Monday was the day I was most stressed out about before we left for Iceland. We had planned to hike one of the volcanos that had just erupted to see the freshly cooling lava fields. But every time I checked the weather it just kept getting worse and worse. From light rain, to steady rain, to rain, snow, hail. 

I packed accordingly, digging out all my waterproof/water resistant gear and planned for multiple layers for warmth. I wasn't excited for the weather, but I was excited for the hike. 

But our hike was not meant to be because Sunday night we found out our guide canceled the trip because the weather conditions made it unsafe. 

That left us scrambling to find something else to do on Monday. We'd heard that many things had gotten canceled Sunday into Monday because the weather was bad and guides couldn't have people out in terrible conditions, but we didn't want to spend our last full day in Iceland stuck in our hotel.

So after researching some options, we booked a super last-minute trip to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. The peninsula is about a two-hour drive from Reykjavik, and would give us the opportunity to hike a dormant volcano, see mountains, waterfalls, black sand beaches and lava fields. 

And as the old saying goes, "Everything happens for a reason." This ended up being my favorite day of the entire trip, even though the weather was complete garbage. I ended up not caring that we didn't hike the original volcano. 

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is just absolutely stunning. It embodies all the raw beauty and the unique topographies of Iceland. Every time I turned my head there was something new and beautiful to see. 

Our morning on the peninsula started at a decently high altitude. The rain that we'd gotten in Reykjavik overnight must have all been snow here because the ground was covered and we had a bit to trek through. 

We started at Mt. Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellfoss. This mountain is supposedly the most photographed mountain in all of Iceland, and it also made some appearances in Game of Thrones. 

It was so overcast the day we were there that we weren't even able to see the peak through the clouds. But even from our snowy pictures, you can see that this mountain is pretty uniquely shaped. 

Ben climbed all the way to the bottom of the waterfall and stuck his hand in the water. He confirmed it was quite cold. 

When we departed Mt. Kirkjufell, we set off to climb a now dormant volcano. At some point, someone had installed metal stairs, which would have made for an easy climb to the top except for the crazy wind gusts. We were hugging the inside of the steps, but I got blown to the far side more than once and Ben had to grab my back to steady me. 

When we made it to the top, it was honestly kind of hard to even enjoy the view with the wind. No one in our group could figure out where to stand to be blocked from it and even trying to turn sideways so the wind didn't have as much of you to clobber didn't really prove to help. 

Looking into the old volcano crater was cool, but I really wish it had been less windy so that we could have enjoyed this part of the day a little more. 

Luckily our next stop was to one of Iceland's famous black sand beaches within Snaefellsnes National Park. The wind was less insane at the lower altitude and even the rain seemed to let up slightly for a bit. 

This might have been my favorite stop of the day. It was so cool to see all the lava fields leading down to the beach and then the beach just covered in lava rock. 

The Atlantic Ocean was also the very embodiment of ice blue. The waves were rough as they crashed to the shore and the tide started coming in quickly while we were there. 

The coolest part for sure was seeing a seal swim right off shore. It popped its head up and the water was clear enough that you could see its body swimming along underwater. 

Walking away from the ocean, we saw the remains of an old ship wreck. It's kind of amazing the ruins were still just laying there on the beach and we could so freely walk around them.

As we continued through the park, we stopped at the base of the Snæfellsjökull Volcano. It is massive and the top is covered with a glacier, but cloud coverage made it hard to see all the way to the top. 

This part of the national park also had a cute lighthouse and some really funky lava rock formations. 

After leaving the national park, we stopped in the small fishing town of Arnarstapi for a beautiful hike along the coastline. 

We played around at this funky stone archway.

And we admired the cliffs.

On our way off the peninsula, we made a quick stop at this church that is famous because it is painted black. 

Our final stop for the day was at a beach where seals are known to sun themselves on the rocks during low tide. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the tide was decently far in, so we didn't see any seals sunbathing. We did see a few playing in the water though that would pop their heads up now and then. 

We also saw a massive whale carcass that had washed ashore. Here's its spine.

And sheep! On the beach! I don't know why I was so amused by the sheep on the beach, but it just cracked me up. 

By the time we finished the day, we were completely soaked -- our socks, our shoes, hats, gloves, everything. But I loved every minute (except maybe worrying the wind would blow me off the volcano) seeing so many things that I would never be able to see anywhere else in the world. 

When we got back to Reykjavik, our Northern Lights tour had been canceled yet again because of the weather. We weren't surprised though. This was clearly not the trip for us to see the Northern Lights.

We ended the day with a hearty and deliciously warm bowl of lamb soup in a bread bowl. I couldn't have thought of a more fitting way to wrap up our last full day in Iceland. 

On Tuesday morning, we got our covid tests, wandered around the shops and then flew back home, where we were treated to some really stunning views of the mountains of Greenland from plane. 

This trip to Iceland was short, but it felt like such a treat after not being able to travel for so long.