Our first stop driving east was Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon bordering Vatnajökull National Park. The diversity in terrain and habitat on this relatively small island was amazing.

I didn’t get a very good photo, but there were seals swimming around in the lagoon.

That night, we camped in a town called Höfn. It is a fishing town known for their langoustine, Icelandic lobster. We treated ourselves to a lovely lobster dinner.

That night was super windy and cold. We couldn’t set up our tent, so we slept in our car. The next morning, we woke to this comical sight of two girls trying to sled down a hill in the campsite.

As there was not much else to do in Höfn and we had really only come for the lobster, we  got back on the road. The day continued to be overcast, but the views were amazing as usual and the fog created a fun effect on the mountainous region.

We drove by some beautiful cliffs as we headed further east and we pulled off at a few spots to look over the cliffs into the sea.

 

We came to more waterfalls, the first one surrounded by some interesting layered mountains.

After the waterfall stop, we were back on the road again.

Our next stop turned out to be one of our favorites of the trip. We chose it so we could see puffins, and we saw a ton of them, but the town had a lot of charm to offer beyond the puffins. This is the view as we drove in.

The town is called Borgarfjörður Eystri and has a population of about 100. It is a colorful, adorable fjord town.

We set up camp as the sun was setting. It felt very serene. We put our tent at the base of a hill that is fabled to be home to the elf queen.

After we set up camp, we took a short walk to the harbor and the viewing spot for puffins.

There were a ton of puffins and many other species of birds on some cliffs near the harbor and the lighting was perfect. We timed it perfectly with the setting sun and captured the scene during magic hour.

 

To top off the evening, we treated ourselves to a seaside hot tub and relaxed with a glass of wine. It was magical.

After this, we struck up a conversation with a young Russian traveler who had left his country for the first time at our campsite over dinner, and watched as some Japanese men made a very fancy dinner that they served on rocks from the area. Rocks are valued in this area and used to make all sorts of items. We bought a couple candle holders from here.

Here are a few more photos from around this beautiful town, including the famous grass-covered house.

We left the next day, wishing we had time to stay longer, and made our way to Húsey. This was Evan’s least favorite stop, and he still makes fun of me for dragging us an hour out of our way. It is a stable where they breed Icelandic horses and offer visitors rides, but it needs to be booked in advance. We did not book in advance, so we drove all the way out there to look at these horses. They were beautiful, but we got a bit of a weird vibe when we showed up without reservations and just asked to photograph the horses.

Back on the road again, we took a nice walk at a scenic spot and then we moved on to the north.

I am now 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant and still awaiting our baby’s arrival. Depending on how tomorrow goes, I will be posting the north soon. Thanks for reading!