We were hoping for sunny weather today, but we only had fleeting moments of sunshine. Most of the day was cloudy, misting, or foggy – and windy all day!
We left Grundarfjörður and started our drive around the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We stopped to see Kirkjufellfoss (waterfall)
and Svöðufoss, another waterfall
before continuing on to Saxhóll Crater.
Saxhóll Crater is estimated to have erupted 3,000 years ago, and much of the surrounding landscape is the result of that eruption. There ae lava fields all around the area.
Our drive took us through Snæfellsjökull National Park. Snæfellsjökull National Park is dominated by Snæfellsjökull Volcano, which is topped by a glacier. It was so socked in that we could not see the volcano or the glacier!
We stopped at Djúpalónssandur or the Black Lava Pearl Beach. The path to the beach goes through a lava field with huge lava formations.
On the beach, we saw the iron pieces from the British trawler, The Epine GY7, which was shipwrecked in 1948.
The beach is covered in small black smooth pebbles called Djúpalónsperlur - Pearls of Djúpalón.
This was the troll rock.
At the beach there are four different sized stones that are called
Steinatök or lifting-stones. They were used to measure the strength of fishermen in Iceland. The names of the lifting stones are Fullsterkur, Hálfsterkur and Hálfdrættingur and only those who could lift Fullsterkur up on a plank reaching a man's waist was allowed to fish from Djúpalónssandur beach.
Wendy and Tobey wanted to see if they could join the Icelandic fishermen by lifting the stones. Fullsterkur weighed 154kg (339 pounds!).
The lighthouse at Malarrif has a nice visitor’s center we stopped out and read several of the information boards about the area. We even spotted a pair of Razorbills (lesser auks).
Not really! This was a picture in the visitor’s center!!! We did see some of these in the water when we took our whale watching trip, but couldn’t get a good photo.
The lava flow rocks in this area are covered in moss.
We stopped at Arnarstapi on the southwest edge of the peninsula. There, we saw the large troll sculpture that was designed by the Icelandic sculptor Ragnar Kjartansson, in 1972. The large monolith built in stone represents a legendary figure recounted in the Icelandic sagas as Bárður Snæfellsás, a half-human, half-troll/ogre who is the protagonist of the saga that bears his name.
This area is also where, in 1864, Jules Verne based his novel,
Journey to the Center of the Earth. The entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth is supposed to be on Snæfellsjökull volcano. We didn’t find the entrance, but decided we needed to reread the book – or at least re-watch the movie!
We walked out to the overlook to see the basalt cliffs covered with birds and saw the Gatklettur, an arch rock by the sea.
On the way back to the car we could hear a bird calling and finally spotted a skua in the grass.
Continuing on we saw part, of Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. Because of the clouds, not much was visible!
We did see Búðakirkja church (The Black Church). It was originally built in 1703, but it rotted down and was rebuilt in 1848.
Onward to Reykjavík! We traveled through a 6km tunnel UNDER the fjord.
We are staying at a “replacement” Airbnb tonight. The one we had booked contacted us because she had plumbing problems. Great. She found this one for us. It is supposed to have a hot tub (it does, but no water!) and a sauna (but it doesn’t heat). It is much smaller but we will make do.
Tobey found a great place for dinner to make up for the accommodations. We at at Mulakaffi. It is a buffet-type restaurant that is where all the police and locals eat. It must be true because there were 11 different policeman there while we were eating. We all chose the same main dish (you could go back if you wanted, but we were stuffed!) We had the grilled fish and thick fish stew which was served with potatoes. There was a salad bar, bread, and a yummy blueberry soup with cream. Tobey and I both thought the soup was a perfect dessert, but it was too sweet for Wendy.
Tomorrow we will do a little sightseeing around Reykjavík before our afternoon flight back to Colorado.
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