eftir rigningu kemur skína | after rain comes shine

When the weather outside is wet and cold, best to sleep in a little and have a good breakfast before you start your day.

Alot of rocky terrain and very little greenery along this route. Good thing there weren't too many sights along the way because the weather wasn't great so we drove right through the eastern fjords. Out of the entire trip around Iceland, this section was the most adventurous and scary due to the steep cliffs we had to drive through.

Instead of taking no. 1 highway the whole way, we took a shortcut on route 939 from Hofn to Egilsstaðir and boy it was quite windy and rainy the entire time. If it ever becomes so windy that it forces the rain to go sideways (and blows the water in all directions), don't drink anything or else you'll be in a difficult situation trying to figure out how to pee. I learned the hard way and couldn't use the washroom for 2+hours.

One of many large rainbows that we saw along our trip.

Checking out the Bonus grocery store which has a cute logo of a round, pink piggy.

Checked in at Icelandair Hotels Herad.

Big clouds swarming towards us, time to take cover!

breyta sjónarhorni þínu / change your perspective

Road trip continues..(day two). We originally booked an ice cave tour where the group meets up at Skaftafell but unfortunately it wasn't cold enough so there was still a river flowing through. They called us the day before and offered an alternative: glacier hike or a full refund. We opted to just do our own thing which I'm glad we did otherwise we would have missed a lot of beautiful sights. For those planning to go to Iceland in November, it'll definitely be white after the third week. We were just able to catch the transition between autumn to winter :)

Jökulsárlón, a large glacial lake in southeast Iceland, on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park. We arrived at around 3:45pm and still had about an hour to take photos before the sunset.

We climbed up these large hills to capture the glacier lake.

And just right beside is the Diamond Beach. Shiny chunks of glacier ice that made its way back onto the beach. 

As the sun began to set, we continued driving in the dark towards Hofn.

After we checked into Hotel Hofn, we had dinner at Pakkhaus which is located right next to this small dock for fresh langostine. We were really hungry so the food tasted extra scrumptious..

Out of the two weeks that we were in Iceland, we saw the northern lights twice as we experienced some stormy weather in between. This photo was taken right before the storm. Aurora forecast 3 out of 9.

Although we weren't in the complete dark, the auroras were still quite visible with the naked eye. When I saw this, it was such a good reminder of how insignificant and trivial we are in this world. If you've never seen the northern lights, you must plan at least once trip in your life to see it.

lítið krók / a small detour

J always enjoys the gravlax salmon and cottage cheese for breakfast. I love my cereal with milk every day *oink. I try not to buy cereal back at home because I know once I start I can't stop. Childhood memories of my three cups of milk days: one for breakfast, one after school with my chips ahoy! or oreo cookies and a warm one before bed. Those were the good ol' calcium days. =D

Such a cosy lobby area. Icelandair Vik offers happy hour before 6pm and this area was packed with visitors last night. One note: when you arrive in Iceland, remember to get your alcohol at the duty free store at the airport, it's such a great deal.

Day two on the road and heading south-east. We drove through this fascinating area of mossy covered land. Make sure not to go off road because it's strictly illegal as a simple tire mark can cause irrevocable damage that lasts for decades. Not sure if it was just me but I really did not feel comfortable putting my full weight on the spongy moss. Some naughty tourists jump on them but I just prefer to tap on them briefly with my toes. That soft sinking feeling really grosses me out. :P

Please hold, hide properly and be considerate when travelling in Iceland.

The difference between a zoom out..

And a zoom in. A small detour from the ring road and we arrive at this canyon. Not too many visitors come here which was really nice and peaceful.

The bedrock in Fjaðrárgljúfur is mostly palagonite from the Ice Age period and this canyon was created by progressive erosion by flowing water from glaciers some 9000 years ago. If you have more time I highly recommend walking along the canyon to the very top. Temperatures were hovering around 2-3 degrees here..

Everyone says that when you're driving in Iceland, you're bound to pull over non-stop and be mesmerized by the landscape. It's the sights that you don't see in the guidebook that's most captivating like this little stream along the side of the road. Although I love to plan, sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and to really experience nature with a new set of eyes.

J and I both agreed that some of the landscape either reminded us of Jurassic Park or Mordor from LOTR. :)

After moving back to Hong Kong, sometimes we feel so detached from nature and it's trips like these that really nourishes your soul. From a materialistic, confined small space to the vast, dramatic and untouched land of Iceland, you keep on experiencing things for the very first time. For example this has been the first time that we've dedicated our entire trip to the great outdoors and it's helped us put alot of things into perspective. Clear your mind and take things real slow because what's the rush? Just enjoy the moment and be in the present.