Iceland || Day 2

Day 2 in Iceland was one of my favorites! It was also one of the longest days, but so worth it!

We woke up after the best nights sleep and grabbed breakfast. We stayed at Hotel Skogafoss and loved it. The picture above, on the right, is the view from from our window! You can see part of the amazing waterfall, Skogafoss.

Food in Iceland is really expensive. We knew that beforehand so we brought snacks, shopped at the grocery store and when we could, stayed at hotels that offered free breakfast. It's so funny because when I read the reviews for this hotel, they said, "breakfast is average, just the typical that you would expect, nothing special." So Kenneth and I figured it would be an American style motel breakfast. But it was so good!! They had freshly baked bread every morning with delicious toppings! So much fresh fruit, pastries and just lots of yummy food. If you went to a restaurant in Iceland, this would easily cost you $30. So we took advantage and stuffed ourselves on breakfast.

After breakfast we headed out to the Seljavallalaug 1923 geothermal hot spring pool.

This hike goes back into the canyon and it's so gorgeous. Right when we arrived a couple was leaving, this seemed to happen all the time during our trip and we loved it. It was so nice having these amazing places to ourselves.

The pool wasn't very hot so Kenneth didn't last long. There are some spots that are very hot so swim around and find the best spots.

^ After we went swimming, we decided to explore further into the canyon. We had our wet swimsuits and towels in that yellow grocery bag and we decided to store it by some rocks so that we didn't have to carry it while we were hiking. But then we completely forgot about it and walked right past it on our way back. I realized we forgot it right after hiking all the way back to our car (dang it!) and so Kenneth ran all the way back to get it, he's a champ.

After swimming in the pool, we decided to hike further into the canyon and explore! The views were breathtaking!!

As we were hiking, we found a spot where hot water was trickling off the mountain like a shower. So amazing!

We started really climbing along the mountain to explore. Like we were on all hands and knees climbing. It was definitely a bit sketchy at some points, but sometimes when I'm exploring I get in the zone and don't realize it. Kenneth was telling me I needed to chill out haha. But I'm glad I pushed forward & convinced him to keep going because we discovered a beautiful waterfall!

Easily my favorite thing about Iceland is that there is sooooo much to explore and see on your own. Today, it seems as if everything is tagged on instagram or pinterest and I love that you could find these hidden gems in Iceland just by exploring on your own!

We really wanted to continue hiking through the canyon but you have to be smart about your safety there. We were 100% alone and the chance of someone hiking all the way back there was seriously unlikely. Plus we had a lot more to do this day so we decided to head back.

After the pool we headed back to Seljalandsfoss. This time we brought our rain jackets, which we got specifically for this waterfall and it was definitely worth it haha.

You can walk behind the waterfall and it's an unreal experience! But you will get soaked! I'm so glad we had these rain jackets, even though we look ridiculous haha.

^ LOL at the rain blob on my face

Walking behind the waterfall was such a cool experience! But we were soaked and it's definitely cold so if you go, be prepared haha.

If you walk about 5 minutes down the pathway from Seljalandsfoss, there's another waterfall called, Gljufrabui. This waterfall is inside of a cave.

When I was researching pictures of this waterfall, I could never understand why there wasn't a full picture of the waterfall and it's because it's in a cave, it's huge and you are getting soaked!

Also, to get to it, you have to walk in a stream. There were some rocks we could kind of hop to and from to avoid getting our feet entirely wet but it's not exactly easy and we watched a few people completely eat it haha.