August 7, 2026 · Akureyri and Goðafoss, Iceland
Iceland had been on my bucket list for a while, and seeing Goðafoss was a must for me on this trip. A cruise gives you only so much time ashore. I already knew how I wanted to spend part of our day in Akureyri, standing where I could see and hear that waterfall for myself.
Making a day of it in Akureyri
We crossed the Arctic Circle before our first day ashore in Iceland. I’d been looking forward to whale watching out of Akureyri, too, so I was disappointed when that excursion was canceled. We still had Goðafoss ahead of us, and there was a town to explore in the meantime.
bapierson, LEGOexplorer, and I had come ashore ready to make the most of the stop. We took the hop-on, hop-off bus and browsed the shops around the town square. We also got a couple of finds around town, Akureyri wall of words#1 (GCB275Z) and Landnemar (GCBA9PJ). Iceland was a new country on the map for bapierson and me, and it was good to get out on foot even with the rain.
Finally at Goðafoss
From Akureyri we took an excursion to the falls. The protected waterfall spans the Skjálfandafljót River, which drops over a broad curve of dark rock. From farther back I could take in the sweep of the falls. As we got closer, I could pick out the separate curtains of water pouring over the ledge. It was the kind of place where I kept taking one more photo and finding one more angle I wanted to try.
We could hear the river over the rain. Between the rain coming down and the spray coming up, I was getting wet from both directions by then. I was quite happy about it. After all that time looking forward to Iceland, I was standing there with bapierson and LEGOexplorer, and we had time to take it in.
Two reasons to look closer
Genesis of Goðafoss (GC4DGTX) gave us a reason to think about how the river had cut into the rock. Columnar Basalt at Goðafoss (GC8GM84) brought our attention to the angular shapes in the basalt. Lava contracts as it cools, and the cracks that form can divide the rock into columns. From farther back, the falls command your attention. Up close, there’s a whole story in the rock the water is pouring over.
There’s also a story in the name. According to local folklore, the lawspeaker Þorgeir threw images of the Norse gods into the falls after Iceland adopted Christianity around the year 1000. That’s the legend behind the name “Waterfall of the Gods.” The roar of the river, at least, was something we could verify for ourselves.
When I look through the photos now, the rain jackets and gray sky take me right back to the sound of that river. One of my favorite pictures is the one with LEGOexplorer and me above the falls. I’m glad we had a chance to see Goðafoss together on our first day ashore in Iceland.
Field Notes
- Port day · August 7, 2026
- With me · bapierson and LEGOexplorer
- Finds · Two finds in Akureyri and two EarthCaches at Goðafoss
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