{"id":4412,"date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/adventures-land-of-fire-and-ice\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T16:39:15","slug":"adventures-land-of-fire-and-ice","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/es\/camperstories\/adventures-land-of-fire-and-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Unplanned Adventures in the Land of Fire and Ice"},"content":{"rendered":"
We started to regret our decision to extend our camper van rental<\/a> six hours into our hike from Sk\u00f3gar to \u00de\u00f3rsm\u00f6rk. Soaking wet and freezing cold, we were poorly equipped for the relentless wind, rain, and hail. We could have spent our last day in Iceland relaxing at the Blue Lagoon and sleeping in a cushy Air BnB in Reykjavik. Instead, we were trekking over volcanic rock and glacial ice, unsure if we were even on the right trail.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It had all seemed so easy that morning. We sauntered up the stairs at the magnificent Sk\u00f3gafoss, coffees in hand and a spring in our step. A storybook landscape greeted us, lush undulating hills salt and peppered with white and black sheep alongside a rushing glacial river. Around every bend was a \u201cfoss\u201d more stunning than the last.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\"Hiking<\/a>\u00a0\"Hiking<\/a><\/div>\n
Leaving Sk\u00f3gafoss, a little too cocky\u2026<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Iceland<\/a>\u00a0\"Hiking<\/a>\u00a0\"Hiking<\/a><\/div>\n
Waterfalls for miles, and our first site of a glacier.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
By the time we reached Mooi and Magni, the two craters formed by the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kull volcano, our mood was decidedly less chipper. Visibility was so bad we could barely see the next trail marker\u2014a bright yellow pole sticking eight feet out of the ice\u2014and we wondered if we were in over our heads.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Dana<\/a>\u00a0\"Hiking<\/a><\/div>\n
In over our heads? Other hikers in the distance, across the crater.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Glacier<\/a><\/div>\n
A rain-soaked map of our location on the glacier, part-way through the hike.<\/em><\/div>\n
?<\/em><\/div>\n

Driving to Sn\u00e6fellsnes peninsula<\/span><\/h2>\n
When we arrived in Reykjavik four days earlier, we were giddy to get out of the town and into the highlands. The first day we charted a course to the north, following roadside signs for local attractions and thermal pools along the way, with a little help from the free Wi-Fi onboard. We stopped numerous times to take photos, feed hay to the horses who guarded the land, and napped off our jetlag by the river next to Hraunfossar.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Icelandic<\/a>\u00a0\"Camping<\/a>\u00a0\"Camping<\/a><\/div>\n
First day adventures\u2026 and relaxation.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Limitless daylight allowed us to cover nearly 300 kilometers in our first afternoon, and by midnight we arrived at Kirkjufell mountain on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. We camped alongside fifty-five species of birds (but sadly no puffins) at the photo turn-out for the seaside mountain. The next morning, we made a strange sight for our fellow travelers, brewing coffee and eating Sk\u00fdr in the parking lot in our pajamas. We received several odd looks and a couple questions about our mode of travel, and made quite a few people envious of our comfortable and flexible accommodations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n