For our last full day in Iceland, Jason and I decided to finish our road trip loop of the Reykjanes Peninsula. We drove almost back to the Keflavik airport and then headed South. The geology out here is extremely rocky, but not expressly volcanic in nature. It almost looks like a black, icy Mars. Very beautiful, rugged, and unique.
We saw one of the blue icons indicating some sort of interesting feature and decided to check it out. Turns out we had found another place, like Silfra, where the tectonic plates are diverging. They built a bridge over it! Neato!
From here we ended up in the very southeast corner of the Reykjanes peninsula. It is a rugged place with an even more angry ocean eating away at it. We headed out this way because the map promised a lighthouse (and it didn’t lie, there IS a lighthouse!) however when we arrived, the parking lot was full of trailers, RVs, cars, lighting equipment, and cameras… 2 very talented models were shooting a commercial, in heels, doing their little walk, in the freezing weather with wind that was hard to stand up in. You go girls! (I’m so happy with my career choice right now.. I love you, cozy cubicle!) We made sure to stay out of their way and hiked around a bit.
On the way back to the main highway, the road splits off and takes you to Gunnuhver geothermal area. The wind is blowing so hard that it’s ripping planks off the railing. Safety Third.
At this point Jason couldn’t help himself so we went offroading. 😉 We ended up having to turn around and go back the way we came, but not before seeing this random crack in the ground.
The next interesting blue icon that came up along the route was Selatangar.
Selatangar was a big fishing outfit between Grindavik and Krysuvik. It was abolished after 1880. Extended ruins of the abodes and other houses are still very prominent in the landscape. They have been declared inviolate. During the latter part of the 19th century ghosts started haunting the settlement. Driftwood was in abundance at Selatangar in the past, but less nowadays. The surroundings are grandious, low mountains and lava fields.
We didn’t explore the ruins very much. (Hello! They’re haunted!) What I found most interesting is the quantity of driftwood, trash, and general detritus washed up on the beaches here. I don’t see Icelanders as being big litterbugs, so maybe the sea just destroys things. Either way, the only colors besides green and black belong to the garbage on the beach. It was actually pretty fascinating to wander around and see what all is there.
So, as usual, the random thing we did on a whim turned out to be one of the coolest part of the trip! If you’re even in Iceland, the Reykjanes Peninsula is worth the drive!