The snow doesn’t last long, but the day
continues cold & grey as we head on to Egilsstadir. The ferry from Denmark
has arrived and the town is full of foreign vehicles – motorhomes, overland
vehicles, vans & cars. A bit of a culture shock for us. On checking at the
Info Centre, we discover that all the F roads (these are the inland dirt routes
we want to explore) are still closed, so we rethink our plans out next few
days. We head over the mountains to yet more fjords and end up for the night
not far from an old Spar mine that we explore. Very little is left – but there
is plenty of glittering pieces of calcite crystal.
Well more fjords today. Eskifjordur,
Reydarfjordur, Faskrudsfjordur, Stodvarfjordur, Breiadalsvik & finally the
rather pretty, but very touristy Djupivogur. There is a quaint old port
surrounded by some lovely old buildings. Out of town, at a second port there is
a long row of marble eggs – Eggin I Gledvik (or The Eggs of Merry Bay). Here we
stop for lunch & John uses one of the many free car washes to give GR2 a
bit of a clean. We can now see out the windows in the back again.
We are now following the south coast,
passing more lovely scenery, finally arriving at tourist central in a town
called Hofn. Everywhere we look we can see glaciers spilling down from the
majestic icecap Vatnajokull (Just for your info it is the 3rd
largest icecap in the world after Antarctica & Greenland). After clicking
lots of photos we head out of town to find a secluded spot for the night beside
a stream. Tomorrow we have decided to go up to the icecap snowmobiling.
We meet our van at 9.30 am at the start
of the F985 – a track that goes to the ice on Skalafellsjokull. Here we are
rugged up in suits and introduced to our snowmobile for our tour. John is a tad
disappointed that he can’t just race off, but of course we have to travel in
convey. It is snowing, but the all-white is rather awesome.
Next stop: Lake Jokulsarlon – this one I
have circled on my map, & it doesn’t disappoint. So far, the most amazing
sight in Iceland. First, we go to the main carpark with loads of other tourists
to gawp at the all the icebergs that have calved off the Breidamerkurjokull glacier
into Jokulsarlon lake & are slowly floating down the river and out to sea.
There are boat trips continually heading out, but instead we walk around the
side of the lake just watching. Then over to the beach side carpark to walk
along the black sand beach to see the totally amazing ice sculptures -the final
remains of the iceberg. They do die beautifully. We stop and stay the night so
we can keep watching. It is well worth the wait, because as the tide changes we
watch the icebergs at midnight surging out of the river & making more ice
sculptures on the beach. Just magical.
We finally tear ourselves away. But there
is more “ice” to come. There are heaps of glaciers to explore. We drive up all the little side roads, even
the ones without signs, and are rewarded with lots of great views & walks,
that few others bother to see. Eventually we reach Skaftafell National Park
where we walk up to the Svartifoss waterfall with heaps of other tourists.
Obviously, this is another must do. Pooped (well I am) we return to GR2.
As we continue driving we can see huge
expanses of black sand threaded with rivers. These are the Sander – vast
volcanic plains. Looking inland we see amazing green hills rising up from the
plains. Many with waterfalls cascading down. There are many huge farms here –
it is so lush & green. But time for
a few more detours. At Kirkjubaejarklaustur we drive by Systrafoss & on in
to Fjardragljufur gorge. End up walking the whole thing, despite still feeling
pooped. What an amazing gorge. Definitely worth the stop. But it is getting
late, so we head down a track amongst the lava fields to find a quiet spot for
the night.
Wake to a full day of sunshine. A real
bonus. And dare I say it is getting warmer. On to the town of Vik – a pretty
little place touted as having the best beach in the world. Black sand, with
lots of sea stacks. Hmmm A bit more coastal exploring – lots of caves & sea
stacks, and even more tourists. Next explore is inland to Solheimajokull
glacier. It is a rather black glacier, but this is where lots of “glacier
walks” are done. We do our own, minus the crampons and the exorbitant price.
Just to wind up the day we have a few
more waterfalls to visit. The superb Skogafoss, and the twin falls of
Seljalandsfoss & Gjufurafoss. It is getting late so we head out to the
sander to find a spot by the river.
We are heading back to Reykjavik to
complete our circumnavigation of Iceland. But after Selfoss we decide to
venture off the main ring road again, & head back to the coast. So, we head
south to Eyrarbakki – once the capital of Iceland, but now a simply a pretty
little old village with a neglected wharf. As we pull in to the wharf a girl
asks us if we want a ride in the Zodiac lifesaving boat. It is Fisherman’s Day
and they are taking people for free rides. Well of course we do. The weather is
again gorgeous, & we enjoy a spin out in the waves. More
coastal towns before following the coast through amazing lava fields. We see a
scenic detour up to a geothermal area that we find on our map. What a lovely
surprise it is. A maze of boardwalks around some pretty bubbling pools. Then a
gorgeous lake. As you know John prefers not to return anywhere on the same
route, and there is another road marked on our map back to the coast. Magic
scenery, but an extremely slow bumpy ride. Then on to Grindavik, but when we
see signs to The Blue Lagoon we decide to detour and have a look. At over $100
each for a swim (and it has to be prepaid & a time slot booked) we head in
for a free nosey. Now I have my photo. Finally, we round the last corner of the
Island & head to the big smoke – Reykjavik. We know just the spot to stay –
right on the waterfront near the water treatment plant.
Finally the F roads open in our final
chapter from Iceland.
No comments:
Post a Comment