Adventures for the aged? Hardly, we plan on many vibrant activities this time: Over the mountains and around more fjords

May 16 – Today was back to overcast weather, and was to be a longish day on the road to another fishing village called Patreksfjordur, and you guessed correctly that it is situated on another fjord. On the way we stopped at a spectacular waterfall (yes, another one) called Dynjandi. It consists of seven separate falls, starting from the top and spreading out as it fell, then branching off into smaller falls, one being a really powerful one. Notwithstanding the fierce wind, we climbed a rocky pathway alongside the falls to get to a point near the top. To say it was exhilarating would be an understatement. On the way down the exhilaration turned to scary, as we felt that on lifting a foot to negotiate the next step, we would be blown off into space on one side or the waterfall on the other. We continued on, becoming more aware of lots of smaller waterfalls plunging down from the heights as a result of continuing snow melt from the heights. This day involved a lot more up and down hills than previously – much more taxing for the driver, especially since a lot of it was on gravel and the roads were quite steep. We arrived at Patreksfjordur, a really pretty little village where we had an excellent small hotel with super friendly staff. We wanted to do a lengthy trip out to a range of cliffs called the Latrabjarg Cliffs, the site of one of the largest bird nesting spots in Europe. However the road out there involved around 50 kms of rough gravel (not yet fixed after the winter) and apparently most of the birds hadn’t yet arrived from wherever they had spent summer. Instead we went only part of the way and attempted to visit a beach of all places. Most of the beaches are just strips of large rounded pebbles – no sand in sight. We drove over a mountain to get there, but the descent on the other side looked more than scary for steepness and a gravelly road. We adopted the older, more conservative person’s approach, turned around, and headed for the hotel. Another day of fabulous scenery ticked off.

A first view of Dynjandi.

One of our steep mountainous climbs

In Patreksfjordur they steam clean the footpaths

Patreksfjordur

On the road to Snaefellsnes

Dynjandi

Snow wall

Lava scene on way to Snaefellsnes

Another lava scene on our way to Snaefellsnes

May 17 – Today involved a very long drive. Originally we were to drive about 60 kms to a port to catch a ferry across a very wide stretch of ocean to a town on the northern side of the Snaefellsness Peninsular, our next destination. However, in between booking and now, the ferry had been taken off our route and sent somewhere else. So we had a 350 km drive in front of us. It doesn’t sound like much for Aussie drivers, but it needs to be said that the roads are very curvaceous, the wind is strong, there are long stretches of steep up and down gravel road, and speed limits vary from 90 down to 20. Howard did a good stretch of the driving first up, having overcome apprehension, and also managing to not frightening the pants off Irene in the process. We covered the distance without mishap, and arrived at our destination, yet another wonderful little hotel called the Rukjandi Hotel, fairly new, and in the middle of nowhere. As we had arrived early, we took off to a popular town on the Peninsular called Stykkisholmur. For any readers who have watched the Ben Stiller version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, it is the town where the helicopter scene takes place. We had to ask a few people but finally located exactly where the scenes had been shot. It was an interesting side trip but the wind was bitterly cold. This was especially so on top of a small island that had been connected to the mainland by a short road. The whole island was constructed (by nature) of broken columns of basalt – most impressive but freezing at the top. We headed back to the warmth of our hotel, heated geothermally, to plan the following day. This was to be spent driving around the Snaefellsness Peninsular and National Park – a region abounding in interesting and spectacular sights.