A WEEK IN THE WESTFJORDS

 

Leaving Bordeyri late morning we meander along the coastline. It is a lovely sunny day and the water is glistening, the sheep are out on the road, the seals are lazing in the water and no other traffic is about. In fact it is nearly perfect. We would just keep following the coast, but John spies another amazing F road that heads across the peninsula, so off we go. It is a pretty drive straight up into the mountains following a babbling creek, then down the other side to the coast. Then we simply follow the main road a few miles before turning and heading back over the peninsula again, this time on a brand new tarsealed road. Then follow the coastline to the port of Holmavik. It’s very pretty, but we move on to cute Dragsnes where there’s a camping card campground and hot pools! We settle in for the night and walk down to the pools. There are 3 hot tubs perched between the rocks overlooking the bay. Each is a different temp. A perfect way to end the day. Maybe we will see the Northern Lights as the sky is clear, but the moon is full so nope, not tonight.

Today we head right up the north-eastern coast to Djupavik. It is a magic drive on a good gravel track with sections of nasty potholes. The mist keeps dropping down over the mountains as we edge around the fjords. We are amazed by how much traffic is on the road and by how many summer homes are now up here. We stop at the old Herring Factory at Djupavik and it looks pretty much the same as 10 years ago. After a lunch of “all you can eat soup & bread” at the local pub we continue our cliffside drive. At Nordufjodur there is a roadblock. The locals have parked haphazardly along the road. They have been busy bringing in the sheep from the mountains and are getting ready to send them home with their owners. Further down the road we come across Krossneslaug – the local hot pool. We simply must stop for a nice long soak. Again, it is right on the waterfront looking out over the waves. We wile away a few hours chatting to a German couple while soaking in the hot water. We had thought of camping out here but with so many farms around we decide to head back to our campground in Dragsnes. To top our day off we get a taster of the Northern Lights. About 20 minutes of shimmering lines overhead.

The next morning, we head back to the 3 hot pools after wandering around town. It is midday before we hit the road and head over the mountains to the Jokulfirdir Peninsula where we turn off onto another F road that hugs the coast. A gorgeous drive with great views of the  Drangajokull icecap that ends at a farm and tiny Church. More fjordside driving before we finally stop for the night at a lovely little campground at Reykjanes. There isn’t much here - a huge gloomy concrete hotel that used to be a school, a tiny petrol station, a Salt Works factory and the camping area. Tonight we will be ready for the Lights. We have a great little app forecasting events and sending actual sightings. Sure enough at 11pm the phone starts beeping and we race outside. A huge green arc crosses the sky. Then it starts to break up and swirls and dances before our eyes. We even get a few OK photos on the iPhone.  After 20 minutes the show is over. Awesome!

It’s a late start in the morning – domestic chores today have included making muesli, brownies and dough for another loaf of bread. But the weather is too lovely to sit around, so we are off. We wind up and down fjords admiring the stunning scenery. There are mountains as far as the eye can see, seals out sunbathing and even the odd whale or two waving their fins. At Isafjordur we stop to wander through the old, corrugated iron houses and fill up with more fuel. Then on through a huge tunnel to Bolungarvik where we wind up the mountains to the Latrar Air Station (a Radar station owned by NATO) at Bolafjall. The view is amazing but the wind so strong it feels as if we will fly right over the edge! It’s nearly evening so we head to the tip of the peninsula to camp right beside the beach. A magic spot – and legal as it is a designated camping area. Bonus- it is free!

Our fine spell has ended when we wake to a cold gray day. We head back to town, on through the tunnel to Isafjordur and south through yet another huge tunnel. This one has an intersection in the middle where we turn and head out on the one lane only tunnel to Sudureyri. Fortunately, there are passing bays! Not a lot in town, but interestingly there is a factory that processes fish remains – skin, bones, heads etc. Nothing is wasted. The result is: fish oils, fish meal, products for skin grafts, collagen, the list just goes on. Then back through the crazy one lane tunnel and out yet another peninsula to Flateyri where there is a long row of iron houses for us to explore.  We continue to Pingeyri where we check the road conditions around the peninsula at the tourist office. Our friends said this was the best drive here in the Westfjords. Sadly, the last section was washed away a few days ago, so that section is closed. Oh well we will go part way. It proves to be a narrow bumpy track running high along the cliff edge. We meet an oncoming vehicle who confirms the far end of the track is indeed bad, and we won’t fit beneath the overhanging cliffs. We continue. I’m on the dropoff side so getting rather tense and am totally relieved when we find a wider spot to stop for the night. The bonus is the stunning scenery.  

In the morning we head back to town. The drive is much more enjoyable as I am on the other side, and any oncoming cars will have the dropoff side to maneuver on! From Pingeyri we head across more mountains to the next fjord and stop at the Dynjandi Waterfall which is magic. The water forms a huge bridal veil across a rocky outcrop before falling into smaller falls and finally racing out to sea. The rain holds out for us as we trek to all the lookouts. Then we continue driving up and over the misty mountains. The weather turns even nastier, so what do we do on a cold wet day – find a hot pool! And it is not long before we reach Reykjardarlaug, which looks exactly like it did 10 years ago. Just a large concrete pool overlooking the fjord and  a hot river running into it. Best of all it is still free. We soak in both for ages and chat to other tourists. We have lunch at 3pm! 

Later we continue along fjords and over mountains with mist swirling around us. It is all very atmospheric. At Bildudalur we decide to drive the length of the fjord to see the quirky Samuel Jonsson Museum. The crazy statues he made are rather dubious, but the drive awesome. We could camp out here, but it is too cold to sit outside so we retrace our steps and head to the camping card campground at the cute town of Talknafjordur. The owner tells us about the free hot pools at Pollurinn, just up the road, so off course we head there in the morning. They don’t look fancy, but there are 4 pools of varying temps and an awesome view.

Once we drag ourselves away we will continue onto the Latrabjarb Peninsula.