Iceland - Day 6 November 15, 2019
Well the day started off wonderfully. It was over cast, but the weather was going to hit at some point. So the question was what were we going to do?
I had been up since about 0230am going through the pictures taken the day before while on the tour of the Golden Circle and then of course trying to complete that blog thing from the day before and start the new one.
After waking my wife up and getting some breakfast, we utilized Expedia for information on day trips that we could take. The one that we came up with would take us up to the Northwest coast of Iceland to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Just to check out the area and hope to get a little lucky.
The drive up to this area is about three (3) hours, but after doing it felt that is was worth it.
Heading out of town you take Route 1 towards the town of Borgarnes, this drive is actually pretty nice during the day even with the overcast skies. Part of the drive will take you through a tunnel that will take you under the water of one of the fjords that is synonymous with Iceland.
Once you are in the town of Borgarnes, you will drive through it and eventually come upon a traffic circle that will give you the option to continue on Route 1 or to take Route 54. You'll want to jump on to Route 54.
Once on Route 54 you will take this North for a bit. The drive is actually pretty nice and there is a lot of scenery out there, so if you are trying to get some scenic pictures this maybe for you.
The mountains have snow on them and maybe on a clear day would look spectacular, the rain wasn't helping things very much though with this as it was coming down pretty good.
There are a number of spots along Route 54 that I thought were exceptional to check out, with the rivers flowing through and under bridges and in some places you'll also see abandoned buildings too. Just keep in mind that some of these buildings are on private property and you won't be able get access to them.
After about an hour you will come to a turn off for Route 55, this will take you all the way out to the West Coast of the island, however you can also stay on Route 54 which will also take you around and towards the coast the long way.
Now if you decide to take Route 55, I don't look think you will be disappointed, the drive is very nice, and it will take you through some very beautiful scenery especially the mountains, lakes and some waterfalls too boot. You can see and get access to most of these places off the sides of the roads.
Once you drive through the mountains on Route 55 and you come to the end, you are going to make a left and get back on Route 54 and head towards the town of Grundarfjordur. The drive to this location takes you along some very interesting scenery along winding roads which on a sunny day I'm sure would be just beautiful. With the rain we weren't able to see this great beauty.
While you are driving into the town if you look on the left side of the road you will come across a stream/ river (not sure what to call it honestly) that runs under a bridge and eventually out to the ocean. I decided to stop and get a picture of this and honestly it is one of my favorite pictures from this trip. I even had a little fun while editing the picture and tagged the bridge.
Once we were done here we pushed into the central part of town and stopped at a local gas station to top off the gas tank and stretch our legs a little. The local gas station is typical of the small towns along the coast, but at least it's clean.
Side note while you are driving through these towns and you must use the bathroom be aware that you will probably have to pay to do so.
Done with our little stop we continued our way out of town, while heading out of town you will come across the "Kirkjufellsfoss Waterfalls" Yup I had to stop here as it was too nice not to stop. Now keep in mind that it is November and it has been raining, there is snow on the ground and ICE!!!
As soon as I saw this beautiful waterfall, I stopped in the car park, grabbed my camera,tri-pod and shutter release and headed out to get my pictures. There is a path that leads to the falls, but at this time of year there was a nice little ice flow that you had to walk through so be careful. As you approach the falls, you will come upon a path that you can walk on to get you up close to the falls and to the other side, be for warned that this path is slippery as hell and I had to talk up the side of it on the grass otherwise I would have fallen on my behind (that would have been funny). I managed to make it to the other side of the falls and get my pictures without falling down, but during this time it decided to rain and sleet on me too.. Man I can't get a break!!!
Headed back to the car after getting my pictures and realized that my wife was the smart one as she was warm and toasty in there while I was outside taking pictures and freezing. The Brat.
Leaving the carpark at "Kirkjufellsofss Waterfalls" we turned left and headed out back on the road, on the right side of the road you'll see Kirkjufell Mountain, again a beautiful sight and a great picture if it wasn't for the weather..
Following the road and our GPS we turned off Route 54 and thought we were headed to another nice little beach area or town or waterfall? Nope we were actually on the road to the local prison. There was even a "DO NOT ENTER" sign posted. SO.... we turned off the GPS at this point and headed back to the main road.
Got back to the main road and there was a delivery truck there dropping what looked like milk. On the side of the road that takes you to the prison is a big metal like strong box and it is my guess that this is where all deliveries are made for the jail...
Eventually after driving a little more and taking all of this beautiful scenery you will have to make a right and get onto Route 574 which will now take you to the town of Olafsvik. Again this is another small fishing village with a lot of small hotels to stop at, but if you blink you will pass through it pretty quick and miss it all.
After the town of Olafsvik the next town you will come to is Hellissandur, again just another little sleep fishing village, and with the mountains as scenery and the ocean you can't afford to miss this town. Just like Olafsvik, Hellissandur has a lot of small hotels to stop at and camp grounds as well. Wouldn't mind coming back to this area on another trip, during another time.
Upon leaving Olafsvik you will enter what is known as Snaefellsjokull National Park. You will continue your drive on Route 574 and while you are driving on this route you will have ample places to stop and explore/ hike etc...
While traveling through the National Park we stopped at Djupalonssandur Beach. This is a really beautiful beach and the weather was finally started to break for us. When you turn off Route 574 on the road to get to Djupalonssandur Beach you must pay attention as the road is really only able to handle one car at a time, so you will need to make use of the turn-outs to allow other vehicles to pass. I was able to convince my wife to get out of the car to at least look at this beach and the black sands there as well the remains of a 1948 British shipwreck that is still scattered all over the beach there. I eventually had to take pitty on my wife as she was cold and was having a hard time walking, so she went back to the car and I went out and attempted to take some pictures.
Done here it was decided that we should head back to Reykjavik. We back tracked the route we came up as there a few other places I wanted to stop and try to get some more pictures.
In between Hellissandur and the town or Rif you will pass a church that sits on a hill by itself, kind of a neat things to see honestly, but wait. Outside of Rif you can turn off the road and follow an unimproved road back towards yet another water fall (when will the madness stop!!!). Yup I took that road and wanted to get another picture of another waterfall. I got the picture, got rained on again and headed back to the warmth of the car that my wife was seeming to enjoy a little more than I!. But as we were heading back out to get back to Route 574 my wife looks up and see's this church across an open plain and says to me, this would be a great picture. Not one to argue with my wife (Happy wife = Happy Life) I took the picture of this church and the open plain. Man it actually came out.
On the way back through the town of Olafsvik I noticed this waterfall upon a mountain and it was off the beaten path a little bit, I had to have the PICTURE!! SO having figured out where to go, I pulled off the road and ended up parking in the local Hospital parking lot and walked up to "Baejarfoss Waterfall" Walking up to this waterfall is nice and easy and you can even walk across to the other side as the locals have helped make a path across the stream and even roped off the area where they don't want you to go.. You must at least check this area out and get some pictures.
We drove back along the coastal road and I wanted to stop again at the "Kirkjufellsfoss Waterfalls" to get a better picture by was stopped by my wife and the fact there was no place to park as the tourist caught up with us again!!! Dang it!!.
Along the way back to Reykjavik we stopped off a few times to get some additional pictures of the local areas, and the weather was helping a little bit more. The drive back seemed to take a little longer but then being on the road all day probably didn't help a whole lot.
Upon our return to CenterHotel Midgardur we proceed down to the hotel restaurant and bar for our last meal before heading home the next day. I was able to obtain four (4) "Viking" beer glasses from the bar for about $8.00 a piece which is nice as I could always use more beer glasses. At this point all we did was relax for the night and begin to think about heading home next day.
My wife though still had the plans to get some last minute gifts for our family and friends...