West Coast

Wild swans out for a swim - we saw them all over the north

Friday, August 28:  We got up to find we were in a fog.  We had breakfast then had a dip in the hot tub before heading out west.

We stopped at Hólmavík for lunch and to go to the Witchcraft & Wizardry museum.  The long and short of it is, don't be caught with anything resembling witchcraft on your person or in your home or you will be burned at the stake.  In Europe and the US it was women, but in Iceland it was mainly men who were accused of sorcery.

The northwest fjörds - good gravel roads, more one car bridges, one car tunnels and blueberries

We drove to Þingeyri where we camped for the night.  It was 4 C when we went to bed with the wind howling.  This was the worst weather day we had had so far.

Jane at Dynjandi - note the hat and scarf I knitted from the Icelandic wool I bought there

Saturday, August 29:  The wind was still howling but it was dry with small patches of sun shining through the clouds.  We headed southwest along a gravel road.  The scenery was starkly beautiful.  All of 2 degrees C (35F) over the passes.  We stopped at a lovely waterfall called Dynjandi.  There was a campground there which was not on our map.  It would have been nice but we were more sheltered from the wind where we camped the night before.

Robert trying to walk at Bjargtangar - the most westerly point of Iceland

At noon we got to the most westerly point of Iceland, Bjargtangar lighthouse.  The wind was blowing about 40 mph.  The cliffs had nesting birds which were all of 12 feet way from where we were standing.  We walked along the cliff edge being careful not to be blown off the edge.

Bird nesting cliffs at Bjargtangar - note the people standing in the distance
 

Jane making lunch of eggs and toast

We had a late lunch of toad in the hole which we made in a wind shelter at the nearby campground.  It was a primitive, windswept place so I cannot imagine many people staying there.  We headed out at 2:45pm, on our way south, to get us closer to Reykjavík.  We stopped at the campground in Bíldadalur to make dinner.  The cook shelter was a great help to keep the stove out of the wind.  Robert washed the car, again.  They offer free hand car washes at just about every gas station.  It was nice because we were often driving on gravel roads and the car got really dirty.  We drove on to Akranes which was a little off our course but it had a quiet campground.  Saturday nights in bigger towns can be very noisy with the local teenagers and their car honking.  It was too strange last Saturday night to hear them driving around just blowing the horn.  This is apparently what they do to entertain themselves on Saturday nights.

The view of the area west of Reykjavík that I took when we first flew in 14 days before

Sunday, August 30:  We got up early and took the tunnel running from Adranes to Hofsvík.  It cost 800 Krona but cut out a fair bit of driving.  It was a really nice, two lane tunnel.

We went back to the first campground where we had stayed in Reykjavík to have breakfast and leave food and fuel cells.  As we had about 3 hours to kill before going to the Blue Lagoon we drove out to Garður and surrounding areas, west of Reykjavík.  It was very windy and cold but the sky was blue with lots of sunshine.  There really wasn't much to see around there so we went to the Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon with its milky water

We were fortunate that one of the locals had a spare coupon so we got in at half price.  This saved us about $35.  The Blue Lagoon facility has many changing rooms, showers and nice facilities.  The pool itself is also quite large.  The water is a mix of hot ground water and sea water so it is salty.  It also has an algae that grows in it so the water is white.  We lazed in the pleasantly hot was for over an hour before we had to get out and head to the airport.  The water turned my hair to straw, which didn't improved until I had washed it at least 5 times, using copious amounts of conditioner.  My advice to you is, if you are going to the Blue Lagoon, don't put your head under water.

We then headed to the airport where we turned the car in and flew back to Boston.  As our connecting flight to Atlanta was only the next morning we stayed at the Hilton at the airport, which was a complete luxury after all the sleeping on the ground we had done the past couple of weeks.

A mother sheep and her baby from that spring

General observations:  Not everyone will enjoy Iceland.  It is generally cold and windy and it can rain at any time.  It is however a very beautiful country.  There are sheep and horses everywhere, including along the road and often crossing the road as you drive along.

Big cities take credit cards at gas stations but smaller towns only use pre-paid cards, not even cash.  Credit cards with a PIN will work at all gas stations.

We found we needed almost no cash, except for some change for the showers.  Some showers work with 50 Krona coins, others with 100 Krona coins.  Most places take credit cards.  Some campgrounds wanted cash but at around 800 Krona per person you still don't need much cash.  The more remote the area the more primitive the campgrounds.

How to tell an Icelander from a tourist:  temperature = 5 C, wind blowing 25 mph, guy filling his truck at the gas station wearing short sleeves and not even looking like he's getting cold.

In all we had a wonderful time, but we have now seen it and will probably not be returning.

The End

Reykjavík &
Golden Circle

South Coast

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For comments contact Jane at  jburke@gtcreations.com
September 2009