Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach

After a great night’s rest at Hótel Dyrhólaey - we had a gigantic breakfast in the hotel dining room. It was a buffet of everything ranging from smoked salmon and cream cheese to fresh oatmeal with figs. It was just what we needed for our big day of exploration of Vik and Reynisfjara Beach (otherwise known as the Black Sand Beach).

We then hopped in our car and drove to Reynisfjara Beach. It was easy to get to and parking was a cinch.

Reynisfjara Beach is one of the world’s most interesting beaches due to its unique sand and basalt column formations. The sand here is jet black and very fine from countless years of ocean waves breaking down lava that had flowed into the water. The mystical coastline stretches for five kilometers and had a mystical feel to it. In fact, legend has it that the basalt columns formations on the beach are actually the frozen remains of night trolls who unsuccessfully tried to lure a three masted ship to the land here. When daylight broke, they got caught in the light and froze into the spectacular basalt columns you see there today.

But really, they are formed from lava as it cools down when flowing downwards. When it cools, the lava contracts and creates fractures at a 90 degree angle to the lava flow - thus creating the hexagonal columns you see today. The slower the lava flow, the more regular the columns are. Pretty cool huh? Science!

Regardless of how they were actually made - I'm glad they're here since they made for some amazing photography backdrops! 😎

We just couldn’t get enough of this place so did a special series of photos with a tripod and a heart!

Here is a sneak peek of the series:

Stay tuned for the whole photo set with the heart in the next post! And then after that Day Four of our trip hiking all over a glacier!