Iceland - Day 5

After the Golden Circle, the South Coast of Iceland is likely its most popular destination. Mountains, waterfalls, rugged coastal scenery, and more greet the visitor on this breathtaking drive. Our first stop was the state-of-the-art Lava Center. Although I wasn’t initially excited about going there, the center blew me away. I was impressed with the way in which the exhibits explained Iceland’s volcanic heritage.

Two gorgeous waterfalls were definite highlights. At Seljalandsfoss, one can follow a path around its back. Although tempting, we decided against it since the rocks were so slippery with moss. And to be honest, I wasn’t up for getting wet from the spray!

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Skogafoss waterfall is much wider than Seljalandsfoss, but also beautiful. Here, we also skipped the stairway to the top of the falls. Wimps!

Skogafoss Waterfall 

The drive itself was amazing. We were stopped at one point by a “stampede” of horses. We also saw several cave houses from the road. These rock huts were built to shelter animals or supplies, but were like the types of dwellings early Icelanders lived in.

The "Stampede"

One of the Many Cave Houses

The Skogar Folk Museum was an interesting stop. While I wasn’t as taken with the indoor area, with its old-fashioned display of too much stuff, I loved walking around the outdoor open-air museum. Even though I’m not typically a fan of collections of relocated buildings (what I like to call architectural petting zoos), I didn’t seem to mind them here.

Skogar Folk Museum

Before we reached the hotel, we stopped at a wayside within the Katla UNESCO Geopark. Here we were able to get up close to an otherworldly landscape where lava flows were covered with a thick moss sheet. The bright green mountains in the distance provided a wonderful contrast.

Katla UNESCO Geopark

We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at another wonderful hotel, the Hótel Klaustur in Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

Another Fabulous Dinner

Our Route - Day 5