Iceland waterfalls | Tales from the Hutt

Fossarrett the Older (a waterfall on the side of the road)

Tuesday, 14-May-2024

My original plan for Tuesday the 14th was to soak in the hot springs at Hvammsvik… but, because of reasons, they decided that Tuesday the 14th was the best day to clean the hot springs all at once, and close the whole resort.

Which I learned, of course, after I’d arrived and found a large locked gate.

Whatever. I’m on a road trip, during an adventure across Europe. Large locked gates aren’t an obstacle, they’re merely a redirection! To a different hot spring! And a waterfall!

So I drove to Fossarrett the Older. It was pretty. Wandered a bit, flew the drone a bit, looked at the ancient ruins, tried (and failed) to find a history of said ancient ruins… Or find out if they even technically are ancient… and didn’t succeed.

But I did relax, I did stretch my legs, and I did have a good time. Which, after all, is very much the goal.

Sunday, 12-May-2024

The hikes in Kirkjubæjarklaustur mainly focused around a trail winding its way up the cliffside and onto the plateau above town. Which, unsurprisingly for Iceland, includes rivers and lakes which then cascaded down said cliffside is gloriously picturesque waterfalls.

Similar to Oregon, interestingly enough.

That’s something I may have mentioned already, but if I didn’t I’ll double-down on the assertation – Iceland was quite similar to Oregon from my perspective. Soaring cliffs, cascading waterfalls… those are obvious. But the landscape, full of short trees and grasslands, is impressively similar to parts of Oregon – mainly out East and in the center of the state.

Anyways, the hiking around Kirkjubæjarklaustur was super fun, and the twin waterfalls of Systrafoss and Stjornarfoss were definitely worth visiting! Not too challenging, not too easy… they were, in all ways, the goldilocks of a fun and simple day hike.