Vik area

After touring the Golden Circle, we traveled south and east toward Vik, where we planned to stay for two days exploring the coastal area.  With a population of about 300, Vik is one of Iceland's larger towns, but its appeal to us was in the black sand beaches and seascapes around the area.

Vik is just south of Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 while we lived in Bulgaria, ruining the travel plans of thousands as ash drifted east toward Europe.  It's also right next to Katla, a volcano that erupts roughly every 70 years, and hasn't erupted since 1918.  Needless to say, we didn't feel the need to stay for too long.  

 Our first stop was Dyrholaey, where the wild surf and fresh snow only added to the contrast between the black sand beach and the rest of the landscape.

Dyrholaey is known for views of this arch, but it's just one of many features of the landscape that captivated us.

 This sea arch was covered in frost as the spray (see below) froze when it hit the arch. In the background of the picture above are "Troll Rocks," which you'll see more closely below.

 Nate loved exploring this area, calling it the "Rocky Mountains," and trying to climb each individual rock.  By the end of our time here, his pants were covered in snow as he climbed, jumped, rolled, and repeated all over the bluff.

 We then went to the next beach over, where Nate enjoyed running (and falling) in the black sand. We ran and fell (and ran and fell and ran and fell) for about 45 minutes. 

 One of the features of this area is the cliff with hexagonal stacks, a popular locale for our little climber.

 Just behind the sea cliff was a cave, from which Nate had a great view out to Troll Rocks (below).

The rocks got their name from a legend in which two trolls were bringing a three-masted ship ashore as the sun rose.  When the sun caught them dragging the ship in, they turned to stone.  Although you can't really see the ship from this angle, if you look at the next photo, you can see it in the distance. Click to enlarge.

 After a full day at the beach, we headed back to our farmstead on this country road.

 We were treated to a magnificent sunset that night, whether you looked east (above and two below) or west (below).