Tours – rebeccawanderlusting

The first half of the South Coast Tour was jaw-droppingly beautiful; full of lush, green land, gorgeous waterfalls and world-renown hiking trails. The second half was a completely different landscape, much like how the landscape of Iceland as a whole changes from mile to mile. Our first stop after the waterfalls was the quaint south coast fishing town of Vik, Iceland for a lunch break.

On our way there we passed miles of farmland and mountains, all of which was spotted with fluffy, little sheep. The tour van took the hills and curves at about 50mph, which was thrilling to say the least. We came over a hill to view Vik for the first time in all its cute, small town charm. Siggy, our tour guide, brought us to a roadside café for lunch. It was an order-at-the-counter kind of establishment, so our group made quite a long line. There were a lot of great looking local options, most of which came in the form of a stew. By the time I got up to the counter, I ordered a cheeseburger out of pure indecisiveness. It was pretty good! From the diner we could see the backside of the Black Sand Beach, with its telltale stone pillars lining up into the ocean.

We finished up our meals and were ushered back to the bus. We drove on to the front entrance to the beach and were set loose to explore. I love being anywhere near the sea, so this was my favorite stop of the day. The waves were quite large, and crashed onto the black stones on the beach, slipping through the cracks between them and sending tourists scurrying away from them to avoid getting soaked.

In addition to the stunning view of the ocean, the surrounding hillside and rock formations were strange and beautiful. Opposite the water was a hillside comprised of what looked like stone jenga pieces stacked up behind each other. Just to the right of this sculpted hill are the two stone pillars sticking up from the ocean.

If I were on my own schedule, I could have sat on the rocks watching the waves roll in all day. However, I was on tour time, so we moved on after spending 30-40 minutes admiring the Black Sand Beach.

Our next and final stop of the tour was the Solheimajokull Glacier, which was a little ways away. Siggy got out with us and walked us the half mile towards the glacier, giving us the facts as we went. Along the way, I got to talking to two retired teachers who travel together frequently, one was American and the other was Canadian. As it turns out, they were going to Copenhagen next too, so we made tentative plans to meet up there.

The tour stopped a bit away from the actual glacier and Siggy explained that the year before, the glacier had come up to the point where we stood. It’s been receding rapidly, and even when we moved up to stand next to it we could see the water running out from underneath.

The glacier didn’t look how I thought it might look; it was black on top with white and icy blue beneath. We walked up the glacier a couple steps, but only a couple because none of us had the spiked shoes needed to glacier hike. On the glacier, there were cracks that went through to the bottom, where I could see the water running underneath.

It was a lot colder by the glacier, so by the time we had to go back to the bus, most people were more than ready. The bus ride back to towards Reykjavik was pretty quiet as I think everyone was reflecting on all the beauty we got to see. The tour bus dropped us each off at our hotels, where we each thanked Siggy as we got off.

When I arrived back in my hotel room, I quickly changed and headed back out to get some dinner. I wanted to go to the Sea Baron, but the line was out the door, so I set about finding something else that was in my budget but wasn’t fast food. This is kind of a struggle in Reykjavik, because a lot of the restaurants are pretty pricey. After thirty minutes of wandering, I landed at Fish & More for their specialty, which was a sort of fish casserole served with broccoli, sweet potatoes, rice and rye bread with a Viking beer on the side.

It was either really delicious or I was really hungry. The restaurant had a really fun vibe, with stacks of National Geographic magazines on the side tables, comfy benches along one wall and bags of water (like the ones you’d bring a goldfish home in from the state fair) hanging from the ceiling. Their playlist was also really good, with bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Death Cab for Cutie. It was a great place to end a day full of adventuring.

Stay tuned for more adventures in Iceland!

Have you ever been on a tour through Iceland? Which one and what did you think?

Ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by the ocean and everything in it. I think watching the movie Jaws at an impressionable age had something to do with it. For this reason, the whale watching tour in Reykjavik was the first thing I booked for my Iceland trip. I had read plenty of reviews on tour companies there, and Elding Whale Watching Tours was the one that stuck out the most to me, so that is who I booked.

I took the tour on my third evening in Reykjavik, choosing to board the boat that left at 5:00pm. The tours depart from the Old Harbor, and all of the different companies have offices along the pier. I went to pick up my ticket from the Elding Whale Watching storefront and the woman who worked there offered me a sea sickness tablet due to the choppy water conditions and high wind, which I gladly accepted. To enter the actual boat, I walked through a boat that stayed docked which housed a gift shop and bar. When the Elding staff ushered us onto the boat we’d head out on, they offered us more sea sickness tablets and red jump suits to keep warm.

The boat had a lounge with a bar below deck, but everyone on the boat stayed up top. The guide was a marine biologist and was wonderfully informative. For the duration of the tour, she kept up a running commentary on whale facts in between shouting out things like “MINKE WHALE TEN O’CLOCK, HEADED EAST!” Every time she yelled such directives, everyone on the boat, myself included, ran to try and catch a glimpse of the whale. I’m sure this was hilarious to watch, considering the fact that the boat was rocking back and forth and we all staggered from side to side like drunkards.

The view from the boat was fantastic; Reykjavik was behind us and the mountains and never-ending ocean stood in front of us. We saw quite a few minke whales jumping out of the water, and a pod of harbor porpoises jumping alongside the boat. The tour lasted about two and a half hours and once we headed back to the harbor, most of the guests on the boat moved into the lower deck to warm up.

The excitement of being out on the sea and searching for whales made you forget about the cold, but it was quite chilly and windy out there. Once the boat was docked, the crew announced that their restaurant, Mar, would give a 15% discount for Elding tour guests, so that’s where I headed next. There are quite a few restaurants along the pier there, and Mar is at the far end.

I walked in and asked for a table for one, and seeing since the huge restaurant was mostly empty, I figured I would be seated right away. This was not the case. The host, a good-looking young man, informed me that they had a large party coming in and they wouldn’t have availability for another two hours. Thinking he was joking, I said “oh sure, I’ll just wait here then”. He was not joking. So I left and looked around outside for a party of 50-60 people that were going to take up this whole restaurant. There was none, and I won’t lie, I felt a little defeated after that. But! It turned for the best because I went across the street to Reykjavik Fish Restaurant and wound up sitting next to two American girls (one from Chicago!) who I had a great conversation with.

These ladies, coupled with the amazing fish and chips at the restaurant made up for the not so great experience at Mar. The fried cod was so light and delicious; I was very glad I ended up there for dinner. After dinner and saying goodbye to my fellow travelers, I wander around Reykjavik a bit, wondering if perhaps it was even prettier after dark. Either way, I was very happy to be there, taking it all in.