We ended Day 1 well not just because Gullfoss was amazing, but because our hotel - Hotel Vatnsholt - was amazing! It's pronounced va-sholt by the way, with a silent "tn".
I think we paid about $120/night for this place...WHICH WAS AMAZING. It was really hotel standard - spacious, clean and had amazing toilets. They also have a huge dining area with free flow drinks, hot water, hot chocolate and different kinds of coffee powder, creamer and all. All in for the price of $120/night for the 3 of us in a big room!
The only downside is its accessibility...It is quite far from the nearest town which explains its lower rates..but this also means a better chance to catch the northern lights because you're away from the city lights! So it really is a win-win situation for us :D But, we didn't see any northern lights in the end...so...yeah...Haha
Day 2 was another pathetic cloudy sky, rainy and windy day :( I was starting to get angry with Iceland already...LOL
Well, we already forked out thousands of dollars to be here...so no rain, no wind or cloudy sky ain't gonna stop us from rollin' yo
Our first stop for Day 2? A really splashy waterfall that totally drenched me - Seljalandsfoss. It's pronounced Sel-yeah-lands-foss by the way...their "J"s are pronounced as "Y"...so yeap, I pronounced it all wrong in my Vlogs. Forgive me Icelanders, I will change my ways...
If you're tired of seeing my face in my Vlogs, here's a few photos to aid your repulsion. LOL. But nothing beats the video of the falls...I could watch it all day...HAHA
Here's a close up, side view of Seljalandsfoss :D
Seljalandsfoss with a dreamy filter...LOL. My GoPro was just wet with rain water and created this effect
No photo is complete without me in it...HAHAHA
I am actually wrapped in THREE layers in the photo above...Not because it was that cold but because it was that WET. It was drizzling throughout...drizzling those kinda super fine rain? Like vapour condensing on you kinda rain? Like those spray bottle which you use to water small plants or which hairdressers use to wet your hair before cutting it? Yeah, those kinda rain...insignificant but oh it will soak your clothing.
We were actually contemplating if we should go to the waterfall...because we could see it from the dry comfort in our car at the parking and witness the rain mercilessly soak everything that dared to walk beneath its descent.
And we saw several ang mohs walking back to their cars at the parking lot after surveying this wonder with their JEANS COMPLETELY SOAKED. Like DRIPPING WET. You could see water dripping off their hair, jackets and you could see their jeans all wrinkled with water.
Well, we're already here right? We gotta experience it! LOL. But not with so little preparation like those ang mohs that came back drenched in Icelandic rain water. I went to don my 3rd layer - a waterproof layer - the North Face jacket and pants (which is featured in my videos below) lent to me by Wei Kit who came back from exchange.
Wei Kit bought the waterproof set for several hundred bucks in Iceland I think...and he was telling me how important it was because without it, the erratic Icelandic weather will own you. Haha! So thanks Wei Kit for sponsoring me your precious North Face waterproofing jacket! :D
Joel Toh, also lent me his thermals and gloves and all the winter-what-nots...He also bought his gloves from Iceland...badly damaging his wallet. LOL. Thanks Joel Toh for sponsoring me your winter gear too! Love ya :D HAHA!
Ok enough of the thanking of sponsors...LOL...You wouldn't think you'd be able to walk behind a waterfall right? I didn't think so...because from far, this waterfall looks like it's sliding down a precipice...but it's not! You could actually walk behind it!
The path to the back of the waterfall is actually CLOSED. Because it's too dayum dangerous to walk behind it when the floor is all half frozen in winter...Nevertheless, we simply skipped over the no entry metal chain and got on with our adventure...witness it below :D
By then, we were all soaking wet...this time not just because of the rain but because of the vapour from the falling motion of the waterfall. Here's some amazing photos we took behind this pretty falls.
Group photo!
Behind the scenes at Seljalandsfoss :D Yes, this is what it looks like behind the waterfall
Once again, this place is only complete with my face in it...LOLOL!
Yup, that is Seljalandsfoss for you in winter...you should totally view it in the summer...the colours of summer just magnifies the beauty of this place. Here's a google image pull-out:
Seljalandsfoss - Summer view!!! DAYUM SO PRETTYYY!
Summer views will always beat the winter views people...so if you're there for the colours and pretty sights, go in summer...But if you're like me and my friends, there for the Northern lights, then March is the best month to visit...just enough daylight hours to travel and just enough moonlight hours to catch them auroras :D
Yup, Seljalandsfoss is undoubtedly one of my favourite waterfalls simply because it lets you get up close and personal with it...You could walk to the side of it, walk behind it and hear its heartbeat.
However, my favourite falls is the next one...
Skógafoss!
I can't really quantify why I love Skógafoss best...but I guess it's because of the way it sorts of wraps its sturdy "arms" around you...an encapsulating, protective kinda feel. See the waterfall in the middle? That's the body. See the way the two cliffs go out and around the waterfall? Those are the "arms" of the waterfall. Maybe a different angle of Skógafoss will help:
Skógafoss in a different angle
It's like you're getting hugged by it right? LOL. Ok, if you don't get that feel, then...it's ok...But I feel like the waterfall is hugging you protectively. I feel safe just standing at the foot of the falls. Haha.
Here's my last attempt at trying to get you to feel the feeling I felt when I was there...A vlog! HAHA!
Once again, completing the scene with ma beautiful face :D HAHA
Wefie! :D
You could actually hike up to the top of the falls...It's a really short hike but because it was so cold and rainy...and my boots and socks were entirely soaked -_-" So...we decided not to...the weather's a big impediment to our urge to explore more :(
Yup, that was Skógafoss, my favourite-st waterfall in Iceland :)
Our next stop is another amazing, out-of-this-world destination...the Sólheimasandur DC plane wreck!
Sólheimasandur plane wreck!
Here's a few more up-close and personal shots of the DC plane wreck on the black sand beach.
Rubble
So this is what abandonment feels like
It's ok planey, I'm here for ya :D
Looking abandonment straight in the face...
You could actually climb into the plane and onto it...many of my friends climbed up and took an epic photo with the plane wreck. I wanted to do the same...BUT THE RAIN AND WIND conditions weren't anywhere conducive to do such stunts...so...I refrained and merely went into the plane wreck to explore...Here's my vlog of the place. You can hear the wind howling really loudly in the video...
Completing the photo again with my awesome self in it...LOL
Climbing onto the cockpit wasn't that easy ok? So you should be impressed with the shot above...LOL!
Ok, I know what you're thinking...You're thinking "This is nothing compared to Justin Bieber's music video of him skateboarding on top of the plane..." Look pal, he probably went there when the weather condition's more friendly. LOLOL.
Talking about Justin Bieber's music video "I'll Show You", he shot his MV at 4 places in Iceland. I covered 3 out of 4 of them in day 2 already...Haha...They were Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and the Sólheimasandur DC airplane wreck. I covered the 4th location - Jökulsárlón - on my 4th day. So, since we're already talking about his MV, here's the goods - his Iceland MV.
Yup, that was the 40 year old abandoned DC plane wreck at Sólheimasandur on the black beach near Vik town.
If you've grown tired of reading my day 2 already, high 5, I've also grown tired of penning this post...but apparently, when we're there, we haven't got tired of traveling...Our last stop for day 2 is at Dyrhólaey!
Here's a lil' Vlog of us on top of the cliff:
We were running around at the top of the cliff on some kinda hay or grass that could withstand such chilling temperatures. This hay/grass is really thick and soft, cushioning our every step. Here's some photos from this vantage point:
I just had to spoil the scenery with ma sexy back :D
My friend posing for his photographer from his modeling agency...HAHAHA
Some stump in the middle of nowhere
After running around this side of the cliff, we then ran back to our car and drove to another vantage point, which I think had a more mysterious, other-worldly view.
Overlooking the Dyrhólaey black sand beach with ma wannabe assassin pose...LOL
The precarious climb for this shot was worth it :D
I think the mysterious, other-worldly feel of these photos is due to its monochromatic colour palette - black sand, black basalt columns and cliffs, foamy-white waves, grayish-white fog and of course completed by my all-black down jacket and cover-alls.
Yes, I was decked in 3 layers:
Thermal wear
Long-sleeved t-shirt & jeans
Waterproof coat (top & bottom)
I was totally soaked top-down...because it was raining all the way...Those kinda very fine rain that you can't actually see...Kinda like a condensation cloud smacking you all day...giving all my photos a gloomy, foggy effect...which is really cool too :D HAHA! #TheIrony
If you thought we were done for the day...NO...we got back into our cars and continued driving until we reached the Dyrhólaey lighthouse :D
Here's a Vlog of the place:
Yep, that was us at the isolated, creepy and forlorn Dyrhólaey lighthouse. An absolutely brilliant spot to take a zombie clip...with the bleak, gray-washed foggy skies where the lighthouse's beam was the only ray of hope that's situated on a tall, secluded cliff overlooking the freezing ocean...Here's one last look at it:
Eerie lighthouse atop Dyrhólaey's cliffs
Yep, after this stop, nightfall was already capturing this lil' island...so, we pulled-up somewhere (can't remember where) and just slept in our car :D #savemoney #budget
Stay tuned for my day 3 post...sorry this is taking so long guys...Got a lot of photo and video assortment and editing to do...and ma job isn't helping :( LOL
