Day 6: Goðafoss, Whale Watching & Fishing in Dalvík
After spending two days around Lake Myvatn, we took off to out next destination: Akureyri, the second largest city in the whole of Iceland. Well, not really Akureyri – our guesthouse was located here – but Dalvik, a small fishermen’s village about 15km’s away.
Why Dalvik? You’ll see later on in this post. Fact is, we had to get going quite early, because there was another beautiful stop along the way.
Goðafoss
The title may have given a little hint, but yes, another waterfall crossing our path. Not just any waterfall, but one of the first documented waterfalls in Icelandic History. The waterfall itself is 12 meters high, and 30 meters wide.
The story goes that in the year 999 or 1000 the Law-speaker ‘Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði’ (I had to google this .. ) made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. After his conversion it is said that upon returning from the Alþingi – the National Parlaiment of Iceland – Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall, giving it the name Goðafoss: waterfall of the gods.
Whale Watching & Fishing in Dalvik
Remember my ‘Dolphin Watching’ post a while ago from Portugal? If you do, you already know that I adore all aquatic animals, and where better to spot them in their habitat than in the Whale Watching Capital (Iceland) itself? We chose a tour in Dalvik – and not in Husavik, the WW-capital of capitals – because of it’s charm and authenticity. More about our trip? Click here!
After spotting some whales, we had the opportunity to catch some fish. We were provided with some fishing rods and got ready to catch some fresh tail! I got lucky, and caught myself a small Pollack. The person next to me even got a big-ass Cod on his hook! Lucky!
We even got to taste the fresh fish after getting back to shore! Mmmmmm! Nothing beats fresh fish on the barbecue in the freezing cold!
A quick dip in the hot tub
After getting out of our fishing-clothes, we were still frozen solid. Luckily, our guesthouse for the night was fully equipped with a very hot shower and it’s own hot tub! Time to get our frozen ass in there!
Afterwards, we decided to stay in and have out dinner in the guesthouse’s restaurant. There weren’t any kitchens in this big guesthouse, so we didn’t have to worry about cooking our own that night. The food was delicious by the way! Highly recommendable!
More info about our room-for-the-night:
- Adress: Skjaldarvík Guesthouse, Skjaldarvik, 601 Akureyri
- Price per night: 112,50 euro (tip: pay with card in ISK) and booked via Booking.com
- Accommodations: Free wifi, comfy rooms with the best bed ever, big shared bathrooms with walk-in shower and toilet (three per floor), free parking. No kitchen available. Restaurant for breakfast and dinner.
oh wow that looks like a fun activity to do. i did whale watching in azores and it was a once in a lifetime experience. i would love to visit that spot
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Great post! I would love to go on a road trip in Iceland! You so lucky! Seems like you’re having an amazing time over there!
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Beautiful pictures. All this seems to be a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing this lovely post with us 🙂
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I have done dolphin watching but never whale watching. This looks like fun and exciting thing to do. I want to try it out the way you people did…
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Whale watching looks so much fun to do. I have done it but in warmer areas. Will definitely try this if I go in ring road day trip like yours.
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Wow Goðafoss waterfalls!! I love waterfalls so much, and Iceland too, I can’t wait to go there 🙂
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Yeah, this was one of the most beautiful things we saw during our trip! If you ever need tips for your stay there, let me know!
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