Iceland- Day 3 Trollaskagi Peninsula

On A Whim and a Prayer

We slept in a bit later today, since we stayed up a bit later last night – going to bed before midnight has proven to be difficult so far this trip. We decided that we would grab some breakfast from the bakery a few doors down ,which we enjoyed sitting outside on their patio in what was yet the most beautiful day we had had, even if the air had a slight chill to it.

Our plan for the day was to drive the entire perimeter of the Trollaskagi Peninsula but with no scheduled stops and no planned excursions; just a route we needed to follow, the only route we really could, with the freedom to stop when we saw something that inspired us to or to detour when the prospect of the unknown got too tantalizing. This area in the North of Iceland, is pretty much off the tourist track. It is not part of the “Ring Road” and has no real tourist attraction, if you will. In all my research, there were only a few people that said it was worth your time; most said there was “nothing to see” and a few said they would only do it if they had a few extra days to play with.

In all my years researching trips now, and in using all the different resources I do, I have learned to figure whose reviews and advice to listen to and whose to definitely ignore – and I am glad that today, I didn’t listen to any of the naysayers.

Since this was a trip that catered to our whim, we made stops that grabbed our attention as we came upon them:

A turf church, that was similar to the one yesterday but what stood out to us was its location – far from the road, in the middle of a field with the most incredible backdrop – dare I say God’s country?

A lighthouse, down a wickedly, rutted dirt road with an incline that would most likely be illegal in the US, painted tangerine orange that stood out like a sore thumb again the magnificent blue backdrop of the Greenland Sea.

A pullout, along the shore of Eyjarfjördur, with the most dramatic views I think I have ever witnessed.

A postcard perfect town, Siglufjordur, where we stopped for a delicious pizza, soaking in the sun, with a 360 degrees view of drop-dead gorgeous scenery.

We also saw things and had experiences we never have before:

From the pizza restaurant, we watched a helicopter airlift avalanche fencing high to the rugged mountains tops above to be secured in place on the sheer slopes.

We drove through 10 plus miles of tunnels, and I prayed that there’d be no earthquake or crash, especially while in the 7 km long one that was a one-lane tunnel but had two way traffic – go figure that!

In 100 plus kilometers of road, that followed vertical seas cliffs, we passed maybe 60 feet of guard rail. All I can really say about this, is that it is a really good thing we were on the inside lane because I do not think we would have made it around the peninsula yet!

But the highlight of the day for us was a completely unexpected detour we took after dropping down into the town of Dalvik. The mountains off to the right were calling Jenny. She thought they felt different then all the other mountains we had seen – she wanted to get closer to them and before I knew it, the navigator (Jenny) had diverted us off the main highway and had us traveling inland towards some unknown force that had its hand on her. I will agree that the whole scene was spectacular and the mountains intrigued me as well but for a completely different reason. They were wild in that they were pyramid shaped – they were pointed with an apex on top, triangular on the sides with clearly defined lateral edges – I have never seen anything like it before.

So into the mountains we headed until the road split and we had to choose which valley to head into, they both followed large rivers and both had enormous glaciers at their heads; it was such a tough decision we decided we would do both and just double back on each of them as we were certain the views were going to be breathtaking no matter what direction we were going. And indeed, we were correct – it was truly spectacular!

After our detour, it was only about an hour drive until we reached our cabin for the night. It was a small, one bedroom cabin with a simple yet functional kitchen that could handle the highly gourmand dinner of Velveeta Mac and Cheese, but it had a view to die for.

We made another mental note about Iceland today. The water in two of the three places we have stayed smells strongly of sulphur, which means the entire place has an odor to it. This evening after showering, Jenny walked out into the living room and announced, in a very matter-of-fact way, “I smell like an egg, and not in a good way.” I about lost it…because frankly…she was right!