A Trip Long time in the Making

Immikkeertikajik, Greenland

Back in 2021, Scott and I were slated to travel to Greenland for a land-based photo workshop/expedition. But, because Greenland opened its borders later than any other nation in the world post-COVID, that tour was canceled. We had already planned some pre-Greenland time in Iceland, so we just converted that to our wonderful Hringvegur trip. 

Goðafoss, Iceland, 2021

It was a great travel year, but we still had Greenland on our bucket list. 

After going to Antarctica in 2024, the desire bubbled up again. After some research, we decided to do an expedition cruise rather than a land-based workshop. I first looked into G Adventures, which had been our provider for both Svalbard and Antarctica. 

We were even on the same ship in both Svalbard and in Antarctica, shown here

But, G Adventures didn’t offer a Greenland cruise, so we just started searching. After looking around, we decided we wanted to go to eastern Greenland because it is described as more dramatic. We decided to try out Quark Expeditions, a company I had heard about for arctic and antarctic trips.

A new provider!

The trip we booked was called Adventures in Northeast Greenland: Glaciers, Fjords and the Northern Lights. 

Glaciers? Check!

Fjords? Check!

Northern Lights? Check!

Sounded perfect! Spoiler alert: It was!

The trip started in mid-September, early enough that pack ice probably wouldn’t restrict travel, but late enough for good aurora viewing.

The tour itinerary looked like this: 

Sept. 13: Arrive in Reykjavik and spend the night in the Reykjavik Marina Hotel ...

Reykjavik; Photos: Scott Stevens

Sept. 14: Board our ship, the Ocean Explorer; depart that evening ...

Reykjavik Harbor; Photos: Scott Stevens

Sept. 15-16: Cruise north across the Denmark Strait, with views of Greenland in the distance, onboard programs, birding and whale watching ... 

Denmark Strait

Sept. 16-20: Explore the northeastern coast of Greenland, including (depending on weather): Segelsellskäbets Fjord; Apelfjord; Selströms Glacier; Northeast Greenland National Park: Ittoqqortoormiit, East Greenland’s most northerly community (Inuit); Kong Oscar Fjord, with possible landings at Ella Island and Blomsterbugten on Ymer Island ...

Exploring would be via Zodiac cruising and shore landings; Left: Scott Stevens

Sept. 21-23: Cruise back across the Denmark Strait and disembark in Reykjavik ...

Reykjavik

Once that was settled, we planned around the expedition.

By now, it should be clear that I have two major travel philosophies: arrive a day or two early for anything with a firm departure date and “as long as we’re there, we might as well …”

That meant adding a little more time in Iceland, even though we had seen almost every part of it.

Our 2021 trip

Our itinerary ended up with a week in Iceland before the cruise, in which we would try to see the Reykjanes volcanos if they would have been so kind as to erupt while we were there (they weren’t), re-exploring the wonders of the South Coast that we had visited before and traveling by ferry for one night in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) with hopes of seeing Pufflings. 

A Puffling is a baby Puffin

I said "hopes of seeing Pufflings," because by the time we we going in September, most Puffins would have probably already left to go to sea. 

Vestmannaeyjar has the largest Puffin colony in the world

Somehow, we had never been to Vestmannaeyjar before, so I was very excited about that.

Then, after the cruise, we booked some time on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula to revisit favorite spots there before flying to Boston to spend two days before heading home.

Next stops: Snaefellsnes  and Beantown

Leave it to me to turn a simple cruise into an almost month-long extravaganza.

Once we had the plans in place, we packed up cameras and fall/winter gear and headed back to the North Atlantic.

Although Greenland is the main attraction in this series of blogs, I am going in chronological order. So, the first few installments will be about Iceland. 

First stop: Iceland

We are no strangers to Iceland and I have blogged about it many times before. The Hringvegur link I gave you above will lead you to 16 posts with more than you would ever want to know about that island, plus links to older blogs. 

Me at Gullfoss in 2015; Photo: Caty Stevens

Most of what I will share on Iceland in this series will be photos and specific experiences from this trip. So, let’s go … 

No Volcano, No Aurora

Our plan was to arrive at Keflavik International Airport via Icelandair, which offers non-stop flights from Denver to Iceland, and immediately head to the Reykjanes Peninsula with hope of seeing an actual volcanic eruption.

This was two months earlier; Photo: The New York Times

We had seen fresh lava near Grindavik, Iceland, on our trip in 2021 and we saw minor volcanic activity at Kilauea in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island in 2022. Plus, ages ago, we flew over lava vents on the Big Island.

Left: Reykjanes; Right: Big island; Upper right photo: Scott Stevens

I know that is more than most people have seen, but I really want to photograph lava fountains. We also hoped to see some aurora borealis, so we picked accommodations perfect for unfettered viewing.

I popped for Saga Premium and booked us both window seats. We both lucked out with empty seats next to use.

 A great start!

The flight was relatively uneventful. We could see some minor aurora as we headed north …

We were hoping to see more

… and had some nice views of Greenland as we crossed its southern tip.

Greenland!

We arrived early in the morning, thinking we had the whole day before us.

Landing as the sun came up

Immigration was fast, but we ended up waiting more than two hours to get our rental car. Keflavik Airport has always been challenging for rental cars; but this time was insane. 

After clearing immigration, we rounded the corner to a huge unorganized crowd (as in no lines, just a mob). As we tried to figure out how to get in the correct line for Budget, we noticed that some people were holding small numbered tabs. After asking a few people, we discovered that there was a kiosk further around the corner (farther from the terminal) and behind a post (not at all visible from where the crowd extended). 

The kiosk is behind that white pole (easy to see, huh?)

That was where you needed to check in for your provider (Budget) and your status (laughably, Fastbreak).

After I got our number, I noticed two small signs closer to the counters that instructed us to check in and get numbers. 

We realized we had a long wait when we saw our number

Why those signs weren’t posted at the opening to the rental care area, I have no clue. We were lucky to have noticed that other people had numbers.

After we finally got our keys, we had to schlep luggage across two lots and find our car by license number (not parking space).

Hey, Iceland, you know tourism, can’t you figure this out?

Anyway, we finally headed toward our hotel, which was only about 20 minutes from the airport. At least I got that part right. As we drove, the already slightly cloudy sky got darker and the already brisk wind got brisker.

So, that’s the thing about Iceland. It is gorgeous. It is well-situated for aurora. It has a relatively mild temperature range. But, it tends to be overcast, rainy and windy. Oh, so, windy.

Typical!

While we had experienced this in past trips, we had been relatively lucky without weather interfering in too many things. Oh, I’ve been wet. And cold. And wet and cold. But, still we had seen a lot.

The last time we tried to view the Reykjanes volcanic eruption, we had pea-soup fog that grounded our booked helicopter. And, when Caty and I visited Iceland in 2015, we actually saw a person being blown across an icy parking lot.

High wind at Jökulsárlón makes big waves

I frequently warn people traveling to Iceland to see aurora that it’s a real crap shoot because of the cloudy skies (indeed, in five trips totaling weeks in the country, I had seen it maybe five times). 

Aurora over Egilsstaðir, 2021

So, based on forecasts and what we were seeing, my cautious optimism dwindled to cautious pessimism.

We were lucky to get a sunset the first night (this is Scott)

We stayed at the Lighthouse Inn in Garður, which is next to two lighthouses. And, fortunately, during our time there, the weather did abate enough for us to see them. 

Lighthouse Inn on a clearer night; Left: Booking.com; Right: Goggle Maps

The Old Garður Lighthouse, built in 1897, was one of the first lighthouses built in the country.

The Old Garður Lighthouse catching last light

It was once regarded as one of the best lighthouses in Iceland because it stood so low that mist was seldom a problem. However, its small stature and unprotected location made it vulnerable to surf, sometimes being completely obscured by a sea storm.

The Old Garður Lighthouse was used until recently as a center for studying migratory birds from Greenland and North America that breed on the surrounding shore. 

Common Eiders and Ruddy Turnstones by the Lighthouse

The square building, made out of concrete, stands 41 feet high and almost 11 feet wide on each side and is connected to a small room for the lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse is surrounded by a 9.8-foot-high platform made out of cut stones 

The keeper had to hand-wind a clockwork mechanism every four hours to turn the lens, which meant that he needed to stay in the lighthouse, even at night. 

A small, sturdy lighthouse; Left: Scott Stevens

In later decades, dangerous breakers often forced the keepers to stay in the keeper's house, just going to the lighthouse to wind the clockwork.

A larger lighthouse nearby was built in 1944. At 92 feet, it is one of the tallest lighthouses in Iceland. 

The Garður Lighthouse is now used as a radar transponder for weather surveillance

Based on the weather we experienced, it is well placed.

The town's name, Garður, means garden or yard, after one of the many earthen walls once erected on the boundaries between local properties. Garður was mentioned in the Book of Settlement when Ingólfur Arnarson, the first settler in Iceland, gave his cousin Steinunn Gamla this area of land.

It's a small town

As the weather deteriorated and our research on Reykjanes volcanic activity indicated that there was not much happening, we decided to cancel our helicopter tour scheduled for the next afternoon. 

After multiple phone calls with semantic disagreements on what "can cancel 24-hours in advance" actually means, we successfully cancelled and secured a refund. It was probably not necessary. The weather got worse and no helicopters flew the next day.

This was the dream; Photo: Arctic Adventures

Score: Iceland weather 2; helicopters 0!

When I booked at the Lighthouse Inn, they were adamant that we needed to make reservations at the on-site restaurant, Eos Table. I thought that meant that it was a popular spot (AKA good) and busy. But, I really think it was so they would know if anyone was coming. It was pretty dead when we ate, admittedly rather early, and the food was somewhat pretentious. 

Scott had a favorite, Icelandic fish soup, but this was where we started learning that this iconic local dish has lots of interpretations. This version was oddly spiced and not great. I can’t even recall what I had, but I remember not being overly impressed.

Quite different from our recipe; Photo: Eos Table

We found it amusing that, while we ate by a large glass window, a couple of juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls stood outside and squawked loudly as if begging for food. With a 25-to-31-inch body length and a wingspan up to my height, they are the largest Gulls in the world. 

These birds are ginormous (this is an adult)

The beggars seemed to be recent fledglings with undeveloped flight skills, making their struggle against wind and loud cries entertaining on a cold, windy evening.

Of course, there was no aurora to photograph that night, so we slept and acclimated to the seven-hour time difference.

Scott grabbed some night photos, hoping for a break in the sky for aurora

Reykjanes Peninsula

The next day was now open, so we started by driving the Peninsula, visiting places we had seen before.

The Reykjanes Peninsula is in southwest Iceland:Map: Google Maps

Our first stop was the nearby Bridge Between Continents, which is a 50-foot footbridge that spans a shallow black-sand-filled rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. 

Scott between continents

The two sides are marked: ″Welcome to North America″ and ″Welcome to Europe.″

Probably not a good place to stand during seismic activity!

The lava-scarred Reykjanes Peninsula lies directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the two plates drift apart by a few centimeters each year. The rift is the reason for Iceland’s volcanic activity. 

The rift splits the lava

All around the Bridge is the Reykjanes lava field, which comprises layer upon layer of lava, the youngest one from 1240. Except, of course, the parts of the Peninsula currently being covered. 

The entire Peninsula is lava

Next we headed to the102-foot-tall Reykjanes Lighthouse, which was built in 1929, replacing an earlier structure that was built in 1878 and destroyed by an earthquake in 1886. This lighthouse sits hit on a hill, placing its light 239 feet above sea level.

Among Iceland's many lighthouses, this one has a very classic look

The area around the lighthouse has some pretty dramatic scenery. The Reykjanestá Cliffs have been eroded into broad shelves that jut out over the (often raging) ocean. It was, unfortunately, too windy and too gray to get many photos.

The dark, flat photos don't lie (and I had to do a lot of work to get them this bright)

The wind also shortened our walk around the Gunnuhver thermal area because blowing steam intermittently obscured our views and sprayed us with (possibly toxic) sulphur-scented droplets.

I think that's Scott getting blasted by stinky steam

This is a calmer moment

Then, we stopped at the Brimketill Lava Rock Pool, a large natural pool carved by pounding waves against soft lava rock. The last time we visited (on, based on the photos, an equally gray and windy day), I had a hard time even discerning a pool. This time, the winds were from another direction, keeping Brimketill relatively calm and far more obvious.

Two looks

The sea was fairly calm on this side, despite th surface wind

Read about those places here.

Rugged coast

Movin' On

As it got increasingly wetter, we decided to scrap the Reykjanes Peninsula (even though we would still be sleeping there that night) and head more inland, hoping for a respite from the rain.

That didn’t happen.

We went to Gullfoss, southeastern Iceland’s most spectacular waterfall. 

Yep, it was raining there

It was wet and windy, but, hey, what else did we have to do? Yes, it was a long drive, but maybe worth it. 

It is spectacular in any weather!

I say "maybe worth it" because Scott didn’t even make it out to the overlook, instead slipping and falling on the slick sidewalk on the way to the restroom and then temporarily losing his phone, resulting in some driving antics as the "find me" app struggled to keep up with our actual location.

After driving all that way, were we done? Hell, no!

When you go to explore, you explore! Map: Google Maps

And, our continued exploration yielded a new discovery for us. Somehow, on all our trips to Iceland, we never stopped at Brúarfoss. 

We just detoured when we saw a small sign

It was a pleasant surprise, despite the muddy path. At this point, I was thankful that I brought my waterproof ankle boots.

Brúarfoss (Bridge Falls) is known as "Iceland's Bluest Waterfall." 

Rustic sign

Despite the gray day, the turquoise glacial melt water flowing from the Langjokull Glacier was surprisingly bright. 

We were enthralled at the waterfall’s unusual structure. The Brúara River flows across a plane of lava, plunging about ten feet from both sides into a dark rock crevice, creating a horseshoe affect. Once the water meets in the crevice, it consolidates into rapids, spreading out as a wide pool and then re-narrowing as the river heads on.

How had we missed this?

Brúarfoss is named for a stone arch that once served as a natural bridge for travelers, but was destroyed in 1602, preventing starving peasants from reaching church-owned lands during a famine.

Today, there's a constructed bridge over the water to help you enjoy the view.

And, what a view!

See Scott's video of Brúarfoss here.

Like so many attractions in Iceland, visiting Brúarfoss is free, but you have to pay to park (make sure you have a working cell phone; that is generally the only way to pay for parking in these remote lots). We took photos from the bridge and, I started out to walk along a path upstream, but super-slippery mud made me turn back. A pretty waterfall, but who wants to slide into it?

So, we took a (very wet) selfie instead

If I had known when I booked the trip that the volcano would fizzle and the weather would suck and that we would find Brúarfoss, I would have just booked one night on the Reykjanes Peninsula and stayed in the nearby town of Laugarvatn that has a popular geothermal spa.

We visited Laugarvatn Fontana in 2017, but I have no photos; Photo: Reykjavik Excursions

Iceland's popularity makes it important to pre-book accommodations, which then limits spontaneity.

So, instead of soaking in heavenly hot water, we had a long, cold, windy drive back to Garður. Still, while not a perfect day, we did find a new favorite waterfall.

May be our next day would be brighter!

After rain, rainbows! Read more in my next post

Trip dates: September 5 - 28, 2026