…but there may well be a case for bad planning.
On the second day of our visit to Iceland we were greeted with rain. Lots and lots of rain.
My sister and I drove north from Reykjavik for a road trip around Hvalfjörður and up to Húsafell in search of landscapes and lava tunnels. Little did we realise, when booking our hire car, that certain roads leading into and all the roads within the highland region of the country are in fact restricted to 4×4-drive only. Our little Suzuki Swift was clearly not in that category.
You have been warned!!
The lava tunnels we sought to explore were on the other side of an F-road (F = Forbidden For non-4x4s!)
We settled for a drive-about in the rain instead… as you do.
Usually all white plastic- someone had fun in this field!
We encountered many rivers – all of which seem to include the Icelandic for Salmon: Laxa. This one is Laxá í Kjós… one of Iceland’s finest salmon-fishing rivers.
Laxá í Kjós
Nope… we didn’t see any.
There was much scenery to enjoy and the weather certainly played up the atmosphere.
Hvalfjörður
Basalt lava flows loomed over us
Rhyolite hills near Húsafell
Climbing up towards the forbidden mountains
Sneaking a peek at Langjökull
Menacing “summer” weather
One of Langjökull’s glacial tongues
Despite not getting to climb into lava tunnels, we did view a rather sweeping lava-flow. Literally the river that turned to stone…
River of Stone
Two rivers run through it…
Staring up-stream of an old lava flow
Who needs lava tunnels, anyway?
Great pictures! I loved Iceland and it was nice to hear someone else’s adventure.
Thank you Stephanie – It is a fantastic country and I loved every minute of it, come rain or shine
Thanks for the visit!
The weather does seem to suit the landscape.
Hi Debra – it sure does. It would almost look out of place if it were too sunny!!
great photos!
I have to share my thought, though.
Yes, there may be bad planning, but sometimes some timing factors are beyond your planning.
When we got married in Rome we chose September because it’s still warm and nice, and decided to have a driving honeymoon following the route from Rome down to Palermo. Well.. In Rome during the wedding there was a temperature of 42°C, two days after or probably three an impossible rain started, and we arrived in places notorious for their sun under buckets of water.
Thing is, we had to book the wedding in March of April, so little could be done… And some other holidays have been ruined by the weather when we were working as employees and had to book our vacations at work in January for August… that’s life.
Now that is bad luck!
Our bad planning was as much to do with our hire-car not being able to go 4×4… Weather is as weather does… it’s wonderfully unpredictable
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment
Incredible. Iceland looks like an alien planet. Note to self: visit Iceland.
Thanks Loz – you’re right about the alien planet appearance… If you have seen the movie Prometheus – some of the opening scenes are filmed in Iceland. I think that says it all!
Thanks for the visit – hope you get to Iceland soon
Your post makes me even more anxious for my upcoming visit there!
Now THIS is on my bucket list! Loved loved loved this post! You have a great attitude about travel
and you take beautiful photos, too!
Your comments are too kind – Thank you so much
such an inspiration for me. I cant wait to travel like that!!