Day 13: A breath-taking hike

A breath-taking hike

After a short and terrible night, we wake up to our last day in the countryside of Iceland. As of tomorrow, we'll be back in Reykjavik to spend the last moments of our amazing trip. 

Although we could have slept long this morning, we woke up early. The planning today is quite relax: we have to drive only 1h30 to Reykjavik, so that leaves plenty of room to do another nice activity today.

We can choose between a walk on a mountain in the area of Akranes that provides a great view on the nearby fjord and ocean. Or we drive a bit further to do a more adventurous hike to the Glymur waterfall. The hike would take about 4 hours and it's recommended to take some spare shoes because you have to cross a river. Because the sky this morning is overcast and the clouds aren't that high, we decide to make the adventurous walk. 

After breakfast in the lobby of the motel, we set off our last walk in nature. This is something we hadn't meticulously planned from the start so we didn't really know what we would find. 

When we leave the main road to the parking lot, we have to stop for some sheep crossing the road. The last couple of days we've come across some sheep that haven't yet found their way back their owners. It's always nice to see them wander freely in nature and cars drive carefully around them. 

The parking lot is almost empty which is not that surprising as we figure this hike isn't that well known. We take out the backpack, extra shoes and excited venture off into the wild. 

We follow the trail clockwise. According to the mobile app, we will pass the waterfall and river crossing at the end of the walk, which is to be preferred. Always nicer to have to walk only a short while with wet shoes. The trail climbs gradually and every now and then we stop to rest and take in the beautiful fjord behind us. Nature never fails to amaze here. 

When we're approaching the highest point, we're exposed to a strong wind. We zip-up our jackets and put on our hoods and press on. In front of us there's a deep gorge, just before, the path takes a left turn and follows along the gorge. We can't see very well into the gorge itself because we can't get close enough to the edge. Every now and then there's a cloud of mist that emerges from the depths. 

Not much later the gorge comes to an end and turns into a river. It doesn't take long before we realise that our path goes straight through this river.

River we have to cross

The point where we normally have to cross has a very wide riverbed and the current is quite strong. The latest review about this trail rated one star and said: "impossible unless you want to risk your life". Because of the rainfall the last couple of the days, we figure that the riverbed must have swollen. We immediately decide that we won't cross the river at the point where the track normally plans to. 

We continue a bit further in search of a better spot to cross the river.

Behind us, another couple of Americans arrive and start the conversation about how and where to cross this river. We're both a bit sceptic about where to cross and share our thoughts on the best approach. Ann continues a bit further upstream to see if there's a narrower section. In the meantime, our American friends seem to prepare to go across. When they've pulled up their pants and changed their shoes, it starts to drizzle. A very welcoming element in preparing to step seconds later in a freezing cold river... 

Last minute, they decide to turn around and head back down the same way they came. Very unfortunate for us, otherwise we could have seen how high the water came and how well it all went. Luckily, from the other side another couple arrives to the river. They don't seem hesitant at all and quickly change their shoes and pull up their pants. They wade through the water and make it across with water to knee height. They encourage us to go across and tell us that the view will be amazing. There's another river crossing at the end of the trail, but according to them it's peanuts compared to this one.

Motivated by their words and having seen other people making it safely across we prepare to go through as well. 

We tie our shoelaces together and swing them around our neck. Holding hands for extra stability on the rocky surface we wade through the water. It's cold... just like in the highlands it's painfully cold. 

As soon as we reach the other side, we quickly dry our feet and change shoes again. They start to glow. We put the wet shoes in a plastic bag and tie it to the backpack and continue, excited about what we'll find. 

The track is sometimes hard to find and winds at times very close to the gorge's edge. The reason for this becomes instantly clear: a massive waterfall goes down into the gorge. The cloud of mist we could see from the other side is from this waterfall. Maybe it was because of the wind, or the distance from the edge, but we didn't hear the crashing water that well from the other side. According to guidebooks this is the second highest waterfall of Iceland. 

Amazed by the view we continue down the path further along the gorge. Every few 100 metres we turn around to enjoy the amazing view on the waterfall. Just like day 4 on our trip there are seagulls flying like little white dots. With the seagulls as contrast, we get a sense of magnitude and how little we are in this gargantuan environment.

The path down remains adventurous with loose rocks, steeps paths and a sometimes difficult to track path. On the steepest paths, there's a rope to help you. Every now and then there's a little stream of water that we need to cross. Hardly a river, but you carefully have to choose your steps to make it across without wet feet. In the far distance, we can see the next main river crossing. There's a rope across the river to hold onto because of the strong current. In the first section, there's also a tree trunk to make it halfway across. The adrenaline starts to rush through our veins again. But we're confident! We've made it across upstream which was apparently more difficult. 

When we arrive at the lower river crossing, there are some other hikers on the other side that just have started their trip. When they see the river, some of them quickly turn around. Some people aren't prepared at all and didn't bring other shoes. While we switch shoes again, some people from the other side come across. It seems fairly okay because you have the cable to hold on to. The current here is stronger compared to the wider river upstream, so it's good that there's something to hold on to. We make it across like pros and switch shoes once more. 

Can you spot the river crossing?

The last part of the trail takes us through a cave which was fun as well. Going in one side and coming out on the other side. We come across more people who seem to think that this is a Sunday afternoon hike. We're curious how surprised they'll be in a couple of minutes. Having arrived back at the car, we have lunch in the trunk of our car and happily reflect back on this stunning hike. We particularly liked this hike because it's not touristic at all. It has a high adventure level, but in return, you get simply marvellous sights. For us, a five-star hike!

Satisfied we drive to Reykjavik to check in our final hotel. We'll be staying here two nights. Tonight, and tomorrow we still have a whole day to discover Reykjavik. It feels weird to drive in a city again. Our hotel is situated in the main shopping street which is a pedestrian area. We park the car as close as we can to the hotel and pay for parking. Because this is the centre of the city, the parking fees are extremely high. After checking in, we move the car a bit further to the edge where fees are a bit lower. A 5-10 minutes' walk from the hotel is still more than fine for us when compared to the price difference. 

After some relaxing in our hotel room, we go out to stroll through the shopping street and go out for dinner. The shops are open here quite late, especially compared to Belgian stores. It's no exception that a gift store is open at 9PM. Because we've seen some highlights of Reykjavik on the first day, we feel there's not that much to see anymore really. Especially for a whole day of time tomorrow. Therefore, we decide to spend the morning in Reykjavik to finish all the landmarks and visit the active volcano in the afternoon. This is close to the airport and about 1h drive, but as we won't see an active volcano every day, this might just be worth it!