!
We left our mark...
and Kelly and Amy jumped for joy!
Our last stop was the waterfall of Skogarfoss where there was an amazing double rainbow!
Steve kindly took this picture of Amy, Kelly and myself under the rainbow!
Sadly, after nearly 11 hours our day came to end. We had an absolutely perfect day! The weather went from rain to snow to sunny skies and cloudy skies and at every stop Reynir managed to clean the windows for our picture-taking delight and we were so happy with the complete experience!
Shortly after returning to our hotel room I received a text that the guide for the photo tour I had hired for the next day had taken ill and was sending a replacement... I should have cancelled. Just sayin'... Day 3's misadventures to follow in another post.
