13.08.2019
Guesthouse Hofsstaðir Skagafjörður – Borgarnes 366 km
Waking up to somewhat brighter weather – the rain had stopped and the sun was out – we packed up as early as usual. Icelanders would call it “Window-Weather” – Gluggaveður – which is a very special Icelandic saying. It means that when you look outside the window it looks like the weather is amazing, but when you go outside it is actually really cold. Therefore, it is called window weather …
There was nobody to check out in the farmhouse, so we just left the key in the door – in fact, we had left the key in the door all night since we arrived yesterday and never went out again.
Quickly the car was packed and we drove to the guesthouse for breakfast. The guesthouse lies in the delta of the Héraðsvötn River and the view was beautiful in the morning sun with the snowy hills in the distance and a brightly coloured church in the green meadows.
Breakfast was in the very nice guesthouse restaurant and it was packed! We grabbed the last available table. The breakfast buffet was well filled and here the specialty was not only the cold Arctic Char, but they also had Birkisíróp. Birkisíróp from the sap of birches is Icelands native answer of the north American maplesyrup. Contrary to what many people believe, there is some forest on Iceland – and it is getting more year by year. I know birch sap already from Russia, but never had birch syrup. It is made of birch sap, brown sugar and sometimes birch leaves boiled down to syrup. Diluted with water it was rather sweet but interesting. Mind you, the birch liqueur was better, though.
After breakfast I let reception know that we had checked out and left the key in the door and by 08:00 we were on the road again.
We had decided to backtrack some 10 km or so to coast of Skagafjörður and turned west there towards Sauðárkrókur along Borgarsandur, a long sweep of black sandy beach almost 4 km in length where we attempted to find the last geocache yesterday without success. This morning there was still too much water and the cache not reachable for us.
Just before we reached the bridge that crosses the mouth of Héraðsvötn River, I had set my eyes on a secret box not far from the road. It was a short drive along a gravel track to the 113 m long old bridge which crosses the western arm of the river since 1926. The bridge was still passable on foot or even for vehicles, however we were not going to attempt it. I looked thoroughly for that box, but once more was not successful, I have to admit. But who cares and who is to judge … I photologged anyway!
Leaving we stopped at the parking lot near the main road. It was overlooking the river mouth and there was a statue of Ferryman Jón Ósmann who lived 1862 to 1914 and was probably the most famous Ferryman in Iceland. Before the first bridge was build a ferry crossed the river mouth and the ferryman was well-known all over Iceland.
His job was to transport people across and he started working with his father as a teenager before he finally took over. He continued his work for over 40 years until his death. The monument was erected in 2014, the 100th anniversery of the death of Ferryman Jón Ósmann. The statue overlooks the river mouth and the fjord and is actually pretty cool.
Crossing the new bridge built in 1994 a bit to the south of the old bridge, we passed the small fishing settlement Sauðárkrókur, which lies on the south west shore of the inner reaches of Skagafjörður. It combines a thriving fisheries operation with the processing of produce from the extensive agricultural area surrounding it and a very effective service system. The town is apparently one of the busiest and most important communities outside the capital.
We had decided to take the northern route today and after passing Sauðárkrókur the road turned inland and into the mountains of the Skagi Peninsula. There is a rather scenic gravel road skirting the northern coast of the peninsula, but we had other scenic plans today. Therefore we followed the road until we reached Laxárdalur – the river valley of the River Laxá … yet another River Laxá … In Icelandic Laxá means Salmon River. Apparently, there are many salmon rivers here …
We saw a herd of pretty Icelandic Horses again. They stood in a very photogenic way in their pasture and eyed us curiously from afar.
Historically, a quality Icelandic horse was a highly desired prize, both for practical purposes and as a status symbol. In the Icelandic Sagas horses play important roles, for instance in horse fights and not least as plot devices. To this day, horse breeding and competing are associated with status and wealth – breeding a good horse can generate a lot of wealth, not only because some wealthy people spend a lot of money on good horses. And when the whole world was horrified to hear they had been fed horse meat in disguise a few years ago, some Icelanders shared a hearty chuckle, since horsemeat is no big deal around here. In fact, one of the conditions, when they converted to Christianity in 1000 AD, was that they could still eat horse. We did not encounter any horse meat dishes during our Road Trip, however. But we ate a lot of other good and special food!
Reaching Laxárdalur we stayed on the paved road which now turned south-west traversing the mountains through Norðurárdalur, a beautiful river valley. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated again as the road climbed into the mountains which rose around here to some 750 m. Despite the wind and drizzle we stopped for a secret box … actually I drove past it for 3 km before I realized and then turned around and drove back. There was a parking lot and while Mom stayed in the car, I climbed a small hill with the remains of an old high heat geothermal area. There was of course no activity anymore here, but a nice view over the volcanic valley.
The geocache was easily found … finally a success story again! Pity, the box was totally broken and the log book dripping wet. And I had no replacement with me either … Yet another photolog then …
Coming down the valley reaching the Húnaflói – Huna Bay – the weather changed to the better a bit. The rain stopped and it got somewhat lighter.
The valley opened up and farms appeared longside the road. More Sheep to watch out for as well! The natural beauty of Icelandic sheep is applicable to all facets of their lives. They live in harmony with nature with low input and few if any health problems or lambing problems. Their faces are fine and delicate, with big expressive eyes. Some, ewes as well as rams, come adorned with horns sweeping up, out and around and the vast array of coat colors is nothing short of awesome. It is apparently not uncommon to see Trios in different colours – for us it was a first.
Húnaflói is a large bay of approx 50 km width and 100 km length between the Skagi Peninsula to the east and Krossanes to the west. The road led through flat farm-filled lowlands and in Blönduós we finally connected with Ring Road 1 once more – we had left it in Akureyri yesterday. Blönduós is the most populated town near Húnaflói, but the road by-passed the town and then traversed the delta plains of the River Laxá á Ásum – yet another Laxá … and apparently one of the most remarkable Atlantic Salmon rivers in the world, which flows into Húnafjörður near Blönduós.
Close to the road I was once more successful in finding a secret box. It was located underneath a small bridge and I found it easily.
A little further south we turned off the main road onto a gravel road leading north to Vatnsnes Peninsula. Vatnsnes is a peninsula jutting into Húnaflói and is surrounded by Miðfjörður on the west and Húnafjörður on the east. It is home to one of the largest seal colonies in Iceland – but we did not see any today … we did not really look either. We came here to find a couple of Earth Caches and see dramatic landscape.
The good gravel road skirted Lake Vesturhópsvatn – an approx 7 km long angling lake. We passed many small farms and weekend or guesthouses – pretty colourful houses on the bushy-green lakes shores.
Soon the track was climbing towards Borgarvirki and was narrow, nevertheless traffic was comparably heavy. Even big campervans and motor homes were navigating this gravel road. Some of the drivers were not so sure and one particular motor home was creeping along the road like a snail blocking traffic. Maybe they should not have come this way …
On the highest point of the track was a busy parking lot below Borgarvirki where we left the car and bundled up against the wind. The rain had stopped completely and there were even a few sunny spots, but the wind was still strong and cold.
Borgarvirki is a volcanic plug that historically has been used as a fortress. It stands at 177 m above sea level and 10 to 15 m above its surroundings. Borgarvirki is a natural phenomenon, altered by humans in earlier centuries. It might have been used as an old Viking fortress – at least some legends claim that it was, but nobody knows this for sure. Made of volcanic strata in a columnar shape, it is little wonder why early Vikings might have seen it as a perfect place to utilise as a fortress.
Wooden steps lead up to the top and even Mom walked all the way up. Borgarvirki has not just been a natural feature for hundreds of years, though – walls, stairs and other amendments were added to further fortify it and make it habitable for humans. Some ruins of human habitations are still there. Reaching the top Mom stayed inside the wall – It was hard to walk over very rocky terrain up there. I climbed higher and reach the rim of the plug – the top of the fortress – and the view from there was breathtaking.
There is a hollow dent in the middle of the fortress about 5-6 m deep and it can be seen that man-made walls of stones from the fortress have been built there with an opening to the east. Parts of the walls of stones and the entrance were reconstructed back in the 1950s. I walked all around the rim – the vistas were spectacular in all directions. There was Lake Vesturhópsvatn to the west and Lake Hóp, a tidal lake off Húnafjörður, to the Northeast.
Then I climbed down to lead Mom down to the stairs again. The wind was so strong …But the views were awesome.
We continued the gravel track which led through juicy green farmland with Sheep and Horses. The clouds hung low over the mountains of the peninsula, but the views over the agricultural lowlands were nevertheless stunning.
At the end of Lake Vesturhópsvatn the road turned west and reached the main gravel road leading north around the peninsular. That road was not nice! The landscape was beautiful, but the road condition was horrible and I had to grab hold of the steering wheel so tight and concentrate on driving. I did not have time to admire the scenery at all, let alone take a photo …
I could have crept along the gravel track as well, but I remembered when I was in Namibia in 2006 … I was driving the cheapest rental car I could get which was a Toyota Tazz. I met some guy at the hostel and he said to accelerate until the vibration stops – which should be somewhere between 80 and 100 km/h – and then hold the speed there. That worked well over there. So I did that here, too – OK, I did not go that fast, but at least 60 km/h. There were so many potholes in rapid succession – I basically flew over the track trying to avoid the biggest ones by weaving around them. Mom kept constantly saying to slow down and think about the car. But I did! That car had become a car for a reason. If it did not like the road it should not have become a 4×4 …
Our destination here was the well-known rock formation Hvítserkur. From the parking lot we took a walk along a path to a viewing platform for a good vantage of Hvítserkur – a splendidly photogenic 15m-high sea stack shaped somewhat like an elephant or dinosaur or a huge stone beast drinking from the water standing some 50 meters offshore. The rock is somewhat white in colour from the excrement of the birds that have tarnished the rock, wherefrom it gets its name Hvítserkur which actually translates to White Shirt. Particularly Fulmar and Sea Gulls as well as the Arctic Terns nest there and in the surrounding area.
Legend has it that Hvítserkur was a petrified troll caught by the sunrise – trolls turn into stone by daylight – while attempting to destroy the monastery at nearby Þingeyrar, because Icelandic trolls are not Christian and therefore do not like the sound or sight of churches or church bells.
While Mom walked back to the car I climbed down a narrow and steep path to the beach to take a closer look from a different perspective. And of course, to collect data for an Earth Cache here.
Hvítserkur is a volcanic dyke, which has been eroded by the sea. It was in danger of sea erosion and the base of it had to be strengthened with concrete. It is both approx 15 m high and also wide, but only 1-2 m thick – which makes it very unstable. In 1955 it was so unstable that locals started a collection to save the beautiful dyke and some holes were then filled with concrete.
The view over the black sand beach of Ósar was spectacular, too. Ósar means estuaries and is so named because there are 2 large river mouths that open to Húnafjörður at that location. Some of Iceland’s best seal and bird-watching can be enjoyed around here.
No seals in sight today, though … I wandered along the stunning almost deserted black-sand beach. The sand originated from basalt lava that covers much of the area.
Climbing up a steep path along the grassy cliff, the views over the fjord were extraordinaire – the contrast of the black sand, the green grass and the fjord beautiful.
“The poetry of Earth is never dead.”
John Keats
Leaving this spectacular site, we took a pit stop at Ósar Hostel & Café. They had simple public toilets there with small collection boxes on each door. I did pay the ISK 200 for each of us, but nobody else did … a minibus load had just arrived and lined up and all just smirked at me putting money in for the maintenance.
We had a look in the tiny snack shop and found Freyja – The original Icelandic Chocolate. Do not worry, we did not buy it! Freyja has long served the Icelandic people’s collective sweet tooth and is responsible for the majority of Icelandic confectionaries. It looked cool in its Puffin packaging – it might make a nice souvenir …
Driving down that horrible gravel road as fast as it would let me, we made our way back to the Ring Road. We encountered that slow-creeping motor home again from earlier at Borgarvirki – they were still driving in the opposite direction … They would take forever to reach their destination in that snails tempo. I, however, still held it with my African advisor and speeded along – most of the time even on the wrong side of the road, because it was the better one. In the end our trusty Octavia was covered in mud and looked like a true off-road adventurer.
Not sooner had we reached the Ring Road that there was some blue sky to be seen and another rainbow crossed the road.
Only a few kilometers on, we turned off the Ring Road again and north to Hvammstangi, a town with approx 580 inhabitants which has been an important trading center since 1846. The town has a growing tourism industry and the fishing industry providing mainly shrimp is also very important to the economy here. The town is blessed with a good harbor from which seal watching and sea angling trips are organized – today was not the weather for that, though. We also bypassed the Icelandic Seal Center, which provides information on seals and the surrounding area, and parked the car in the center near the school and the church to take a short walk and find a geocache.
It was a pleasant walk up a walking narrow path behind the church. The secret box was hidden under a picnic table overlooking the town and church. It must be an amazing sight here, when all the Lupine is in bloom – now it was already faded.
Lupinus nootkatensis – known in its native Alaska and British Columbia as the Nootka Lupine – is a member of the pea family. It arrived in Iceland in 1945 … in a suitcase. What led to its deliberate introduction to the landscape began some 1000 years before its arrival. When the first settlers disembarked from Viking ships 2/3 of the island was covered in greenery and it had only one terrestrial mammal, the Arctic Fox. The island’s first humans settled in with a shipload of livestock and adapted the agrarian lifestyle from home, cutting down trees and burning the wood, totally oblivious to the fact that Iceland’s soil forms more slowly and erodes much more quickly than mainland Europe’s.
The destruction continued unabated and in the mid-20th century, when other European nations were rebuilding after WW II, the Icelandic Forest Service was pondering human-induced destruction of a different kind – Icelanders had so heavily exploited their island home, logging the native birch forests and overgrazing vegetated land that only 25 % of the country’s original green cover remained. The agency sent its director mission to Alaska to gather plants and trees that he liked and thought could revegetate Iceland. The arrival date back home, stamped on his passport, 03 Nov 1945, marks the birth of the lupine saga in Iceland.
Over the years, random people have picked up the forest service’s enthusiasm for the plant and haphazardly brought seeds to towns, valleys and offshore islands. No Icelander has not gazed upon a field of purple. And many are lupine lovers. The regreening of Iceland has become a balancing act – they want to retain the renowned splendor of the naturally occurring volcanic deserts, but also need to revegetate what was lost. The lovers and the haters each have valid points. Apparently there are real debates about the Lupine going on. But for tourists and photographers alike it is a beautiful speck of colour in the otherwise stark landscape – we missed the flowering season this year … unfortunately.
From Hvammstangi we continued another few kilometers north to the end of the paved road and only a couple of hundred meters on the gravel track there was another secret box hidden overlooking Miðfjörður. It is a small fjord fed by the River Austurá and roughly 2 km wide and 10 km long emptying into Húnaflói Bay. Strangely enough it started drizzling again, but I quickly found the geocache and signed the logbook.
We had contemplated of stopping again by the school and walk back to that picnic table overlooking the church to make a lunch picnic, but with the drizzle now, we continued towards the Ring Road. At the junction there was a parking lot with information board. We stopped there and had our picnic in the car. While the drizzle had stopped again, it was still very windy.
The Ring Road crossed another flat alluvial plain and the rain returned. Soon we reached the shore of the next fjord – Hrútafjörður – that stretches out of Húnaflói Bay as well. The name of the fjord translates to Ram’s Fjord and is a very deep and lush fjord reaching approx 36 km inland. This inlet also marks the divide between North Iceland and West Iceland and Ring Road 1 was now leading straight South.
Here the Ring Road traversed Iceland more or less completely from North to South and we bypassed West Iceland. This time we had not the time to visit the Western Fjords as well, that would have to wait for another trip.
For now we were passing rolling plains along Norðurá River Valley. This river begins at Holtavörðuvatn on the high plateau of Holtavörðuheiði flowing through Norðurárdalur and after 62 km reached the River Hvítá. And while the weather cleared more and more as we continued south, the views were not that spectacular. It is said, that on clear days the icecap of Langjökull Glacier is even visible … but not today. For the scenery-spoilt tourist this stretch of road was rather … boring. For a very long time there were no real scenic highlights … and no geocaches either … it seemed to be a geocache-free zone, too …
And then almost out of nowhere about half way down the road cliffs arose to the west and the 170 m high Crater Grábrók appeared. There was an Earth Cache marker on it and of course I had to stop. The sun was out, but it was still very windy. We parked the car and Mom took only one look at the stairs leading up and decided to stay in the car.
I grabbed my camera and selfie stick – as usual – and was happy I had put my jackets and bobble hat on, shaking my head at other tourists that actually attempted the climb up the wooden boardwalks and stairs in t-shirts.
Crater Grábrók was formed by a fissure eruption approx 3600 years ago. The fissure that initially opened during that eruption was not very long, but left behind Grábrók and her 2 crater sisters. The wind was strong when I reached the top, but the views were mindblowing.
The sun was out with blue sky and some fluffy white clouds. Gone was the grey from the last few days. We were obviously reaching the sunny south again.
One of the logging requirements for the Earth Cache was to walk around the rim of the crater and measure the distance. From the top the massive lava field of approx 7 km² that surfaced in the forming eruption is a stunning sight.
There is an impressive view over the most beautiful part of the Western Region Borgarfjörður and the tiny, but beautiful Lake Hreðarvatn, that was formed during the eruption.
The lava of the crater was all covered in moss and lichens which made a beautiful contrast to the black and brown of the lava. Moss is a common plant in Iceland. It grows abundantly in the mountainous regions and is a special characteristic of Iceland’s lava fields.
I could hardly tear myself away from the breathtaking vistas on the top …
Since it was still early in the day, we decided to take another detour. A few kilometers south we therefore turned off the Ring Road and onto side road #50. It was a nice paved road leading us east towards the highlands of Langjökull, however, we would not go that far. It was the area of Borgarbyggð with river-twined valleys, fertile farms and colourful holiday homes.
The sun was out now and it was beautiful. We drove to Reykholt, a village with today all of 60 inhabitants located in the valley of the River Reykjadalsá – Reykholtsdalur.
Reykholt is one of Iceland’s main historic sites. It was at one time one of the intellectual centers of the island and had for many years one of the most important schools of the country. The most famous inhabitant of the village was Snorri Sturluson, a famous medieval historian, politician and chieftain who lived in Reykholt in the Middle Ages and quite possibly the most influential Icelander ever. His records of the Old Norse language and mythology of medieval Iceland are invaluable. The Snorrastofa Cultural & Medieval Centre was established in Reykholt in 1995 and is located below the new church, built between 1988 and 1996 and consecrated on St. Olaf’s Day in 1996.
We parked the car in front of the church and went for a walk in beautiful sunshine. There was a geocache hidden inside a genuine Icelandic turf hut close by. There was no entrance fee or such, apparently the hut is accessible to public without restrictions. The secret box was hidden secretly inside behind some wooden pillar and was quickly found.
A second geocache was a little further in a small forest on a little hill. Mom walked with me until the foot of the hill and then turned around back towards the center, while I kept going. I successfully located the secret box and enjoyed the sunny view over the small settlement.
Strolling back to the car I took a look at the pretty little old church behind the new one. A first church was established in Reykholt already in the early years of Christianity in Iceland. The old wooden church, consecrated in 1887, is now beautifully restored by the National Museum of Iceland.
I found Mom sitting on a bench in front of the new church enjoying the sunshine. She had already located the Halls of Harmony in the Snorrastofa Center and was not even sorry, she did not have the cash to pay for the visit … I had all the cash on this trip in my pocket …
Near to Reykholt lies also the mighty Deildartunguhver – the largest and most powerful hot spring in Europe. Of course, there was an Earth Cache located there and since we had not been bathing in a hot pool for at least a few days … this was a wonderful opportunity.
Drawing on the geothermal reserves of the Reykholtsdalur valley, this magnificent force of nature pumps out a colossal 180 litres of steaming water per second. The water is primarily used to heat the nearby towns of Borgarnes and Akranes – it is being piped 34 km to Borgarnes and 64 km to Akranes – as well as to heat nearby greenhouses to speed up the growth of vegetables.
This is a fantastic example of how Icelanders efficiently use the geothermal energy provided and is one of the major reasons as to why Iceland has such an excellent reputation for green energy.
The water at Deildartunguhver hot spring emerges at a constant 97°C making it incredibly dangerous for those who venture too close. But there were fences around the long spring and quickly I collected the necessary data to log the Earth Cache.
Iceland would not be Iceland if they had not put a geothermal spa next to this magnificent hot spring! Krauma Geothermal Bath & Spa looked absolutely wonderful from the outside!
It was a right sophisticated Spa – a fantastic and relaxing complex that makes for a cheaper, more isolated alternative to the Blue Lagoon. We paid ISK 3950 per person – no senior price here for Mom – and ISK 800 for the one towel we needed. The changing rooms were spacious and spotless clean. As usual shower gel, shampoo and conditioner were provided in the showers, hair dryers as well. Here they even had hair straighteners!
Outside the area around the pools was covered in soft anti-slip coating and different sized pools with different temperatures made it hard to choose where to relax. There were a total of 6 baths – 5 warm and one cold. I can tell you already – we did not try the cold one!
To achieve the perfect bathing temperature the hot water of Deildartunguhver is mixed with cold water from Rauðsgil, which originates near the now officially dead Glacier Ok – once the smallest glacier in Iceland – creating the perfect bathing temperature.
At the check in we had seen the sign for the pool bar prices and this time we took the opportunity to be decadent! Who cares what it costs? We had already spent so much money on our trip, those 2 drinks would not lead us in bankruptcy either … We ordered 2 white wine which came in fancy plastic glasses.
The sleek black pools were busy, but still we moved from one to the next and back until we found the hottest one. That was actually marked with a cooler temperature, but maybe somebody had just mixed up the temperature signs. All pools were beautifully warm in any case.
We were so happy, the sun was out and we had a fab time there. It was probably one of the coolest hot baths we had on this trip … it was different again from all the others, though. Definitely I would not compare it to the Mývatn Nature Baths or Blue Lagoon, because here was again the clear geothermal water we had encountered at Secret Lagoon Gamla Laugin in Flúðir.
It had been such a grand idea to come here and relax! I could have stayed much longer, but after approx 1 hr we did make our way out of the fantastic hot pools and got back on the road.
Leaving Deildartunguhver we turned back onto road #50 southwards. The late afternoon light with sun and clouds was beautiful. The road was descending into more river deltas and fjord zones passing juicy green fields with more of the hay bales. It is amazing to see so much open space in Iceland and whenever that space is fertile it is used to make hay. It is not wasted. Iceland is home to thousands and thousands of hay eaters – horses and sheep! And I am still convinced those hay bales make up for some cool nature art installation.
A little further down the road we stopped for a geocache near Fossatún Troll Garden. Right next to the road was a parking space and a very cool giant troll.
Legend has it that mountains in Iceland used to be trolls. Icelandic trolls are part of ancient Scandinavian Mythology. The trolls are human like in form but have incredible strength. What is even crazier is that many of Iceland’s superstitious citizens actually believe this heritage exists. According to some polls most Icelanders believe in or at least refuse to deny the existence of elves and trolls. The belief in trolls in Iceland is probably as old as the settlement itself, when the Vikings settled Iceland in the 9th century. We just stopped to see that one troll and the geocache was hidden right underneath his right ear. Very easy to find and well-guarded by the troll.
Soon after that stop the road skirted the Borgarfjörður – a fjord near the town of Borgarnes – our next destination. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most part uninhabited. Along the road were a few viewpoints – this area is apparently very popular for Aurora Borealis observation. One of those spots of course had a geocache. Unfortunately, this time of the year there are no Aurora Borealis … No Northern Lights … we knew it is the wrong season … But that secret box is in the spot year round …
Thinking about Aurora Borealis reminded me of the very first time I got a glimpse of them when I was hitchhiking Northern Canada in late autumn 1993. Visiting a friend in Edmonton we were driving and saw this green shimmer in the Northern night sky and I was totally amazed.
In November 2015 I took a trip to Greenland to watch Aurora Borealis for real. It was a 5 day tour to Kangerlussuaq in central-western Greenland. Kangerlussuaq is one of the best places to witness the mesmerizing glow of the Northern Lights thanks to its relatively stable climate, limited use of streetlights and nearly 300 days of clear skies each year. During the months of September to April the Northern Lights are strongest and I was totally lucky to see them every night there.
We stood in -30°C in the middle of the night outside the hotel on the street with cameras and tripods watching them. The Aurora is an incredible light show caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen.
The lights are seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. Auroras that occur in the northern hemisphere are called Aurora Borealis and Auroras that occur in the southern hempishere are called Aurora Australis – I did not have had the fortune to see those yet …
Auroral displays can appear in many vivid colours, although green is the most common. Colours such as red, yellow, green, blue and violet are also seen occasionally. The auroras can appear in many forms, from small patches of light that appear out of nowhere to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an incredible glow.
Near Borgarnes we reached Ring Road 1 again and passed over Borgarfjarðarbrú – a bridge of some 520m in length crossing the inland portion of Borgarfjörður. The name of the fjord seems to have come from the farm Borg, which according to the sagas was founded by Egill’s father Skallagrímur, who took the land around the fjord and accordingly gave the fjord the name of Borgarfjörður.
Our next destination was the quiet, yet charming town of Borgarnes, located on a small peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður approx 75 km from Reykjavík. The area is a historic place stretching all the way back to the Viking times and has played an important role in Iceland’s saga from the beginning of settlement. Hotel Borgarnes was right in the center of town and we found it quickly. A relatively big hotel, check-in was quick and our room was nice as well.
Since it was already late in the day by now our option for dinner was the hotel restaurant. We found a good table near the window and ordered the local beer. Steðji is said to be one of the most famous micro breweries in Iceland. We had passed the actual brewery this afternoon, but did not stop. They brew one of the most controversial beer in the world – Hvalur 2 – whale beer it is. This ale 5.2% is specially brewed for Þorri winter season using pure Icelandic water, barley, berry hops and the main ingredient – sheep-shit smoked whale testicle. Believe it! Unfortunately, they did not have it on the menu here, therefore we stuck to Steðji Dark Altbier, a lightly dark well balanced beer with the added freshness and purity of the Icelandic water. A very German beer! Mom tried Steðji Lager Beer which is also a German beer – Helles. Brewed using traditional German method it is called the beer with the German soul and the Icelandic heart.
Splurging today again, we ordered Icelandic Mussels for starters. The blue mussel is common all around Iceland. It is a medium sized edible bivalve mollusc, which is harvested for food, both wild and farmed. They are used for many seafood dishes. Many Icelanders pick them at high tides all around the country. Cocked to perfection in white wine sauce they were very yummy.
As main course we chose Filet Mignon – we had enough fish and lamb in the last few days. The portions were huge and it was very good as well. We ate so much again!
So for dessert we needed a Schnapps! The waitress did not understand what we wanted, but she got her colleague who apparently was the barman. Of course, he had Brennivín, Iceland’s signature distilled beverage made from fermented grain or potato mash and flavoured with caraway!
After dinner I had to go for a walk. It was still light out. Mom went back to the room, but I went in search of the last geocache of the day. It was located not far from the hotel on a viewpoint overlooking the fjord and the town.
Walking up the stairs there was a pretty cat leading the way as if trying to show me the cache location. An interesting sculpture was sitting on top of the small hill above the Settlement Center, an interactive museum and exhibition center.
This monument Brákin stands in remembrance of Þorgerður Brák and her ill fate. She was the nursemaid of Egil, the son of Skallagrímur, and thought to be a Celtic slave. In one of the more dramatic moments in Egil’s Saga, she heroically saves Egil’s life from an attempted crime of passion, by his own father, Skallagrímur. She ran and he chased her down to the ocean where she jumped from a cliff into the ocean trying to reach the island outside of Borgarnes, now called Brákarey Island. Skallagrímur threw a big rock at her with such great force that Þorgerður Brák did not resurface. Since that time the strait where she drowned is called Brákarsund – Brákar Sound. The sculpture marks the spot near where she leapt.
The view over Brákar Sound to the mountains on the opposite side were beautiful in the evening light and that pretty cat was still showing me along and obviousely enjoying the view as well.
Quickly I found the secret box and then went back to the hotel. The cat stayed behind …
It had been an eventful day again, photos had to be sorted and posted. The plan for tomorrow was already set – tomorrow is the big Diving Between the Continents day!
