Day 31 – 9 August 2023 – Sudureyri to Drangsnes, Iceland

A big fog this morning (couldn’t even see 50 meters ahead) blanketed the fjord.  We drove back up the fjord & then through the tunnels to Isafjordur. We had a short drive around town, hoping to buy some snacks from the super market but they opened at 10 am. Too late for us. There were two new cruise ships at the wharf & more lost looking tourists walking around with maps in their hands. The roads today are all bitumen but still a long drive as we go from the mouth of the fjords, drive all the way down to the source, then drive all the way back up the other side of the fjord. As the crow flies you have travelled two or three kilometres, but to achieve that you have to drive around 40 kilometres, or 60 kilometres.

The scenery is yet again stunning with clear blue skies & hardly a breath of wind, so the fjords are like mirrors & the snow on the mountains stand out clearly. We have great views of the Drangajokull Glacier across the Isafjardardjup fjord, the glacier is amazingly thick at the face, it must be hundreds of metres deep.

In one of the finger fjords we see a small pod of five or six whales feeding with a flock of birds hungrily feeding off the scraps as they surface. We pull over to the side & watch for a long time, they must be about a kilometre away, yet we can hear clearly as they exhale & a plume of sea spray is blown into the air.

There are lots of isolated farms & houses lining the fjords, we wonder what they live from & how they keep warm & cook their food. There is no electricity, there are no trees to burn wood & it is a very long way to any town. We stop a few times to get out & stretch our legs & take some photos, one stop is at the very first road tunnel in Iceland, started in 1933. It is a very short tunnel but took a long time to dig as the rock was so hard, it was a slanted volcanic dyke.

Reykjanes on the map looks like a small town with all the amenities, however, when we get there we are disappointed. An outdoor heated pool with a few people lazing around & the long building looks tired. We go inside & there is a restaurant with only two people in it, both employees & having their lunch. We ask if lunch is available & there is a selection of very basic salad items & cauliflower soup. We go for the soup, it is OK & fills the spot with a couple of slices of toast (we have to serve ourselves). Good thing we found something to eat & this is a once only.

One more fjord to go down either side then we drive up & over a very tall mountain with no vegetation & rocks everywhere, with a few snow melt lakes & small rocky streams. It is ruggedly beautiful. Down the mountain to another fjord & we cross a bridge, leaving the main road to a small town called Drangsnes, our stop for the night. I luck it in by turning down the right street, along the waterfront & stop at our guest house for the night. The accommodation is neat & clean, all four bedrooms are on the one level with once again a shared bathroom but this time two toilets but only one shower with a shared kitchen, dining area & lounge looking out over the waters of the fjord. The four rooms are occupied by a Ukranian couple, a NZ young lady & a German young lady & us Aussies.

Dinner is very nice, our table was at the window overlooking the fjord & the food was superb, lamb fillet was delicious & the halibut fish was extremely tasty, I have not eaten halibut previously but will again when I can, it was that good. Fish & lamb is Icelandian’s traditional food. Another good day.