“Why Did You Come To Iceland?”
Jenny and I both crashed hard last night around midnight. I don’t think it ever got truly dark but I know we both slept soundly and barely moved until 8:30 AM. We had a leisurely morning and a simple breakfast of Skyr (Icelandic yogurt which is like pudding) and packaged waffles Jenny had brought with her from the NL. By the time we pulled out of the driveway of our guesthouse it was 11:15, but we weren’t worried as we knew we still had a good twelve hours of daylight left!
The drive was stunning and Jenny was quick to point out how rapidly the landscape changed. At one point I had to pull over and take it all in – just stop and look at it- as it truly felt like we were driving through a moonscape. The amazing thing is once out of the car, the moonscape showed itself to be something different than what I thought it was. It was indeed lava rock but it was covered in inches-deep moss and all around on the ground, on what you first thought were weeds, were actually dainty plants growing and as you looked closer there were beautiful little flowers. It’s these moments, looking at the “obvious” and finding unexpected treasures that I love about traveling. At home it seems we always “know” what we are seeing but we don’t ever seem to be looking.
Our first stop, was a small detour to a creamery that is known for ice cream and it did not disappoint. I had my go to – chocolate; and Jenny had mocha – both delicious and you gotta love eating ice cream looking at the very cows whose milk was turned into this delightful confection.
Our drive continued North, towards the Westfjords, and by this point we had broken through the slight cloud cover we had woken up to and were enjoying another unbelievably magnificent day – a bluebird day! We hit our first dirt road, veering off the paved road across the very bottom of the Westfjords, the most rugged and desolate area of all of Iceland; had we had at least four more days, we would have included this area in the itinerary, as I think it is our kind of place – wild and remote and scenic.
As we continued on, we came upon a sign that read “seal center.” I had read about various areas one could drive to, to try and see seal colonies but I didn’t figure it into our itinerary and on a whim, we decided to take the turn. We drove through a very nondescript town deciding that most of the architecture in Iceland is incredibly simple. We contemplated turning around but Jenny pulled out her phone and took a look at a tourist map we had picked up at the gas station and suggested we just go ahead and round the peninsula – we figured it would add an hour and a half to the drive (nothing for us) so that’s what we did. Not even ten minutes into it, I thought I spied a whale blow but didn’t say anything as I thought I was mistaken. We rounded a bend and saw two cars pulled over to the side looking out towards the fjord and then Jenny saw another blow. We pulled over and watched for some time as clearly a juvenile was surfacing and then later breached! Meanwhile, what appeared to be an adult, rolled over on its side and was smacking the water with its gigantic fin – so cool and it made the detour a winner already!
As we drove along we decided on a few things in relation to Iceland – it is immense – far far bigger than it appears on maps; it has it all when it comes to the features that draw us in – endless vistas, water galore, and mountains that never cease; and boy is it uninhabited!
Once back at the Ring Road junction we made a stop for gas (wowzer – basically equating to $7.50 per gallon) and a picnic stop out of the back of the car- truly my favorite kind.
Our next stop was at Grafarkirkja, the oldest turf church in Iceland, with parts of it dating back to the 17th century. The church was not open but we walked around the outside and peered through the windows commenting on the striking difference between this church, with its simple, bare wood interior and the Black Church which was actually very colorfully painted inside.
As we came into Blönduós, the only sizable town we encountered today, we passed a sign for a grocery store, so took the turn only to find that it was closed – as in completely empty. So instead, we stopped at the Nesté attached to the gas station to see if we could grab something to eat for dinner that would be a better option than the few items I had brought from home. The young guy manning the cashier easily sold Jenny on a cup of coffee and then asked us where we were from. When I told him the United States, he replied, “The United States of America?…Very nice.” He then followed it up with, “Why did you come to Iceland?”
WHAT? Was he serious?
I shockingly replied to him, “Are you kidding me? Take a look around. You live in a gorgeous country. Why wouldn’t we want to come to Iceland.”
He quickly replied, “Well, with weather like this I agree. It just changed two days ago. It has been awful.”
I let him know he could thank us for bringing the beautiful weather with us yesterday when we arrived. He wasn’t that appreciative as he told me he had to work yesterday and today. I assured him not to worry…we were going to be here for eight more days so as long as he could get a day off between now and then, he would be in luck…
I know, I know, wishful thinking on my part!
The final stop, at what was now 7:15PM, was the Glaumbær Farm Museum, also closed at the late hour but we could see all the buildings from the outside. The oldest part of the outdoor museum dates back to the mid-18th century, with sections of the buildings being preserved much as they were then. The buildings are made from turf, with only a stone foundation and some timber/driftwood used for framing and paneling – pretty remarkable and a first for us to ever see.
At one point, I looked over and saw Jenny had just plopped down on the ground looking out over the baa-ing sheep and the picturesque scene that was in front of her from all the way left to right. She told me she was just enjoying the moment… hard not to…but I love that she just wanted to immerse herself in it.
We finally pulled into Saudárkrókur about an hour later. Jenny remarked that the town seemed fake – there was no one on the streets and nothing showing any real signs of life anywhere. It was kind of a surreal situation that almost made us feel uneasy, but once we got to our airbnb, we were relieved to find that it was very cute and cozy with everything we needed for me to whip up a Lipton chicken noodle soup packet and some grilled ham and Icelandic sheep’s- cheese sandwiches – which actually hit the spot.
It was another stellar day in Iceland, we have been so lucky with the two days of glorious weather we have had to begin the trip. One of the things we took into consideration today when contemplating the long detour was that we had to take full advantage of the weather and the views we were looking at at that moment, were only going to get better, and they did!
Our road trip today was certainly typical for us – unplanned hours of detours and stops for photos including four u-turns; three missed turns (we apparently missed both turns to the seal colonies so we never did get to see any of them); two stops for food/snacks; one “What the hell dude?”and countless laughs with immeasurable ooh and aah moments!
Wandering Amerrickans 