Tips

After exceptionally warm and sunny May the weather in Iceland regressed toward the mean in June. Temperatures dropped, heavy showers came and went like a boomerang, and most of the rare sunny days were spoiled by strong winds. It feels like instead of progressing to summer the weather in Iceland went backward to early spring. That said, the forecast for this weekend looks very promising. 

One canyon, please. It took 260 mln ISK for a private company to buy Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon near Kirkjubæjarklaustur in southern Iceland. In Icelandic law, it is forbidden to charge for admission to natural sites, but entrepreneurs have found another way to monetize their investments – the fee is hidden in the necessity to buy a parking ticket. In addition, bars and restaurants will be built at the entrance to the canyon. To sum up, the fee for visiting the canyon is likely to be a parking ticket, coffee, and a sweet bun.

Some say we should all thank Justin Bieber for that because he was the one who made the place famous by shooting one of his music videos there. Thanks, Justin.  

The first initiative to improve safety on the Reynisfjara Black Beach has been launched. The Icelandic Tourism Organisation (SAF), in cooperation with the Landsbjörg rescue team association, organized a fundraiser for the purchase of a lifeboat and four lifebuoys for the rescue team from Vík í Mýrdal. The Icelandic government also decided to contribute. After talks with the landowners, (yes, the Black Beach is also in private hands) officials got approval to install an alarm system to alert visitors about dangerous conditions.

Late Wednesday evening an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 struck Langjökull glacier. The last earthquake of more than magnitude 4 in the area occurred on December 10, 2015.   

14 hikers were stuck at 1800m latitude after a failed descending try from the highest mountain in Iceland, Hvannadalshnjúkur. It was already 11 pm when the rescue team found the missing group. Due to the difficulty of the terrain and abysmal visibility it took several hours to transport the hikers to a safe location. 

The road into the picturesque valley Landmannalaugar(the one with beautiful colorful slopes), is finally open. The delay is the result of this year’s very snowy winter. It is worth monitoring the site Road.is because also other roads in the interior should be opened soon. 

300 tourists trapped on a Farry. The Baldur ferry between the Snæfellsnes peninsula and the Western Fjords lost its engine almost immediately after setting off on a cruise. Passengers were stranded at sea for more than five hours, only 300 meters from the shore. Eventually, the ferry returned to Stykkishólmur, sailing at a minimum speed of two knots.

The word for Today is ‘vegur’ – ‘road’, let there all be passable 🙂

Thank you for your support and see you all next week.