I can’t continue writing without actually mentioning whom it is I traveled with, and surprisingly to my 15 year old self it was my brother, Sam.
Growing up it was the typical “we hate each other” attitude. He threw a screw driver at me and almost took out my left eye when I was in 4th grade (proof in my school picture), and I in turn years later shut his head in the stick shift dodge caravan sliding door (no proof, just a vivid memory…probably more so for him). I promise to this day it was an accident, but Sam, I know you will never believe me. So, we’re even? Sibling rivalry is a real thing, but I am so grateful for having him by my side now.
Sam is four years younger than I am. My most vivid memories of him at home were his humming while eating food (and smelling it first), his inability or desire to wear shoes outside and that he was always outside, and his famous Meat Boulders recipe. Our Mom had sat him on the counter next to the sauce and meatball mixture, showed him what to do, “roll them like this, then place them in the sauce,” and then turned around to work on other things while he was set. Maybe a minute later he goes “all done!” There was at least a pound of meat to make into meatballs, and this kid somehow finished it up in record time…until my Mom stirred the sauce. There were a few normal sized meatballs, then 4 extra large balls that my mom dubbed “meat boulders.”
When it came to school, I can’t say he had it easy necessarily. I set a high bar with the AP/Honors thing (but in reality I was waived into some of these classes), I was the first-born, and I was the girl. These things sometimes gave me a pass in his eyes, or that I was able to get away with things. He strived for recognition, to find something he wanted to pursue as a career, and for a long time he didn’t have the answers. I never doubted him though.
Sam is a visionary. He is not bothered by the routine, the required, and the typical. He was and is ahead of his time, ahead of what I am still capable of understanding. He has an entrepreneurial spirit. He is an entrepreneur. He is wise and intellectual. He isn’t afraid of risks and going after his dreams. He has the most solid group of friends I have ever witnessed, from elementary school and still to this day. They would all take a bullet for one another, and I don’t say that lightly. I will forever admire him and the way in which he views life. I love you, Sam. Thank you always, I wouldn’t be who I am without you.
Speaking of his friends that I am lucky enough to call mine as well now, two of them joined us on this trip, Erika and Kevin. They had recently moved to the Conshohocken area, which is where I was living at the time. We would meet up at the Conshy Brewery on Fridays just to chat about our weeks and play board games. Eventually, these hangs over good beers turned into planning for Iceland. As soon as I mentioned them joining Sam and I on this trip, they were all in. The greatest of friends are those that will pickup and go anywhere with you at the drop of a dime. Keep the adventurous souls close.
The first stop was Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui waterfalls. The view was unobstructed as we approached and you could see the thin stream of water cascading off the cliff into what looked like only grass. There was no large river at the bottom, just a small stream the waterfall fed. Seljalandsfoss is unique in that you can walk behind the falls. There is a small dirt path up along the sides that take you around for a different, and fairly wet, perspective. You have to do it though, just watch your step, its slippery!
Gljufrabui was actually unplanned for the most part. I knew the falls were here, but not exactly where. We walked down the path from Seljalandsfoss away from the main road and found a trail that went up the side of the cliff. You basically had to rock climb this thing, and we did, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. It was so steep and where there weren’t rocks to grab onto it was mud. I thought for sure someone was going to get hurt day one, most likely myself. At the top of the small trail we saw the top of the waterfall flowing down into a cave. We helped each other hop up onto a rock and glanced over the edge only to realize you can somehow get to the bottom of the falls! We most definitely took the path less traveled, but that’s where you learn the most, right?
We climbed back down the trail unscathed, although at times I thought we were all going down face first. We found a slit between two tall cliffs where a stream was flowing through. There were a few people walking through the water alongside the rock walls so we figured this had to be the way in. One big thing to be sure you have for a trip to Iceland is waterproof boots, not just water repellant. I read all over that there are often river crossings on trails and this was our first. A tiny little stream, but nonetheless, my feet were completely submerged when jumping from rock to rock to get into the cave. At the end of the rocky hallway, the cave opened itself up with a waterfall at its center. Looking up you could see the sky and where we had just been. The cave was small, and almost impossible to get a photo of since the mist was everywhere. We climbed up onto a rock at the center and did the best we could to get some shots and then headed back out to our car. Next stop, Skógafoss.
About a half hour down the ring road we would find this popular waterfall, and popular for good reason. Again the view approaching the falls was unobstructed, but this waterfall was much more massive than the last. The parking lot was also way more packed! When you google Iceland, Skógafoss is often a top result. There are a bunch of guided tours offered by travel agencies where you can take a day trip from Reykjavik via bus to Skógafoss. Regardless of its popularity and our desire to find the hidden gems, we of course stopped. We planned to hike up to the base of the falls without any intention of going to the top but then found a daunting series of stairs carved into the hillside. We were so excited we skipped the base and immediately started climbing. Oh. My. Goodness. My legs had never been so sore. I was a runner at the time and thought I would be fine climbing some steps…man was I wrong. At the top, my heart was racing, I was definitely sweating through my five layers of clothing, but the view was incredible and the air was so crisp I immediately forgot my exhaustion.
We wandered around the top of the falls for quite some time. We took photos in the fog, spotted horses and sheep on the hillside in the distance, the boys climbed down to get really close to the Skógá River, and then eventually we hiked back down. The base of the falls is like a waterpark ride, except you are walking and not in a little raft shaped like a log on a track. The closer you got the more soaked you became (waterproof gear necessary!). The mist was so heavy in parts you could also barely see past it even when you were a few feet away.
The four of us jumped back into the car and raced to our next and final stop for the day, Seljavallalaug geothermal pool. Seljavallalaug is known as the oldest manmade swimming pool in Iceland and is highly photographed. It is not hard to find, as it is present on Google Maps if you know the name. You have to park in a lot off the main road a bit and then hike to the actual pool. There are changing rooms there, but obviously they aren’t anything fancy. This place is free to swim but is maintained by locals, so be mindful when you go and do not leave things behind. As the Girl Scouts say, take only pictures and leave only footprints.
We parked in the lot and were greeted by a sweet old pup. There was a small house on the hill nearby and so we believed it was her owner’s. We started on the trail and she stayed back with the rest of the cars. The trail was a small footpath in a valley, no formal markings or signs. The fog was dense and settling so you could not see the tops of the hills on either side of us, just a couple hundred feet ahead. We crossed over a footbridge about halfway that normally you wouldn’t think was beautiful, but for some reason it caught my eye as if it was meant to be there, part of nature itself.
When we arrived at the pool there were a few other people already swimming. What we didn’t notice at first is that they were all clustered in one area near the rocks on the side, a critical observation we realized a bit too late. We took off our layers down to our suits and slowly got into the pool. It was not warm, at all. Ok maybe lukewarm if that. Sam was miserable and I was quietly grossed out thinking about what we were swimming in. When we were treading water the other people there told us that one of the pipes transporting the geothermal water was broken, and they were hanging out by the only working one. So, they were the smart warm ones, we just looked like confused tourists. We jumped out and put on our clothes and walked back to the car. Sam was extremely grumpy, he doesn’t like being cold AT ALL. I attempted to make him feel better “isn’t it cool we can say we did that though!” He wasn’t having it. Good thing we were only 2 hours from a warm shower…?
We spent the night at our first AirBnB back in Reykavik. It was a basement apartment of this beautiful little white house outside of the city center. After settling in, we went out for a bite to eat then came back to rest before getting some sleep. The next day was filled with the waterfall I was personally most excited about, black sand beaches, and another odd attempt at breakfast.