Joanna and I have been having such an incredible road trip experience hitch hiking on the ring road. While we wait for rides, we are surrounded by stunning beauty of various types!
On Sunday, we traveled from Egilsstadir towards Vík, stopping with our drivers to see a waterfall, light house and the Rocky coast along the real blue Atlantic. Our drivers dropped us off in Höfn and we waited a while till we got picked up by a kind father and son from Holland. They didn't take us very far and after getting a few more rides short distances, we got a bit stranded with no ride halfway to Vík. We decided to stay the night in a pricey but nice guest house on the beach and get a nice dinner since we'd spent the whole day traveling. We called the Dutch father and son (Rob and Reuben) and took them up on an offer to get a ride to Vík the following day. The next morning, they picked us up and traveled along with us, stopping at waterfalls and the glacier lagoon (though they had already seen them) so Jo and I could take photos. We stopped for hot cocoa just before the Vík and when we arrived, they treated us to a 'goodbye lunch' of burgers and fries at a nice restaurant in town.
After that, we walked up a hill to our hostel which was so precious and cozy and we were so glad to get Wi-Fi and journal with blankets on the couch in the common room. It was rainy and windy as heck outside so we decided to wake up early this morning to see the black beaches, rock formations and basalt columns we'd been dreaming of seeing since we heard of this place.
This morning we woke up at 5am and headed out for an hour long hike (we didn't anticipate the intensity of the steep climb, but the views were stunning and we were so glad we got to overlook the city as the sun peaked over the mountain and diffused through the clouds.
After hiking up and down the mountains against 30mph winds, we finally arrived at the black beaches. It was extremely windy and We had to lean against the wind to walk, but the sight of the beaches with the peach colored fog over them took our breath away. It's been a dream of mine to see those beaches for a few years and now I saw and experienced it in person.
We hitched a ride to the main road afterwards and walked half way back to the town, about 1.5 miles before someone picked us up and dropped us back at the hostel.
We were bummed we would miss the 8-9am breakfast buffet that was for a really great price, but when we got in, I was there was a good amount of food left though the dining room was empty. I asked the worker if we could take it and she invited us to eat as much as we wanted, free! We tasted an assortment of homemade jams (carrot orange, berry, and rhubarb jam), ham and cheese and Belgian waffles with homemade angelica syrup!
We are so overjoyed that we have been so blessed by kind drivers who pick us up and free meals along the way!
We have 9 days of traveling ahead of us. Right now, we are about to go out on the road and thumb for a ride to Skaftafell waterfall that is right off the ring road a few miles away. After that, we head to our turf roof hostel near the Westmann Islands where we'll stay for two nights. We plan to ferry to the islands today or tomorrow and see where we go from there.
Will keep you updated on future adventures!
Much love and greetings from Ísland,
AnaMichele
So great to hear about your adventures and that you both are safe!
ReplyDelete