‘I can see my rainbow calling me through the misty breeze of my waterfall.’ – Jimi Hendrix

The first time I visited Iceland, I did everything I really wanted except for going to the Diamond Beach. It was cold, dark, and I had a jam packed schedule. I truly had the best trip but knew leaving I would be back. Not just for the things I missed but for the deep love I have for the country. It is my first solo international trip, showed I could do this, and became the gateway to experience the rest of the world as a solo traveler. I would go to Iceland over and over again-in fact, I want to drive around the country on my next visit.

Back to this trip, I booked a day long excursion via Get Your Guide, it included everything I wanted to do and one thing I did not know existed. As all things, it was expensive. I did the optional glacier lagoon tour (which you should absolutely do) and that brought my total to $278 ($208 without the boat trip). I thought the money was worth it (everything is expensive) and it is a full day. Some of the stops were a bit rushed but that just meant I walked faster.

First stop was Skógafoss waterfall. This was a quick stop but got to explore a bit. My blundstone’s worked great to step into the water to get a better shot! It is also a campground so would love to come back when I road trip with a camper van. The weather was still overcast so it provided a bit of a moody atmosphere. There was a guy who walked across the river to a rock island thing in the middle. While it is fine to get a good shot, he stayed out there for quite a long time. I was leaving so it didn’t bother me and I can remove errant things but if you do it, move quickly.

After a quick stop for lunch, we went to Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon next to Diamond Beach. I booked the lagoon tour but if you don’t, you can just wander along the beach and there are some snack stalls. The lagoon tour went around looking at all of the icebergs. Only 10% of the iceberg is visible above the surface, so imagining what lies below the surface was eerie. It wasn’t too windy on the boat, I had my Kuhl sweater and leggings plus my light puffer. The ride was about 25 minutes and I just hummed ‘My Heart Will Go On.’ I had no idea this was really a thing until I booked this day trip, I thought this was part of Diamond Beach, it technically is as these icebergs will eventually enter into the ocean, but this is under the bridge!

Then onto Diamond Beach. This was a really quick stop, which is a bummer. I will say the ‘diamond’ part, pieces of broken icebergs, was not plentiful this day-which is one of the reasons why our stop was shorter (I have had friends go and there are a lot, so really just depends on the day). I have never been to a black sand beach and it was so black! Even though there were not of ‘diamonds,’ it was still really cool to see blocks of ice being hit by the waves. Even the small shards highlight that it was rightly named. I cannot state enough that the Blundstone’s are the way to go. I knew how great they did with water (I’ve worn them along my Pacific Northwest roadtrips) but that you can have the waves go over your feet and them stay dry…perfection.

After a quick meal in Vik-I wish I had time to go to the pizza place but just did a quick bit, we went off the Seljalandsfoss. This waterfall is famous as you can walk behind it. We had about 25 minutes there and was plenty of time to take the route around, take in the scenery and photos, and then enjoy a hot chocolate from the cafe stand. Delightful! The walk around does get slick and you will get a bit wet. I am glad I update my Lumix to the G9 which is much more weather sealed then my previous G7.

I really enjoyed my day and knocking off something I had wanted to do since the moment I left. It also reaffirmed that I need to return again to revisit some of these spots and maybe see a few more ‘diamonds.’