I had the marvelous opportunity over the last three days to go on a little road trip with my friend Erin, who is living and studying in Reykjavik. We took off from Reykjavik Saturday morning and headed north. Our destination was Grund, a farm just south of Akureyri owned by Erin's relatives, Guðjón and Guðrún. They have a diary farm there, in valley so incredibly, marvelously, insanely beautiful it almost doesn't seem real... but more about that later.
On the way to Grund we made several stops, the first of which was to explore some craters near the University at Bifrost. There was a nice wooden pathway set up to guide visitors up the hill and around the top of one of the craters. We had an excellent view of the layered sides of the mountains around us, and a great array of colors spread across the landscape below. It may have been a bit crowded with brightly jacketed tourists (I'm a neutral color jacketed visitor, thank you very much), but if there was a better starter stop for this road trip, I cannot picture it.
We continued along on the way north to Hvítserkur, an interesting rock formation off the coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula that both Erin and I have had on our Icelandic bucket lists. Erin drove us down winding, dirt roads, well off the beaten path, which is my preferred way of adventuring. Hvítserkur is no great secret to Icelandic visitors, but because it isn't on the main road the number of people checking it out seems to stay relatively small, and the site manages to keep some of its mystery (compared to some other more easily accessible sites). I've been hearing for awhile now that Hvítserkur "isn't as big as you think it's going to be" so I had lowered my expectations. No complaints here. I think it was a perfectly nice rock standing in the middle of nowhere; well deserving of attention and a couple of photos.
Google Maps recommended taking the long way around the peninsula, perhaps in an attempt to bring us to better roads? The roads were no better than the ones we came in on, but did lead us to another spontaneous stop where we got to take a little hike and see some seals. It was on a farm called Illugastaðir, which may sound familiar to anyone who has read Hannah Kent's excellent novel, Burial Rites. This book is based on a true story of events that happened on this farm and surrounding areas. http://hannahkentauthor.com/burial-rites
There was an excellent little hut set up for seal viewing, complete with guestbook and binoculars. We watched the seals for a long while as they lounged on the rocks and splashed in the icy cold waters, marveling at their size and level of cuteness. A short time later I received a gift from above in the form of a Kria emphatically pooping on my jacket, which cut my marveling short. Time to get back in the car.
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| There are seals over there on those rocks, but you will just have to trust me since I did not have my fancy camera with to get a good zoom. |
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| Nice views on the way towards Hvammstangi. Whether or not you are for the lupins (which are super invasive) you have to admit they are lovely at this time of year. |
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| Stephan G. Stephansson monument |
We arrived in Grund around dinnertime. Guðjón was out finishing the evening milking of the cows and Guðrún was at the house to greet us. Mouthwatering smells emanated from the kitchen, and we sat and chatted with our hostess over an appetizer of coffee and cookies. In my experience, Icelandic hospitality is second to none, and this was no exception. Coffee and cookies beats crudités and canapés any day of the week in my book. After a tasty dinner, Guðjón showed us around the farm yard, which includes a quirkily beautiful little church, and many, many cows. As it turns out, I love cows. I learn so much about myself on these trips.
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| Grund church |
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| Making new friends, wherever I go. |
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| Erin and Guðjón with the cows at Grund |
On day two of this wild, Icelandic adventure, Erin and I went to Húsavik to do some whale watching. On the way there we stopped at Jólahúsið (The Christmas House), which was very close to where we were staying at Grund. I can't say that I was blown away by the spirit of the season that was supposed to be clinging to this place. It smelled pretty nice, and it was cute, in an overpriced Christmas ornament extravaganza sort of way, I guess.
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| Christmas House |
The weather in Húsavik was drizzly, windy, and cold, which is not ideal conditions for being on a boat in the middle of the ocean for three hours. We boarded the wooden vessel, called Náttfari (night traveler) and clumsily zipped ourselves into waterproof suits AND raincoats. The process of getting into this rain gear could politely be described as a comical misadventure. I couldn't move any of my appendages once I was decked out in the gear, but I was fairly warm and dry. My optimism and excitement about seeing whales, however, flagged almost immediately after we left the harbor and I felt the true power of the wind and waves out on the open ocean. I'd been out whale watching in Iceland in the exact same place once before, a few years ago, but apparently the conditions were much gentler that day. I almost immediately began to feel seasick, and I spent the first two hours of the trip trying to convince myself I wasn't feeling as terrible as I was. I lost the battle as we moved into the third hour at sea and spent the last 45 minutes of the trip below deck getting reacquainted with the plökkfiskur I'd had for lunch a few hours before. I did see a couple of humpback whales before succumbing to the queasiness, so it wasn't a complete loss.
I managed to rally on the drive home after a quick power nap. We had dinner again with Guðjón and Guðrún at Grund, and then Guðjón gave Erin and I a wider tour of the farm, driving up the mountain for some magnificent evening views. So stunning.
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| Road trip pals! |
On Monday, the last day of the road trip, we said a leisurely goodbye to our amazing hosts at Grund and began the drive northwest towards Hofsós. Erin was kindly going to drop me off there on her way back to Reykjavik, which worked out fine if we took the scenic route through Dalvík, Ólafsfjörður, and Siglufjörður. For the next 9 days or so I plan to stay in Hofsós with Valgeir and Gunna, volunteering at the Icelandic Emigration Center/Vesturfarasetrið where I worked last summer, and hanging around in the beautiful Skagafjörður region.
Our drive toward Hofsós took us through many mountain tunnels, several of them one-lane tunnels. It is important not to think about how much rock is over your head, waiting to crush you into tiny bits when you are going through these tunnels.
Dalvík and Ólafsfjörður we just passed right through, but we made a long stop in Siglufjörður to have lunch, visit the Herring Museum, and go for a hike in a legitimate Icelandic forest. You might be asking, why would anyone want to go to a museum about herring? Well, let me tell you, it is actually a fascinating history museum. http://www.sild.is/en The herring boom in Iceland ran mainly between 1903 and 1968, and was big business, especially in Siglufjörður.
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| Sjávaréttasúpa (seafood soup) in Siglufjörður |
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| Erin says, "Life is short. Always get the cake." |
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| One of 3 buildings that makes up the Herring Museum |
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| Siglufjörður |
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| Smoke break for the herring processors |
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| Honest to goodness Icelandic forest |
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| Waterfall selfie |
Our travels had nearly come to an end. We made one scenic overview stop between Siglufjörður and Hofsós, and then Erin dropped me off at the Emigration Center. It felt as if I had never left. Hofsós feels more than a little bit like home, and I am so happy to be back here now. Stay tuned for Hofsós adventures in my next post.
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| Hofsós, in all its sunny glory |
