Finally found the strength to come back to this stupid blogging site. Basically, I was halfway into this post but I accidentally deleted my draft. And guess what? I can't recover the deleted draft! To think that Blogger is actually Google-owned is a disgrace. One of the worst blogging platforms available but well...I started here so I'm lazy to change to another domain.
So here I am, back at my computer writing this 1.5 years after I've set foot on one of the most hauntingly beautiful countries on earth. The images and landscapes are still vividly flashing across my mind as I recall them and I don't think this experience will fade anytime soon.
First stop on the 3rd day of our itinerary: Reynisfjara Beach, pronounced Ray-knees-fee-ah-rah. Remember that the letter "j" is pronounced as a "y". The word "Fjara" really means beach so Reynisfjara simply means Reynis Beach. Since most people calls it Reynisfjara Beach, I'll just stick to calling it that, even though upon translation it will mean Reynis Beach Beach. Haha..Pardon this #logophile here.
Yup, upon reaching Reynisfjara, which is a short drive from Vík town, just follow the signs and crowd (if any) and you'll be right smack at one of the most hauntingly beautiful beaches in the world.
 |
| Directions to Reynisfjara |
 |
| Signboard to tell you more about Reynisfjara Beach |
 |
| The eerie, cold and hauntingly beautiful Reynisfjara Beach |
 |
| The frozen, lonely & lifeless Reynisfjara |
 |
| Selfie time! :D |
If you've watched the videos and went like "Aiya, the waves like that only, why the drama?" let me tell you that, number 1, yes drama is my DNA, the whole world's my stage baby! LOL. And number 2, the waves did actually kill people before.
 |
| Newsflash: Chinese man drowned at Reynisfjara Beach when the waves took him in |
So guys, don't underestimate Mother Nature! Respect it and stay safe!
Anyway, the spot where the guy was swept off to sea was near the basalt columns at Reynisfjara Beach. From far it looks like there's a cave by the basalt columns. See the photo below, in the background you can see the basalt columns to the right of the photo with a big black hole at the side. But, it's not really a cave. Sparing you the disappointment now before you get there...HAHA
 |
| Group photo with the basalt columns in the background :D |
 |
| Basalt Columns at Reynisfjara Beach |
Once again, here's a vlog of the basalt columns. Yes a picture speaks a thousands words but a video recreates the experience.
That's more or less my Reynisfjara experience and the biggest takeaway for me was simply standing there and listening to the thunderous sound of the crashing waves.
I keep using words like "eerie" and "hauntingly beautiful" to describe this place because it really gives you a mysterious vibe. This is not your usual beach filled with fun and laughter but rather this place is frozen, monochromatic in its colour scheme and lacking wildlife, making you feel prominent and yet making you feel all too lonely at the same time as you watch its frigid waves crash onto the lifeless shore of black stones and pebbles.
Our next stop for the day is the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. Please indulge my #logophile self again as I teach you how to pronounce this word..HAHA. It's pronounced fee-yah-the-rahw-gee-you-ff-uh. "Gljúfur" is the Icelandic word for "gorge" or "canyon" and "Fjaðrár" means "feather" which is the river's name that is flowing through the canyon, hence the name Fjaðrárgljúfur. Fully translated, it really means Feather (River) Canyon.
 |
| Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon |
 |
| Fjaðrárgljúfur: at one of the canyon's stumps |
Alright people, if you still don't know who is that sexy male model in the above photos...it's Justin Bieber.
 |
| Justin Bieber in Iceland, at Fjaðrárgljúfur |
As for us, we didn't make it there because the roads were snow-locked. If you've read my "Iceland In A Nutshell" post, you'd know that driving over the misleading snow could lead to disaster and even death - like how several of my friends nearly landed themselves in.
So, the closest we got to Fjaðrárgljúfur was here:
 |
| The closest we got to Fjaðrárgljúfur before the roads became un-drive-able due to heavy snow |
Yes, we didn't make it there...Boo hoo...That's why I made up for it by posting 3 Justin Bieber's photos up there...LOL
So, after a few photos at that unknown location, we drove off to our next stop: Foss á síðu. Once again, let the #logophile speak - the pronunciation for this word is fairly straight forward: foss-ah-see-doo which literally means waterfall at Síðu.
This waterfall was visible along the highway, so we simply pulled over at the side of the road, took some photos and went on with our itinerary. Here's a "roadkill" photo of it:
 |
| Foss á síðu |
 |
| No photo is complete without me :D HAHA |
 |
| Another "roadkill" photo: Saw some pretty gate by the road and decided to take photo :D LOL |
 |
| Since we pulled over, might as well get a shot with our sturdy Cherokee jeep :D |
Our last stop for the day was Vatnajökull National Park. Pronounced as va-aht-na-yo-koot-luh, it means Vatna Glacier, with "jökull" meaning glacier.
By the time we reached Vatnajökull National Park, it was getting dark, so we had to settle for only one hiking trail. There are many hiking trails over there and we actually planned to hike to Svartifoss but we decided against it because it was an uphill hike that would take around 30mins up. Factor in slippery slopes and delays it could take around 45mins plus our photo taking time of another 30mins before coming down in about 30mins...that's a total of 1hr 45mins! So this is what we missed out on:
 |
| We did not hike up Svartifoss as planned :( |
 |
| At the beginning of the Skaftafellsjökull's trail at Vatnajökull National Park |
Due to time constraint, eager me ran ahead of my friends to the end point to see if it was worth it...And on hindsight, I'd say yes the view was worth it! The only regret is not being able to hike up the glacier.
Anyway, since I'm way ahead of my 2 chillax friends that are strolling here, I decided to take a spinning video :D Heehee. Here's the video:
 |
| Group photo at Skaftafellsjökull |
By the time we hiked back to our car, it was already dark. We were tired from the hiking as well so we decided to just sleep in our car.
Here's one thing I remember vividly - because we were kinda sweaty from the hike, we wanted to bathe. So we went to the park's toilet and were surprised at the cleanliness and spacious-ness of the toilet! It's slightly bigger than our public wheelchair toilets in Singapore.
But here's the bad part - THERE WAS NO HOT WATER. Water that came out from the showers and taps were a freezing 0oC! So Ryan (the guy on the left side in the photo above) and I were like "I'm done here, I'm not bathing in freezing water."
But our dear guardsmen Daniel was totally unfazed by this fact. While Ryan and I were making ourselves comfortable in the car, a super refreshed Daniel came back to the car and we were like "Omg Daniel, you bathed?" He was like "Yeah why?" And we were half-laughing and half-amazed and saying "Guardsmen another level".
So yep, that concluded our night...And oh yes, if you still remember our little debate that night about how motion sensors turn the light on, just wanna say that, I still love you Ryan :D Heehee
