Tuesday 12 March
We only had 170 km to travel and it was sleeting when we set off so the roads were fairly clear. This should be an ok steady drive we thought, should only take a couple of hours..
Wrong. Very wrong!
Within a few miles the sleet turned to snow. Then a bit further the wind started to swirl the snow playfully around on the road so you couldn't see the centre line or the previous car tracks.
We were heartened to see an occasional car coming through from the other direction so we knew the road was passable. After about an hour we saw a little guesthouse set right on its own in the middle of the gloom so we stopped to see if we could get breakfast. There was only one thing on the menu - meat stew so we had that.
We chatted to some Canadians who were travelling in the same direction round the island as we were in a convoy of 4 cars and whilst we were still eating they said goodbye and set off.
Shortly afterwards we restarted out journey. We hadn't gone very far before the snow and wind started up again and the fog and mist descended.
Atrocious conditions where at times you couldn't see from one marker to the next. So we crawled onwards, one marker at a time. Then we realised that there were 4 vehicles stationary in the road but it was unsafe to stop and we certainly couldn't do anything so we crawled round them, not knowing where we were on the road.
After about an hour the fog eased and it got a little better. But it was a hairy, scary journey !
As we neared Myvatn we could see plumes of steam from the fumaroles so we stopped to have a look at them.
A car was stuck in the snow but there was quite a crowd round them offering help and advice so we left then to it.
We then made our way to the thermal baths where we had intended to have a relaxing dip. The girl informed us that because of the wind the temperature in the water was not as hot as usual so we decided that it wasn't going to be pleasant sitting in tepid water in a howling gale and we started to make out way back to the car.
We were very surprised to meet our Canadian friends just going in for coffee. It was their cars which had been stuck in the snow and they had recognised us as we drove past. Their lead driver had lost visibility and stopped suddenly, causing the others to bump into him. Luckily their were no injuries apart from one man who had plasters on his face due to being hit by his video camera as he had been filming at the time.
I think we were all quite relieved to see each other and know that we were all ok.
We checked in to our accommodation and brought out bags in. Three girls came in just after us, dumped their bags and immediately poured themselves large glasses of vodka and orange. 'Did you come over the mountains from Egillstadir?' I asked. They nodded yes. 'Enjoy your drinks' I said 'You've earned them'. They managed a weak smile.
We went back to buy pizza at the place we'd stayed in on out last trip. It was just as good.
As the water is heated geothermally around here it is quite sulphurous so brushing teeth is not very pleasant and quite pongy - you only do it once lol before you find bottled water. Seems to be ok when boiled but perhaps we were just getting used to it!
More snow in the evening so once again no chance of aurora.
Wednesday 13 March
We were looking forward to breakfast at this accommodation as it was a farm with most of the products locally sourced or made on site. It did not disappoint!
The trout was smoked in the village - it was delicious! The jams and sauces were made in the farm. And I even tried the soused herrings - don't usually like them but these were surprisingly nice.
Lamb paté was made on the farm and the bread was baked in a geothermal oven. Even the tea was made from locally picked seeds - it tasted like Spanish till (must look up both translations!).
There had been a bit of snow overnight so the car needed clearing before we set off.
A nice straightforward journey today with none of the really bad weather of the last two days.
We found out that the main road we had taken over the mountain pass had been closed shortly after we'd set off. Not a surprise given the appalling conditions. It hadn't been opened today either and cars were having to take a longer, older route to get through the mountain. We'd been very lucky.
Beautiful views once again.
Mike filled up at the petrol station and was surprised to see a snow plough waiting patiently behind him!
Another waterfall pic - no idea what this one was called it was just... there!..
Frozen lakes seemed to feature a lot today.
When we got to Husavik we called into a bakery for a warm up - and a cake!
A walk by the harbour.
We went up to the light house to look for small geothermal pool I'd heard about. Called the 'cheese tub' it was made from containers where cheese used to be made. It was advertised as being only small but with beautiful views across the headland. Payment was by donation only as it was on a farmer's private field.
Unfortunately it was closed and cordoned off. Just as well really as a cold wind was blowing and it would have been a bit nippy before getting into the water!!
So we made our way back down to the accommodation - a lovely little guesthouse which was built in 1895. The name Hofdi means cape or headland. This was one of the original little houses built by the harbour when fishing took off around the area. The tradition was to name the house by something to identify it and then also use the year it was made. This lasted until more houses were built and they started to use street names and numbers. Interesting.
Once again lots of cloud so no aurora.
I tried some chocolate with bits of liquorice in thinking it would be a strange combination. Turns out I quite like it!
Thursday 14 March
A leisurely breakfast. We'd shared the house with another couple (who weren't at all talkative!) and they left early so we enjoyed the sunshine and had scrambled eggs.
We then set off to have a look at Godafoss which was very beautiful in the sunshine.
It was nice to be in the sunshine again and the wind had dropped so it was good to be out and about.
We arrived in Akureyri and had a wander round once we'd found our accommodation as it was still being cleaned. The wind was back and it was bitterly cold.
But when we went out later for something to eat the wind had dropped and it seemed almost warm! Back to fish and chips tonight - so tasty! And we tried a traditional fish too - quite like a fish our. Very nice.
Got aurora alerts again but no chance of seeing anything as it was snowing.
The church looks lovely - very deco!
Thought we'd cracked it with the water when I went to brush my teeth - no sulphur smell and crystal clear water. Turned on the hot tap.. and it was back. Pooh, smelly.
Not many tourists around here. Thought we had our accommodation to ourselves but a young couple arrived as we were going to bed. So that was two out of seven rooms occupied then.
The red traffic lights are heart shaped. Very cute.
Friday 15 March
We were up and about before 10am as we had to get back to the car. They have a system using timed parking clock things which you have to set for various times between 10am and 4pm according to where you have parked. And we couldn't park outside our accommodation as we were right in the town centre.
It was snowing/sleeting when we set off and we hoped that it would clear up but once again it got worse before it got better and we had another white out and mini blizzard.
It eventually cleared up.
We found our accommodation and took some photos in the sunshine.
It was a small guesthouse sandwiched between a tiny church and a tiny graveyard. On a frozen lake. So beautiful in the sun!
We went for a drive to Blonduos and came back round the lake - and found another tiny church.
The signs were good for the aurora in the evening but another non appearance!
Saturday 16 March
A leisurely get up as it was a short journey to our next destination. Still up early enough to see a lovely sunrise though - with pics of the same view from the evening before.
We found out next accommodation and frightened the man to death when we turned up before midday.
We explained that we weren't trying to check in then but just wanted to know if the restaurant was open later. It wasn't so we knew to look out for somewhere to buy food!
Went to look at this mostly frozen waterfall. Very lovely but a very gusty and very cold wind and a long drop into the gorge so I looked at it from a distance!
We decided against driving round the peninsula but do a shorter trip around the lake.
But it was so lovely in the sunshine that we decided to do the whole route anyway. We realised that we had seen this rock in the sea before and worked out that it was when we had stayed at a hotel nearby.
So a longer drive - and then nowhere open for food when we'd done it. Luckily there was a supermarket so we had a late picnic lunch. Very nice too.
Sunday 17 March
A bit longer drive today but patches of sunshine so not too bad. We stopped at a volcanic crater and I decided to walk up to the top.
Not much to see at the top as there was so much snow. And a bit tricky coming down. Luckily there were steps for a lot of the way. At the top i could see our car way in the distance.
Onwards to our accommodation.
It was only early afternoon but we had to go past it to get to the town to eat so we called in to see exactly where it was. The lady saw us and was kind enough to give us the key early so we were sorted for later.
She also recommended a place to eat in the town so we set off to find it. We parked up and could smell something delicious from the opposite direction so we followed our noses to there and had a lovely meal there instead.
Mike wanted to look at the Snaefell crater which was quite a distance away so we said we'd drive part of the way.
Of course we ended up going all the way through some mountain passes which were just as bad as those on the eastern fjords!
And once again visibility was near white out at times.
But we got there and managed to see it for a few minutes without sleet and snow!
So we set off for the long journey back to our digs.
We'd travelled an extra 400km and another 5 hours to our journey. But Mike had seen the crater from his Jules Verne story and was happy.
Monday 18 March
Last lot of driving today. But first of all a trip back along the road we'd done from yesterday - just a couple of km to look at some little houses I'd spotted in the rocks.
Then it was a trip to see some trolls.
The weather started to get worse so we went for lunch in Borganes then made our way through the rain to Kefkavik. There were some beautiful skies in the ever changing weather!
When we arrived in Kefkavik we went to visit the lady troll giant who lived near the harbour. We'd seen her five years ago when we had stayed nearby. We had left her some dummies from Callum and Joe.
I told her that we'd be back with some dummies from Luca. Mike was not amused. Think he's done Iceland enough now!
Then we went to book in to the hotel. We were upgraded from the guesthouse to the main hotel - same as last time. We also got a couple of free drinks this time through the scheme I use.
So a nice leisurely evening looking out at the rain eating burgers and enjoying a free drinks. Lovely end to a busy couple of weeks driving round Iceland.
We only had 170 km to travel and it was sleeting when we set off so the roads were fairly clear. This should be an ok steady drive we thought, should only take a couple of hours..
Wrong. Very wrong!
Within a few miles the sleet turned to snow. Then a bit further the wind started to swirl the snow playfully around on the road so you couldn't see the centre line or the previous car tracks.
We were heartened to see an occasional car coming through from the other direction so we knew the road was passable. After about an hour we saw a little guesthouse set right on its own in the middle of the gloom so we stopped to see if we could get breakfast. There was only one thing on the menu - meat stew so we had that.
We chatted to some Canadians who were travelling in the same direction round the island as we were in a convoy of 4 cars and whilst we were still eating they said goodbye and set off.
Shortly afterwards we restarted out journey. We hadn't gone very far before the snow and wind started up again and the fog and mist descended.
Atrocious conditions where at times you couldn't see from one marker to the next. So we crawled onwards, one marker at a time. Then we realised that there were 4 vehicles stationary in the road but it was unsafe to stop and we certainly couldn't do anything so we crawled round them, not knowing where we were on the road.
After about an hour the fog eased and it got a little better. But it was a hairy, scary journey !
As we neared Myvatn we could see plumes of steam from the fumaroles so we stopped to have a look at them.
A car was stuck in the snow but there was quite a crowd round them offering help and advice so we left then to it.
We then made our way to the thermal baths where we had intended to have a relaxing dip. The girl informed us that because of the wind the temperature in the water was not as hot as usual so we decided that it wasn't going to be pleasant sitting in tepid water in a howling gale and we started to make out way back to the car.
We were very surprised to meet our Canadian friends just going in for coffee. It was their cars which had been stuck in the snow and they had recognised us as we drove past. Their lead driver had lost visibility and stopped suddenly, causing the others to bump into him. Luckily their were no injuries apart from one man who had plasters on his face due to being hit by his video camera as he had been filming at the time.
I think we were all quite relieved to see each other and know that we were all ok.
We checked in to our accommodation and brought out bags in. Three girls came in just after us, dumped their bags and immediately poured themselves large glasses of vodka and orange. 'Did you come over the mountains from Egillstadir?' I asked. They nodded yes. 'Enjoy your drinks' I said 'You've earned them'. They managed a weak smile.
We went back to buy pizza at the place we'd stayed in on out last trip. It was just as good.
As the water is heated geothermally around here it is quite sulphurous so brushing teeth is not very pleasant and quite pongy - you only do it once lol before you find bottled water. Seems to be ok when boiled but perhaps we were just getting used to it!
More snow in the evening so once again no chance of aurora.
Wednesday 13 March
We were looking forward to breakfast at this accommodation as it was a farm with most of the products locally sourced or made on site. It did not disappoint!
The trout was smoked in the village - it was delicious! The jams and sauces were made in the farm. And I even tried the soused herrings - don't usually like them but these were surprisingly nice.
Lamb paté was made on the farm and the bread was baked in a geothermal oven. Even the tea was made from locally picked seeds - it tasted like Spanish till (must look up both translations!).
There had been a bit of snow overnight so the car needed clearing before we set off.
A nice straightforward journey today with none of the really bad weather of the last two days.
We found out that the main road we had taken over the mountain pass had been closed shortly after we'd set off. Not a surprise given the appalling conditions. It hadn't been opened today either and cars were having to take a longer, older route to get through the mountain. We'd been very lucky.
Beautiful views once again.
Mike filled up at the petrol station and was surprised to see a snow plough waiting patiently behind him!
Another waterfall pic - no idea what this one was called it was just... there!..
Frozen lakes seemed to feature a lot today.
More turf houses.
When we got to Husavik we called into a bakery for a warm up - and a cake!
We had a look round the whaling museum - the closest we'd get to seeing them out of season. Surprisingly interesting!
We went up to the light house to look for small geothermal pool I'd heard about. Called the 'cheese tub' it was made from containers where cheese used to be made. It was advertised as being only small but with beautiful views across the headland. Payment was by donation only as it was on a farmer's private field.
Unfortunately it was closed and cordoned off. Just as well really as a cold wind was blowing and it would have been a bit nippy before getting into the water!!
So we made our way back down to the accommodation - a lovely little guesthouse which was built in 1895. The name Hofdi means cape or headland. This was one of the original little houses built by the harbour when fishing took off around the area. The tradition was to name the house by something to identify it and then also use the year it was made. This lasted until more houses were built and they started to use street names and numbers. Interesting.
Once again lots of cloud so no aurora.
I tried some chocolate with bits of liquorice in thinking it would be a strange combination. Turns out I quite like it!
Thursday 14 March
A leisurely breakfast. We'd shared the house with another couple (who weren't at all talkative!) and they left early so we enjoyed the sunshine and had scrambled eggs.
We then set off to have a look at Godafoss which was very beautiful in the sunshine.
It was nice to be in the sunshine again and the wind had dropped so it was good to be out and about.
We arrived in Akureyri and had a wander round once we'd found our accommodation as it was still being cleaned. The wind was back and it was bitterly cold.
But when we went out later for something to eat the wind had dropped and it seemed almost warm! Back to fish and chips tonight - so tasty! And we tried a traditional fish too - quite like a fish our. Very nice.
Got aurora alerts again but no chance of seeing anything as it was snowing.
The church looks lovely - very deco!
Thought we'd cracked it with the water when I went to brush my teeth - no sulphur smell and crystal clear water. Turned on the hot tap.. and it was back. Pooh, smelly.
Not many tourists around here. Thought we had our accommodation to ourselves but a young couple arrived as we were going to bed. So that was two out of seven rooms occupied then.
The red traffic lights are heart shaped. Very cute.
Friday 15 March
We were up and about before 10am as we had to get back to the car. They have a system using timed parking clock things which you have to set for various times between 10am and 4pm according to where you have parked. And we couldn't park outside our accommodation as we were right in the town centre.
It was snowing/sleeting when we set off and we hoped that it would clear up but once again it got worse before it got better and we had another white out and mini blizzard.
It eventually cleared up.
We found our accommodation and took some photos in the sunshine.
We went for a drive to Blonduos and came back round the lake - and found another tiny church.
The signs were good for the aurora in the evening but another non appearance!
Saturday 16 March
A leisurely get up as it was a short journey to our next destination. Still up early enough to see a lovely sunrise though - with pics of the same view from the evening before.
We explained that we weren't trying to check in then but just wanted to know if the restaurant was open later. It wasn't so we knew to look out for somewhere to buy food!
Went to look at this mostly frozen waterfall. Very lovely but a very gusty and very cold wind and a long drop into the gorge so I looked at it from a distance!
We decided against driving round the peninsula but do a shorter trip around the lake.
But it was so lovely in the sunshine that we decided to do the whole route anyway. We realised that we had seen this rock in the sea before and worked out that it was when we had stayed at a hotel nearby.
So a longer drive - and then nowhere open for food when we'd done it. Luckily there was a supermarket so we had a late picnic lunch. Very nice too.
Sunday 17 March
A bit longer drive today but patches of sunshine so not too bad. We stopped at a volcanic crater and I decided to walk up to the top.
see
Not much to see at the top as there was so much snow. And a bit tricky coming down. Luckily there were steps for a lot of the way. At the top i could see our car way in the distance.
Onwards to our accommodation.
It was only early afternoon but we had to go past it to get to the town to eat so we called in to see exactly where it was. The lady saw us and was kind enough to give us the key early so we were sorted for later.
She also recommended a place to eat in the town so we set off to find it. We parked up and could smell something delicious from the opposite direction so we followed our noses to there and had a lovely meal there instead.
Mike wanted to look at the Snaefell crater which was quite a distance away so we said we'd drive part of the way.
Of course we ended up going all the way through some mountain passes which were just as bad as those on the eastern fjords!
And once again visibility was near white out at times.
But we got there and managed to see it for a few minutes without sleet and snow!
So we set off for the long journey back to our digs.
We'd travelled an extra 400km and another 5 hours to our journey. But Mike had seen the crater from his Jules Verne story and was happy.
Monday 18 March
Last lot of driving today. But first of all a trip back along the road we'd done from yesterday - just a couple of km to look at some little houses I'd spotted in the rocks.
Then it was a trip to see some trolls.
The weather started to get worse so we went for lunch in Borganes then made our way through the rain to Kefkavik. There were some beautiful skies in the ever changing weather!
When we arrived in Kefkavik we went to visit the lady troll giant who lived near the harbour. We'd seen her five years ago when we had stayed nearby. We had left her some dummies from Callum and Joe.
I told her that we'd be back with some dummies from Luca. Mike was not amused. Think he's done Iceland enough now!
Then we went to book in to the hotel. We were upgraded from the guesthouse to the main hotel - same as last time. We also got a couple of free drinks this time through the scheme I use.
So a nice leisurely evening looking out at the rain eating burgers and enjoying a free drinks. Lovely end to a busy couple of weeks driving round Iceland.
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