Following my explorations at Skaftafell, I set off after lunch to drive along the south coast of Iceland. It’s a HUGE day, squeezing in many highlights and stops along the way — a hike here, a short detour there. All totally worthwhile places that I’m glad I didn’t skip. But it means that I feel rushed all day long and still don’t make it to the campsite at Thingvellir National Park until 9:30p, setting up my tent in the dark. (The only reason for this push is that I’m scheduled for a snorkeling excursion at Thingvellir first thing the next morning.) If you have a slightly more relaxed timeline, I’d suggest spending the night at Skogafoss waterfall campground instead, and then driving all the way back to Reykjavik the following day (including a visit to Golden Circle highlights).

The highlights of today’s drive are actually so impressive that it will take me several posts to share them all. This one features miscellaneous sights along the route — all of the times I pulled over to stop for a photo because views in Iceland continue to be mind-blowing. Like this:

This next place is called Kirkjugolf — aka the Church Floor. Can you see why it got that name?

But this was never a church floor, nor the tiled surface of any man-made structure. It’s completely natural — these honeycomb, hexagonal basalt columns are the product of geothermal volcanic activity. I’m no scientist but here’s how I understand it: lava cools and there is a period of contraction which causes cracks to form, resulting in these six-sided formations. I don’t understand why these cracks are so naturally symmetrical, but they certainly do look like the floor of a church or similar structure.

A closer look at the basalt columns:

I stop at a random restaurant / B&B while looking for a restroom and notice this turf house and gnome display out front:

I pass by miles and miles of dense moss along the side of the road. This seems worth a photo stop — the ground here is like a giant sponge; my feet sink down a few inches as I walk around.

I stop by a place called Fjadrargljufur for a quick hike that I can’t wait to tell you about in more detail. Here’s a teaser photo:

I stop in the town of Vik for a coffee. Dramatic views continue.

Just beyond Vik there are a series of black sand beaches along the coast, accessible via multiple roads heading south towards the water from the Ring Road. After skipping the first one or two, I ignore the fact that I’m running about two hours behind schedule and take 20 minutes to check it out. It proves to be a good decision as these views are unique and also easily accessed from the parking lot, so I don’t waste a lot of time.

Then I head out in search of the crashed airplane on a nearby black sand beach. Again, full post coming soon. Here is a teaser:

And then I stop at my two very favorite waterfalls of the whole trip, which are very close in proximity. This is Skogafoss (where I recommend staying the night at the campground next to the falls):

And this is Seljalandsfoss, which is extra cool because you can walk behind it:

My last random highlight of this drive is an encounter with Icelandic horses on the side of the road. My sister warned me that I should be patient and ready to pounce should an opportunity arise to photograph horses here — it depends on a combination of the horses standing close to the fence, without an owner who might object or want a tip, and having a safe place to pull over. I’ve stopped many times so far to photograph horses but they were always too far away. When I hit the trifecta on this very long day, I know I have to take 10 minutes since another opportunity might not come my way this trip.

I can’t resist imagining silly animal dialogue (just ask my sister; I caption photos of her dog via text all the time). You’re welcome.

(For more animal captioning fun, check out my previous interactions with kangaroos and penguins.)

An Icelandic horse selfie:

And shortly thereafter the sun sets. Around dusk I snap this rainbow photo:

I reach camp at Thingvellir National Park after dark and set up the tent by glow of my flashlight. At least now I’m really quick at putting it up (that’s my car on the right):

It’s been a LONG but very successful day. I’m glad I didn’t cut anything off my list even though it was getting late — each stop on today’s itinerary was memorable. More details to come over the next few posts!