Iceland Day 2: Waterfalls, a plane crash and plenty of views

Ring Road, southeast Iceland

Fortunately, after a long sleep for all, we awoke to sunny blue skies once again.  We managed to pull Sullivan off the hostel's computer, roust Madeleine out of bed and ventured outside to see all of the sheep and to say hello to some of the hostel's friendly and shaggy horses.  They were eager to see us and were likely disappointed by our lack of food for them.

Friendly hostel horses

 We resupplied with food, chocolate, beer and a warm pair of pants for Madeleine in Selfoss, back along the ring road.  Again I was struck by just how similar some places feel no matter where you go.  Grocery stores here don't feel much different than in South America, but the pesto and chocolate were very cheap today at Bonus, the national chain store we visited.

It was from a few kilometers out that we first spotted the collection of waterfalls at Sajalandsfoss.  Striking, especially in the cool air.  We chatted with a Cuban-American couple from Florida and took plenty of photos and videos.

Sajalandsfoss

Continuing east, we stopped by a locally famous volcano, located behind an old family farm.  Eyjafjallajökull erupted for six weeks and disrupted air traffic for millions of travelers in 2010.  Given how peaceful the scene was today, it's hard to imagine the problems it caused.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_eruptions_of_Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull for more details.

Currently an idyllic scene 

Ring Road eye candy

One of the day 2 locations

Thanks to a geocache trail marking several movie filming locations around Iceland, we stopped at a unique large rock formation with several old structures that had been built into the formation itself.  Hrafninn flýgur (The Raven Flies) is apparently a "viking revenge" film that was partially filmed here back in the 1980s.  We plan on checking it out sometime soon.

Henry near one of the "hobbit houses" built into the rock

Houses currently viking-free

After just another short drive away is Katla National Geopark, containing Skagafoss, another impressive cascade.  At the top is a trail that heads west several miles and connects two large glaciers.  The possibilities.  .  .

A scene I won't soon forget

Above the falls

When we'd been planning for this trip and reading about Iceland, one spot in particular caught Madeleine's eye.  In 1974, a US military plane ran out of fuel and crash-landed on a black sand beach near Vik, the southernmost Icelandic city.  The wings apparently blew off long ago and legend has it that nobody died landing the plane.  It proved popular indeed.

A happy girl

 In the end we spent about an hour exploring the wreckage and the nearby beach, enjoying the scene.

The volcanic black sands hold something for everyone:  photographs to be made and rocks to be thrown

 We pushed onward and have settled for the evening in Vik.  A thermal pool sounds fantastic about now but the town's pool has closed for the evening.  Maybe tomorrow.