Yesterday was the day of the Black Beach „Reynisfjara“ and the 3 waterfalls „Skógafoss“, „Seljalandsfoss“ and „Gljúfrabúi“ and the weather was also well enough.
The Reynisfjara (Reynisdrangar) are basalt sea stacks near the village Vik í Mýrdal in southern Iceland which are framed by a black sand beach which was ranked under the top 10 non-tropical beaches in 1991. There are warnings because of the sneaker waves and I totally got why. The waves were so powerful and approaching closer and closer to the beach where I was standing, accompanied by a very mysterious noise – it sounded like a big whale is gonna eating me soon… (pictures 1-3)
Skógafoss is a waterfall also in the south of Iceland and belongs to the biggest ones in the country. It is 25 m wide and 60 m high. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow which is normally visible on sunny days. I was getting as close as possible to the bottom of Skógafoss and was simply in awe of nature’s power… It is unbelievable how much water is constantly dropping and I’m wondering if this is unlimited possible…
According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. (pictures 4-9)
Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall also in the south of Iceland with a drop of 60 m. It has a small cave, so that one can walk behind the waterfall. (pictures 10-15)
Not far away from Seljalandsfoss is the Gljúfrabúi (or Gljúfrafoss) which translates into „One who lives in the canyon“. The falls are partially obscured by a cliff rock, but one can follow a trail to enter the narrow canyon where the water plummets to a small pool. Either you need longer legs, less water running or being more brave… I didn’t enter. (pictures 16-18)