After the shenanigans of weather avoidance of recent days our pace has slowed somewhat for the remainder of the holiday.
We had never intended to spend time in the and certainly not in the Golden Circle especially as we had spent time in the latter before, but needs must after our escape from the clutches of blizzards in the NW.
We woke up to a bright, clear morning and thought all the weather troubles were behind us. We planned for 3 or 4 things that day, but nothing too far away from our hotel.
Firstly we set off for Icelands Largest Cave, an enormous lava tube which had guided tours and was only around 35 km from our hotel, mostly on tarmaced road though the last 3 to 4 km was shown as rough.
From about half way the weather turned steadily worse, rapidly standing snow on the road. By the time we reached the gravel area the snow was quite thick, the rough was really rough and the track was heading uphill steeply. Going forward was tough and slippery even in the 4x4 so
A couple of interesting, linked waterfalls - Hraunfossar and Barnafoss - took some time on the way back. Hraunfossar was particularly fascinating as the falls was not water falling over an edge. Rather the had cut 30 / 40 feet firstly through a lava field and then the bedrock below. Water cascades were then gushing from beneath the lava layer and escaping from the interface between lava layer and bedrock. Quite unlike anything we have seen before.
Barnafoss, or childrens falls was supposedly named after the death of 2 children in around 900AD who fell off a stone arch over the river.
It didnt really abate much but we didnt feel like vegetating for the whole of the day so took ourselves off to the neighbouring museum celebrating one of Icelands premier saga writers, Snorri Sturluson. Living 1179 to 1241 he is acclaimed as one of the best known Icelanders of all time. The earliest known original copy of one of his sagas
Based on some of the displays, robes, library and other items it appears that Snorri is highly revered, venerated even. Felt a bit like a druid cult.
Nice meal in the hotel that evening, but first time ever we have had a waiter point at and poke his watch whilst telling us off for being 7 minutes early for our reservation, and sending us away to wait elsewhere!!!
It has clearly rained overnight with a rise in temperatures yesterdays snow had gone. The official Iceland road conditions site, however, shows that if we had gone north as planned on Sunday/Monday we would still not have been able to get out again as each exit direction from Isafjordur was still showing closed roads.
As a first stop we wanted to visit the hot sprngs near by which claim to be the greatest volume emitter of any hot springs on earth. But they were closed.
such - a centre for surrounding dairy farmers and a slaughterhouse - but an interesting Settlement Museum looked worth a visit. And pretty alright it was too. 2 halves, the first the more interesting telling the origins of Iceland as a settled island.
That said the other half was a telling of the saga of Skallagrimur Kveldulfsson, father of the pirate, thug and poet Egill Skallagrimsson as written by Snorri Sturluson (see Tuesday above). Some lovely detail on the 30 minute audio guide including Egills own description in his old age of his third leg being drippy and droopy. And no, thats not possible names for a remake of the 7 dwarves.
Just up the road was a right away with the fairies coffee shop. All soft sofas and armchairs, art everywhere including the ceiling and delightful service. Straight out of Totnes.
A brief in and out to Akranes, the west coasts biggest town, pop 6700, for a couple of caches.
