Ytri Tunga Beach Part 2 | Snæfellsnes, Iceland

This second part of Ytri Tunga Beach focuses mainly on the rocky shoreline. The beaches of Iceland are so different then what I'm used to. They're mostly rocky and when they aren't, they are covered with black sand. This only furthers the otherworldliness feeling when you explore the island. As I stated in part one, the beach is known for being a seal colony. We kept hoping to run in to a random seal sunbathing, but they continued to evade us. I read recently, that the best time for seal spotting is June and July. We were there right at the start of the season and I guess they weren't ready to be seen yet. It's okay though, we were in San Francisco a month before this trip and we saw heaps of them at Fisherman's Wharf! 

Ytri Tunga Beach Part 1 | Snæfellsnes, Iceland

Hands down, the most beautiful part of Iceland is Snæfellsnes. I read online that they filmed some parts of Walter Mitty there and I knew that Markus and I had to visit. Snæfellsnes is a peninsula found in Northwest Iceland. There are many national sights in the area and it's probably one of the best places we've ever visited. On the way to Stykkishólmur, we stopped at Ytri Tunga Beach, that was rumored to have seals. We didn't see any seals, but I couldn't complain because that view was everything!

For a long time, we didn't even see any other people. It was just Markus and I in an unknown land. In the ten years we've been married, this is hands down one of my favorite experiences with him. We spent so much time on this beach and I took so many photos. Iceland is full of so many stunning places and the best part is discovering them with your best friend! 

Colorful Rock Formations | Route 1, Iceland

I know it seems like all Markus and I did on this road trip was stop every five minutes. Well, you wouldn't be wrong. By day 6, we tried to be concious of this and only stop for really interesting things. One of those stops were for these beautiful rock formations. Previously, we saw the stunning basalt columns in Vik and at Svartifoss. These formations were greenish in color and we couldn't help but pull over. I kinda wish I knew why these rocks were so different from the previous ones we saw. If you happen to know, please let me know in the comments below! 

Icelandic Seaside | Akureyri, Iceland

On the sixth day of our road trip, Markus and I were driving toward Akureyri, the whale watching capital of the world. We were both very excited because the next day we would be going on a whale watching tour. I read somewhere that there was a cool maritime museum on the way to the town. Unfortunately, my information was incorrect and it was just a small tourist shop, but the area nearby was beautiful. We decided to climb the rocks and explore for a bit before we moved on to Akureyri for our whale watching tour! 

Abandoned Houses of Iceland #1 | Route 1, Iceland

As we were driving on Route 1 through Iceland, we noticed that there were heaps of abandoned farms and houses. We would've loved to stop at every single one, but we were already stopping too much. I heard that there are close to 550 abandoned homes throughout the country. A majority of Iceland's population is located in Reykjavik, thus causing these rural areas to lose most of it's inhabitants. 

This house was the first one we decided to photograph. We debated for a bit whether or not we would go inside and decided, to pass. There is definitely a quiet beauty about this place and I didn't want to disturb it by trespassing. I can't help but wonder a bit about the people that left this place behind. What caused them to pack everything and move on. I love that these houses haven't been torn down and instead are left as reminders of the past.