Day 6 - Husavik Whale Watching for the Animal Lover

photo source: https://www.visitbroome.com.au/to-do/tours/whale-watching

What to do in Husavik town you asked? Whale watching of course! There are a few places offering whale watching in Reykjavik, Akureyri, and Husavik, but we researched around and found that Husavik has the highest success rate out of all regardless of season. Iceland is also rated world Top 8 spot to see whales, why? Probably the water is cooler and there are more choice of menu so they don't have to stick to the same food everyday..? 


Mmm.. well remember the Hollywood superstar whale from movie Free Willy? Yep it is from Icelandic sea swimming freely until someone captured it to Hollywood! They tried to return it to the wild but in the end it couldn't cope and died. So it is advisable to go whale watching in the wild than watching it kept inside aquarium. Free willy is actually killer whale/Orca if you haven't know it yet. It is categorized under the largest dolphin family (don't ask me why I'm not a biologist) but it wasn't Orca season during my trip so there are no sightings. They are the playful ones and you will see them jumping on water surface while Minke whales are more to deep dive and breath every 25 minutes which makes it harder to spot. 

The species of whales in Iceland were humpback, Orca, blue whales, Minke and white beak dolphins. But the species varies from the departing port and season of the year. The best whale watching season will be during Summer (April - September) when they feed at lower shores. During our trip, we are only able to spot Minke whales - yeah the boring ones who resurface every 25 minutes to breath.

There are a few whale watching companies available: Gentle Giants, North Sailing, Husavik Adventures. Gentle Giants and North Sailing offers 3 hours trip on oak boat, while Husavik adventures offer 2 hour sightings on speed boat. In speed boat you will be travelling faster and able to go nearer to whales to get better photos for your instagram~

Pricing:

Gentle Giant: 10,400 ISK

North Sailing: 10,500 ISK

Husavik Advantures: 17,900 ISK

Above is basic packages from each company. They do offer speed boat rides, puffin sightings and more. 

We choose Gentle Giants for the recommendations from bloggers and tripadvisor review. They will suit you up with thick layers of wind & water proof overall and additional raincoat like jacket to keep you warm from the strong wind. There will also be splashes of waves into the boat so prep up with waterproof shoes. During departure, there will be a guide explaining on the different types of whales and their habitat. The waves were choppy and the guide definitely warned us about it, so select your seats wisely.

The journey to the center of the ocean is around 45 minutes, but to me it was like forever when the sea motion starts to kick in. Gentle reminder to all explorers, if you have seasickness PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MEDICINE! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MEDICINE! It is so important I have to repeat it twice! At first it would be fun with sightings of sea birds but after 30 minutes or so, you will start to drool knowing that your body is preparing your throat to throw up. Then it was when I started to feed the fish... 

Remember when you are throwing up, just feed it to the fish. There is toilet available in the boat but when you are feeling nauseous, it is best to be at open areas and avoid indoors. 

A while later, the guide started to show 3 o'clock and everyone on the boat will rush to that edge of the boat with their cameras ready. Then I saw for the first time this beautiful creature swimming on the side of our boat. A few minutes later, the guide shouted 1 o'clock, 6 o'clock and we spotted at least 6 humpbacks during the whole journey. There are times where 2 whales were swimming side by side but the waves are too choppy so no photos available XD

Here's one footage I took with my phone before I started to feed the fish again. We spent about an hour on the boat and it is definitely a must try activity in Iceland. The humpbacks were probably quite shy and did not do any acrobatics during our presence.

On the way back, hot chocolate and bread were served and the weather started to get chilly. It is advisable to bring along hat and gloves to keep warm. If there is a chance, I would probably take the speed boat so we could shorten the travelling time. 

Day 5 - Dettifoss

- Dettifoss - 

Dettifoss, located in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park is also known as the most powerful and largest waterfall in Europe with its size of 100 meters width and plunges from 45 meters height.

- Driving to Dettifoss -

There are 2 routes linking to the waterfall, Route 864 and route 862 (Newer route and closer if you are coming from the West).

Route 864

Links to the East bank of the waterfall. It will be closed during winter season so you will have to use alternate route 862. Route is not paved and very rough to drive on. Total of 32km drive and further from the viewing point. Walking distance is 700 meters from parking. We drove halfway in to find that the road is closed due to slippery winter. We went in driving Kia Sportage but for the unpaved section it is not too difficult to drive, just that you have to drive veryyy slow to get in and avoiding port holes. Speed limit is 80km/hr but you will probably be driving at 30km/hr. According to many bloggers and trip advisor comments, the view are spectacular and you get to see a fuller view of the waterfalls

Route 862

Links to the West bank, a better option as it is well paved with total 22km distance (finished in year 2011) It is also nearer to the fall with ample car park space, huge enough to accommodate buses. There are blogs saying that it is sometimes closed during the winter so better check for road condition before travelling. I personally prefer route 862 as it will be a smoother ride plus there is FREE PARKING and FREE TOILET! 

One thing about the toilets here, it looks like portable toilets around construction sites/fun fair. Total of about 10 of it and it doesn't flush~~~ It is like a basin full of everybody's junk and the smell definitely blows your mind. Unless if you really urgently needs a leak, do not enter. I thought I nearly died there LOL! 

The walk to the waterfall is on flat ground, totally zero difficulty. Take note the nearer to the falls, the slippery it gets. And again, you will be drenched as the water are so strong it forms water vapour spraying on you. This place is totally worth to stop by. We nearly bypass this due to road closure and thank god we did not give up. Another thing good about travelling in Iceland is that the attractions are mostly FOC, so most of the expenses will be on hotels, petrol and food. Below is one quick video on the waterfall.

- Selfoss - 

Another 1km walk from Detifoss may bring you to another waterfall Selfoss. This is also a must see attraction in Iceland.. but due to the long and rocky climb we decided to skip this! There are walking route from west bank and also east bank. I have found some good reference view on West and East bank for your reference.

West Selfoss

East Selfoss

Now you can clearly judge for yourself which area you should go for a better view. For day 5 due to the extra long journey, we only had time for one destination. Stay tune for Day 6 where we go whale watching! 

Day 5 Driving Route:-

Total distance traveled: 250km

Time spent on road: 3 hours 30 minutes

What to Eat in Iceland

- Hot Dog / Pylsur -

Icelandic Hot Dogs, definitely a must try in Iceland. Nestled in Reykjavik city, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (English translation as: The best hot dogs in town) is one of the hotspots where locals and foreigners would queue for after it has been selected as the best hot dog in Europe from The Guardian British newspaper. This would be one of the pioneer to crowd pullers since 1937. 

One thing special about this hot dog is where the fillings are combinations of pork, lamb and beef. For sauce, you can order their specialty "The Work" which consists of ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. You may choose to take away or there are 2 bench for eat in. 

Price at 450 ISK / RM18 each.

Operation Hours:

Sundays to Thursdays 1000 – 1300
Fridays to Saturdays 1000 – 1630

- Lamb Soup in Bread - 

To balance off your meal, you can also head to Icelandic Street Food which is the most economical food you can find in Iceland. It is only 3 minutes walk away from the famous hot dog store. Here, they serve traditional lamb soup in bowl for 1,390 ISK or served in bread for 1,790 ISK. Their signature dish also includes pancakes and dried fish.

Operation Hours:
Monday to Thursday 1130 – 2100
Friday 1130 – 2200
Weekends 1200 – 2200

- Lamb Shank -

What is the largest population in Iceland? Sheep!!! Even though the sheep population is around 3 times larger then human (800,000 sheeps vs 323,000 Icelanders), their lamb still cost a bomb. One lamb shank cost around 4000 ISK / RM 160 per dish. The lamb shank is certainly tender, savory and not too overpowering on the gamey smell. The portion of lamb shank is just nice for one pax and all the other dishes in Iceland as well.

The lamb in Iceland is probably the best lamb I have ever tasted. Probably it is because the sheep roams free, grazing on sweet grass and drinking the best water in the world.

- Fish -

When in Iceland, do as the Vikings do. As Iceland is surrounded by Artic waters and it is rich in their fisheries. It is well known that they serve the freshest fish and have huge variety depending on seasons. In Husavik where they have their own fishing port, it is a MUST eat meal where they provides "Catch of the Day" in their menu rather than in Malaysia we have dory fish for everything.

Almost all restaurants in whole Iceland serves fish in their main menus from skewers, fish and chips, surf and turf, fish soup and even dry it and serve as fermented shark meat. Price for 2 fish skewer cost 4,900 ISK / RM200 and 1,300 ISK / RM52 for fish soup.

- Langoustine - 

Langoustine is also known as Norway Lobster is a local delicacy in Iceland. They often served it with pasta, surf and turf and even pizza. They are called lobsters but of the size of a medium sized prawn. It is quite rare which makes them more to the expensive side. It's population have suffered a rapid decline which limits fisherman catch every year. Unlike lobster and other seafood, it is hard to keep langoustine alive. So they were frozen immediately after catch but it still tasted as good after grill. 

- Icelandic Water - 

Icelandic water is FREE to drink from tap so I still do not understand why tourist purchase this for drink. It cost 199 ISK / RM8 per bottle whereby the tap water is also pure. It is so pure that all Icelanders do not have water filter in their home. If you are drinking from the tap, make sure it is cold as the hot water has strong sulphur smell but still it is safe for drinking. If you would like to purchase Icelandic water back to your hometown, you can always get it from convenience store around petrol station. 

- Rye Bread and Skyr- 

Skyr is a dairy cultured product and often most acceptable local product by tourist. It tasted like yoghurt but slightly less sweeter and milder. They are actually made out of cheese, so its more like melted cheese than milk. It comes with many flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, lemon cheesecake, mango, baked apples and so much more. Isey Skyr is available in UK now, lucky you!

Rye bread, which is made of rye grains so it is slightly darker than our normal grain bread but higher in fiber. It has a distinct smell and not everyone can accept it. It is known to have many health benefits and it is filling even with small slice. Many guesthouse do served this as their breakfast and it is great eating on its own. 

- Fridheima Tomato Soup -

Located in the golden ring road, Fridheima is a family business growing tomatos, basil leaves in greenhouse heated up by Geothermal springs. They are famous for tomato soup which comes in buffet style and you can grab bottomless home baked bread and soup from the counter. It is good to start off with the tomato soup, then adding some sour cream and making it more flavorful with the basil leaves plant freshly picked on your table. The bread also goes well with the butter and cucumber salsa. Besides their signature dish tomato soup, they do serve pasta and grilled tortillas with tomatoes. It comes with a big cup of Mozzarella cheese for additional flavours. 

We end the meal with Bloody Mary and cheesecake with jam of green-tomato, cinnamon and lime. Overall the meal was accompanied by great service and ambiance. Reservation in advance is required as they have limited seats. This place is also kids friendly where they can learn how bees pollinate the tomato plants.

Tomato soup 2,290 ISK
Tortillas 1,950 ISK
Ostakka cheese cake 1,390 ISK
Bloody Mary 1,700 ISK

Operation hours: 

open daily 1200 – 1600, all year round.

- Brauð & Co.-

The highest review I see for a bakery and is rated the top 2 place to eat in Reykjavik in trip advisor. It is 5 minutes walk away from hallgrimskirkja church so you may drop by during your visit. They have great cinnamon buns, apple pies filled with large chunks of hazelnuts and it is simply the BEST! Their famous baked cinnamon rolls are not available until 11.30am so take note.

Operation hours:

Weekdays: 0600 - 1800

Weekends: 0600 - 1700

- Alcohol - 

STRONGLY recommend you to purchase beers and all sort of alcohol from the AIRPORT. This is so important I have to highlight and repeat it again! Alcohol = Airport! We bought one pack (6 bottles) of viking beer from the airport for 11,000 ISK while in restaurant the beer is sold for 10,000 ISK each. Another thing is alcohols are not sold in supermarkets so it's going to cost you a bomb.

Alcohol import allowance:

⚬ 1 litre of spirits, 1 litre of wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 1 litre of spirits, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 1.5 litre of wine, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 3 litres wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products.

Spirits comprise alcoholic beverages having 22% alcoholic content or more; wines comprise alcoholic beverages, other than beer, below this alcohol content.

- Bizarre Food- 

There are many bizarre food the locals eat in Iceland. Sorry no coverage for me as I COULDN'T find any. Not as I didn't want to try but I really couldn't find any local stores serving exotic foods. There are many dishes you may want to put in your checklist:

Svið - Sheep's head
Lundi - Puffin meat
Mink Whale
Fermented Shark
Dried Fish
Blood Pudding
Reindeer meat

Day 4 - East Iceland

- Journey To The East -

Day 4 in Iceland, we traveled another milestone to East Iceland! Up till this day, the sky is still drizzling with thick clouds. Although it means good weather for driving, but also means NO AURORA for the night! The view on road was amazing as you see glaciers and waterfalls 360 degrees around you. The sheep population also seemed larger here (maybe due to less human populations here and less being hunted as food?). The government did a good job on fencing the wild sheep, but there are still cases of sheep being hit by car. Maybe this is why their government enforce the law of 90km/hour max along all routes. 

The first thing you need to do when you hit a sheep is to locate its owner. I have read a few blogs and bloggers did mentioned that once you were caught hit and run, there will be heavy fine instilled. So it is best to pay directly to the owner than paying via law. Side note, Icelandic sheep are not social friendly, they don't come near to human beings and definitely don't respond to your "Mekkk... Bahhhhh.. MekEkEkEkkk..." Trust me, I tried.

- Eggin í Gleðivík -

First pit stop, Eggin í Gleðivík (The Eggs from Merry Bay).

It is located in a small town Djúpivogur, also known as slow moving town. This is the place famous for craft products where a guy named Sigurður Guðmundsson crafted 34 eggs in year 2009. The attraction is located near fish factory and there are huge amount of seagulls. You will also see craft products with stone around the residential area. Most houses have different designs and arrange stones around their balcony. Video shown above as it was heavily pouring and in this weather we don't bother to get soaked for a photo. 

One thing interesting in the town is they don't have toilets in their convenience store. The convenience store size is 5 times bigger than the 7-11 we normally see but I guess Icelanders don't use the toilet too much? There is one toilet available near the pier, which location is available in the convenience store. And thank god it it FOC.

- Seyðisfjörður -

Blaa Kirkjan blue church 

Second pit stop, city tour around Seyðisfjörður.
Lonely Planet calls it, “the most historically and architecturally interesting town in East Iceland.” 

stunning view of multiple waterfalls landscape on route

Weather is cloudy and raining all day long so no blue skies. This is a small town with around 700 inhabitants. One of the attraction is the blue church where Icelander host cultural parties in July called LungA Art Festival. I would recommend travelers to stop by this town for its beautiful architecture 

Nearby, there is another attraction Tvísöngur sound sculpture. It looked like 5 different dome shaped coconut husk connecting to each other. It is said to amplifier 5 different tones of Iceland traditional music instrument five tone harmony. You may try singing in this dome and it should sound better than the echo in your bathroom.

- Gufufoss - 

Third pit stop, Gufufoss.

"Gufa" in Iceland means vapor, "Foss" means waterfall. The largest and most striking waterfall in Seyðisfjörður, just outside Egilsstaðir city. Parking area is relatively small and hard to spot at the road side. The car park or I should say emergency stop area is big enough to fit 2 cars at one time. 1 minute walk from parking and you will reach the waterfall, very misty and windy on the way. We tried to set up our tripod but the strong gale blew it away and it nearly smashed our camera. So it should be best to bring along heavy tripod or those very "atas" camera gear. 

Total distance traveled: 243km

Time spent on road: >4 hours due to strong gale

Day 3 - All About Glacier (Glacier Hike and Glacier Chunk)

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- Walking On Ice - 

First pit stop, Skaftafells Glacier Walk.

We booked our 3 hour tour with company Glacier Guide which is situated beside Skaftafell visitor centre. There is also another company just beside it Icelandic Mountain Guide. They offer glacier walk and also quick tour on ice cave. There are a few categories available for hike, from 3 hours to 16 hours! We choose Glacier guide cause they offer the cheapest package of 3 hours which is good enough for beginners. Second reason is because we are on tight budget $$$ and our stamina is not up to that level.

After registration, a bus will pick you up to hike location situated 10 minutes away. Here, they will suit you up with hiking gears: teethclaw crampons, helmet and axe. You will start to think "What the hell? Why do we need an axe for glacier walk." and yes, we end up leaving our axes before reaching the glacier cause the guide will do all the chopping of ice

Hiking trail before going uphill which is quite flat compared to what we will encounter as there is an idiom saying "it is calm before the storm". After hiking for about 15 minutes, they will put you in this spot for photography. You can see glacier just behind and that's the place we are going! This place is used to be glacier but due to climate change, the ice melts and therefore forms the lake. 

Ice gears provided by agency to prepare you for the hike. Recommended to wear your own hiking boots up to ankle level and also waterproof pants. Other options are gloves, hat, sunglass. Thou we are going for GLACIER walk, which is basically ice right? Image below shows our guide in his long sleeve t shirt. 

After another 10 minutes hike, our guide will get us to gear up with all hiking equipments. We were taught on how to wear and walk with crampons. Key thing to walk on ice is to always keep your feet facing forward in order to optimize the grip on ice. And you will have to lift your legs up high and walk like a cowboy who rides for hours. 

Look at the sky blue colour of Ice Cave

Next thing we know, we are literally walking on ice! It was pretty scary at first as there are no proper paved routes, but we must walk in a straight line guided by the professionals. The view is spectacular on the top of the glacier and you will get excited to snap more photos but be careful of cliff as there is no rope or safety net to hold you. 

During the hike, we heard a loud BOOM of glacier calve. Our guide even joked "RUN, its avalanche" According to him, it is very common to hear it but not see it as it.

Watch out where you are hiking as there are multiple crevice on the surface. As you know glacier is a huge chunk of ice melting day by day. A crevice is a crack formed by the different movement of ice stretching and slide past each other. 

I highly recommended to all travelers to Iceland! This will be the best activity I had in Iceland, bet you will never regret doing this. Little stamina required for the hike to the top of the mountain as you will need to hike on really steep mountain before you reach the glacier. There is this one middle age big size lady together in our team coping up very well and this shouldn't be a problem for anyone. 

Waterproof jacket, pants, hiking boots available for rent at 1000 ISK each.

Total duration: 3.5 hours
Fee: 10,900 ISK / RM436

source: http://www.europeanwaterfalls.com/waterfalls/svartifoss/

*Additional attraction within the area is Svartifoss waterfall aka black fall as it is surrounded by black lava column. Kinda look likes the organ in church with large pipes on top. The natural creation of this waterfall actually inspires the design of the famous church in Reykjavik, Hallgrimskirkja.

This walking path is in the same location as Skaftafell visitor centre. Unfortunately we skipped this attraction due to time constrain. To reach the waterfall, you will have to hike 1.5km on slope hill for around 1 hour and our glacier walk is tiring enough so sorry peeps we decided to SKIP this! round trip will take around 2 hours plus so in order to drive under daylight condition we will have to save this for probably next trip. YES!! This is a good excuse to go back to Iceland.

- Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon -

Glacier lake flowing to the Atlantic ocean

Another must visit in Iceland! Place is located 45 minutes drive from Skaftafell. Beach is covered with icebergs chunks from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier, also it is the largest glacier lake around Iceland. As the climate changes, more ice melts which makes the glacier lake doubled it size from 15 years back.

There are few stops for viewing on the left and right of the paved road just in front of the bridge with no specific signage about the viewing point. First photo is taken on left (Glacier lake) and second photo is where most tourist will go as it has bigger parking area for buses (Seaside). On the left, you can see glacier chunk riding on the tide which is pretty A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!!! Although it show signs of global warming where iceberg melts but still it is pretty awesome to see it on your own eyes. 

For more adventurous travelers, there are tour agencies with boat service to get your close up to the iceberg and glacier wall. Trip is around 40 minutes for a cost of 10,000 ISK.

Summary of Day 3 route

Total driving distance: 184km
Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes on road

Day 2 in Iceland - Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Plane Wreck

- Day 2: Hella → Nupar -

First stop, Seljalandsfoss waterfall.

Water plunges from 65 meters height. Famous for its breathtaking view behind the waterfall. Trails behind are slippery and quite dim when it is cloudy. Rocky trail walking out from the waterfall but definitely worth the hike!

There is another waterfall just 600 meters away, Gljúfrabúi is also worth visiting which is located inside a cave. Too bad we skipped this due to the windy weather and run into the car. Kind of regretted it now as the photos online turned out to be amazing.

*FOC toilet! This is what I though they should have everywhere around Iceland but unfortunately no. Reminder to go to any FOC toilet you see or else you will have to hold your bladder for a few hours!

Second pit stop, Skógafoss.

One of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland with 60 meters drop and 25 meters width. You will be drenched standing near to it. There’s also a stairway path to the observation deck from the top of the fall. You will need some stamina to hike up the stairs and on your right there are dozens of sheep grazing on the grass field. 

Time estimated here 1 hour.

*There is toilet with 200 ISK per entrance where you have to drop coins into coin box. But I don’t see tourist doing so.. and so do I. 😂

Third pit stop, plane wreck.

10 minutes drive away from Skogafoss waterfall. Total 8km walk from parking area to plane wreck location. On treadmill you might take 40 minutes or below to walk 4km but the road is rocky and the sand are uneven so you may take a longer time.

Estimated time 2.5 hours.

*NO toilet near plane wreck or car park area. 

Forth pit stop, Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach.

Another 10 minutes away from plane wreck location. Sand is black as its lava beach risen from the ashes. Behind are not rocks but basalt columns (Gardar) that looks like stairway to heaven. Looks like hotspot for wedding couples to come for photoshoot. They do make themselves comfortable wearing sleeveless under 5℃ with strong gale.

Do not get too close to the beach as there have been reports of tourist being caught by sneaker waves. Warning signs can be seen at the parking area before entering the beach. 

Estimated time here: 30 minutes

*Yes. They have toilets here with cost. 

Fifth pit stop, Vik i Myrdal Church.

Little red church on the top of the mountain. Nothing much about the church but the view overlooking at Vik town is stunning. You will see many church of this kind around small towns in Iceland, blue, red, white. But this is one of the landmark around Vik town. If you wonder, the church is closed and not open for tourist at any time of the day.

One thing to take note here is the speed limit is exceptionally slow at 35km/hr. there will be one speed trap immediately after you enter the residential area. 

Total driving distance: 205km

Duration: 3 hours on road