June 20, 2019 - near Höfn to Eglistaddir, Iceland

This was our view as we left our guesthouse this morning. Our cottage was down three flights of steps from the parking area and restaurant where we had breakfast. Not bad!

We headed out to the road and had to slow down to get a picture of the sheep in the road and swans in one of the ponds.

The clouds started rolling in again as we made our way toward Hofn.

Our first stop was in Djúpivogur, a small town located on a peninsula near the island of Papey and on the fjord Berufjörður. We wanted to see the Eggin í Gleðivík. This 2007 artwork is by the Icelandic artist, Sigurður Guðmundsson, called Eggin í Gleðivík - the Eggs at Merry Bay. There are 34 huge granite eggs which represent the eggs of each of the nesting birds in this area, many of which are migrating birds, flying over to Iceland from far away to lay their eggs in Iceland.  There isn’t much else there, but it certainly does attract a lot of people to stop and see them!

The scenery continues to amaze us. The waterfalls along Berufjörður and rock formations line the fiord.

We continued on and passed salmon farms in the bay.

When the Ring Road (Hwy 1) came to Highway 939 over Öxi Pass, we took it. It turns to gravel almost immediately and had 17% grade uphill! It was slow going, but the scenery was great!

We stopped to check out several waterfalls along the way.

Of course, there were more waterfalls. Gufafoss was a short quarter mile walk up the hill to view.
One was Henifoss, near Lake Lagarfljót.  Hengifoss is Iceland’s third tallest waterfall, with a height of 420 feet. We passed by Lake Lagarfljót. According to legend, the deep lake is said to hold a beast called the Lagarfljót Wyrm, a cousin of the Loch Ness Monster with a lot more history. While the earliest significant records of Nessie go back to the 1870s, the Lagarfjlót Wyrm has been spoken about since 1345. We didn’t see the monster, but had our eyes open for it!

We stopped in Eglistaddir for lunch before continuing on to Seyðisfjörður, a small town at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. The road over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass connects Seyðisfjörður to the rest of Iceland is about 27 kilometers long and reminded us of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Wendy got a bit nervous with all the high mountain passes, but she is hanging in there!

We parked by the Blue Church and walked around the small community. The Blue Church in Seyðisfjörður is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Iceland. The church used to stand at Dvergasteinn farm and in 1882 it was moved to Vestdalseyri. At first the church stood on a hill overlooking Vestdalseyri but in 1894 it was blown over and damaged by a huge storm. The church was rebuilt, this time down on the peninsula and stood there until 1920 when the decision was made to move to its present location in the heart of Seyðisfjörður. In 1989 the Blue Church was damaged by fire when renovation work was being carried out on the building and a pipe organ that was installed in 1987 was ruined by the flames. Today, the Blue Church has a pipe organ of the same type as the one that was lost to the fire.

We also walked all through the town to check out the ready-made houses in kit form imported from Norway. In the early 19th century Norway’s sawmills started producing ready-made houses in kit form for export. Businessmen in Seydisfjordur, who had roots in Norway, started importing these buildings and many have survived today. Most of them are painted in bright colors.

                 

After our visit there, we went to the other side of the fjord and saw the sight where an avalanche in 2005 destroyed a small village. Not much to see, but we liked the sheep!

From there we headed back over the pass to Eglistaddir for our stay at Guesthouse Nypugardar for the night. It is located on a farm just south of town and they have lots of Icelandic horses. It was a nice setting for the night!