Iceland 8 Day Honeymoon Roadtrip [DAY 3 & 4] Northern lights and lots of driving!

DAY 3 

 

Like the night before, dinner was cooked on our portable stove, but was brought out to the campsite’s table. We used their washing up facilities, soap etc, and some of their cutlery. It was a sumptuous brekkie.

Today was going to be mostly driving. We wanted to head to the East Fjords where we heard reindeer and puffins roamed. Our goal was to reach the seaside village of Borgarfjörður Eystri.

We were amazed at how large and beautiful the rainbow was! By then, we were travelling on the coastal road, so we were so blessed to see such a giant one. Thanks to our monster “Bodyguard”, we powered up a gravelly hill to get closer to the rainbow. We found, throughout the many hours of driving, you’re NEVER bored on the Icelandic roads. 1) Some gravelly roads are too dangerous to snooze on 2) There’s always something different to see, be it volcanos, sea, different types of shrubbery and plenty of gorgeous waterfalls!

 

This was a gorgeous little town in the middle of a deep valley. Their proudest achievement? Having a population of 139. Hahaha so cute right?! There we went to their main attraction, the old general store – a charming general store with an attached cafe. It felt like a lovely day cafe hopping in Singapore! No regrets, best food of the day:

A thick, fluffy cake with smooth, creamy ganache – this is what a REAL chocolate cake should taste like. Little chocolate shavings give it a crumbly top, a fresh whipped cream help break the intensity of the chocolate. So.. Perfect!

Abel and I spent time there drinking soup, eating cake and planning our route before heading off for the drive again.

 

 

It’s a hell of a long drive to the final destination of the day, so it’s a great thing the scenery is so fantastic. It’s like a drive through golden California vine yards.

 

We actually drove all the way here cause they had a famous puffin look out. We only just realized that it was the wrong season to head there AFTER we arrived from the perilous mountain roads (so dangerous!! Seriously!) I peed in the loneliest toilet in the world:

We headed to the campsite where we met another couple who were camping IN A TENT. What champions. Up in the Eastfjords, we were so close to the arctic circle, the temperature had dropped to 5 degrees at night. They said that had camped there for two nights in a row cause they heard that town was the best place to see the lights. See the lights we did:

It was a special moment, fleeting. At midnight, the lights came out in full force, the cloud cover from 7pm gone. Abel stuck his head out of our sunroof, grabbed the tripod and took a multitude of photos:

Next morning, we spoke to the couple, turns out they fell asleep and missed it. :/ yikes.

1) There are websites like Aurora Forecast you can use to track the cloud cover and chances of aurora sighting. We were blessed to be at the right place at the right time, but maybe you’ll be able to plan your chances!

2) Any digital camera that allows you to change the shutter speed is enough for the lights. A tripod is KEY to getting a clear picture.

3) The minute you see a glow in the sky, WHIP OUT YOUR CAMERA!

 

Spotted along the potentionally trecherous road.

A quaint, nordic-style home built by an Icelandic poet

The brilliant coastline of the edge of Iceland

DAY 4

It was an uneventful day full of driving. It was near impossible to go out and do anything, simply because of the torrential rain and ridiculously heavy mist. We merely took the roads to get to point A to point B.

Here is the only thing of excitment we saw after hours of driving:

This was the first of the monster waterfalls we were to see. It was hell driving here. It was a rocky road that was FULL of potholes. It was the first shitty road we had come to. But it was a pretty miraculous waterfall I would say.

1) When driving on a a pothole-filled gravel road, DON’T drive off road. (You will crack the underside of your car)

2) When it’s windy, DON’T open the door. (It will fly off the handles)

3) Drive slow at night, DON’T forget to turn on your light.

 

Also known the “shelter of the gods”, it was a gorgeous campsite in the shelter of a craggy canyon. But getting there was a bitch. Long, bumpy and not-so-cool. The facilities were really good too, laundry, drying cabinets, 500isk (100isk coins) showers and warm, cosy toilets. Perfect place!

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