Usually, when I hear the phrase "a beach in August", all I imagine is grids of parasols, whispers of the sea waves, laughs of children playing with sands and people taking sunbaths and putting sun protection cream on their bodies.

Well, this beach has nothing in common with all that! :)

It took me some time to think of a proper word to start my travel story about this unique beach called "Reynisfjara" and "Surreal" was the only one that was in full agreement with my memories - photographs and what I recall now.

What inspired me to write about it today? Two reasons - yesterday I enjoyed some of the photos of puffins I took here, on the cliffs high above the beach and lately, I've been watching a crime TV series called "Trapped", not a bad one actually as I haven't missed a single part of it as it appears, so far! :)

This place was a planned point from our agenda for that day, and we went there in the mornings, after spending the night in Vik, a town in the Southern part of Iceland. As far as I remember, the beach was very close, probably something like 10 km from Vik, in the West direction.

We had plans to spend a half of the day here but there were too many tourists at the same time, not quite to our taste. However, this gives a "taste" of the scale of this awesome place.

There are so many things to see and photograph there. Something quite typical for Iceland is that it always finds more way to surprise you... and when you say to yourself, well, I've seen it all... then boom! Another secret beauty is there to take your breath away :)

Turning my head slightly was presenting to my eyes some completely different perspectives:

  • up and Southeast - the kingdom of the birds and the rays of sun light:
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  • Southeast - views to this amazing rock, looking like being stuck or nailed into the waters of the ocean by the hand a giant or a god:
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  • South - the endless azure, with a flock of puffins, floating on the surface, probably waiting for a passage of fish:
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  • West - the black cliffs, cutting into the ocean, a home of the lighthouse, if you remember it from other travel story I wrote few months ago...
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  • and finally the North, behind my back, with the entrance to the mystical volcanic cave, you already saw in the first photo on top.
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Not a typical end of August, isn't it? Still, all the warmth coming from our Sun, is welcomed! :)

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The only sound that could overcome the noise from the ocean waves, was that coming from the wings of the puffins flying above us and bringing the catch back to their nests. I would say, probably the cutest birds I have ever seen in my life :) Also, so funny when they are flying :) Check out for yourself:

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That green was the only exception from the common black color around, and it could only be found way above the human reach, don't be misled by my photos above ;)

See where the green spots begin at:

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Many people were taking photos near those huge volcanic lava rods, I took one of my friends too, of course, how could I not :)

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The cave seemed to be a magnetic place for most of the other tourists as I didn't have a chance to photograph it with no human presence. I don't complain, though :)

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I can't imagine this place, thousands of years ago, everything boiling around and now frozen, it looks like the mouth of a giant monster full of teeth:

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I really enjoyed so much all that black surrounding me!

The Rock (that I finally managed to photograph with nobody inside the frame), the beach, where I left my footprint, the Zen, the awesome contrast of the ocean water foam and the black shining sand:

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I even found here some traces of an alien life!

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The gentle minimalistic pictures drawn by Mother Nature too:

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Fibonacci patterns of a fossil in the black stones, way looooong before Fibonacci himself ;)

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I could almost feel the heat coming from the lava that had been flowing here long ago, forming these beautiful lines:

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A view from the cape, the most Sothern point of the beach:

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It feels like a landscape from another planet, isn't it?

Shortly before we leave this amazing beach, I tried to create this funny perspective, it wasn't quite successful as the noise of the ocean was very strong at the time, making the coordination between the three of us almost impossible. That was the best shot ;)

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So, what do you think of this beach? Does it feel surreal to you too? What's the story my pictures tell you? ;)

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