Day 32 – 10 August 2023 – Drangsnes to Saudarkrokur, Iceland

It was windy & cold this morning as we ventured from our room across to breakfast, at least the window view was good, looking out over the fjord & the whitecaps on the water. The drive this morning was more driving down fjords & then back along the other side, one of the fjords was quite long. It is all amazingly beautiful, still no trees though. I have never been to the moon, but I think it is something like a moonscape, with all the lava rocks around. We have noticed that the sheep wandering around are mostly in groups of three. If there is more than that it is two groups of three close together, not like the huge mobs of sheep in Australia where they all seem to group together.

After a long drive along a long, narrow & windy dirt road this morning our first stop is at a seal colony at Illugastadir. Out with the coats & gloves & beanies, the wind was coming off the North Pole, it was freezing, the temperature in the car showed 6C but it felt like minus 6C. The walk across to where the seals were was about a kilometre along the seashore, a nice view, but cold. The seals were doing what seals do, laying on rocks out in the water & sunbathing, asleep. Not very exciting. There were both the harbour seals & the larger grey seals. A couple of seals were a little closer to us in the water, but they only had their heads out some of the time. The walk back was bracing into the wind, we needed to freshen up anyway I kept telling myself. Near the carpark was a small creek with Arctic Terns nesting in the grass, we were lucky to spot a large chick being fed by a parent. The parent wasn’t happy that people were close to its chick & flew overhead & complained bitterly.

We continued driving around the tip of the Vatnsnes Peninsula then down the other side looking at more spectacular views of mountains, farmlands & an angry fjord with the very strong wind whipping the waves up. There was a crowd of people & cars at Hvitserkur, a large basalt rock stack off the coast of the Vatnses Peninsula. Hvitserker stands about 50 feet tall & is said to be a troll who found himself in sunlight on the way to tear down the bells of a nearby convent. It certainly looks like a troll. We didn’t stay here long either, so cold & windy. Lots of others walked down the steep path to the rocky beach to get a little closer.

Our next stop down the dirt road on the Vatnsnes Peninsula was Borgarvirki, a large volcanic plug on top of a mountain with a large hole in the centre that was used as a natural fortress by the ancient peoples that lived in the district. There was some additional stone fortifications & stone wall building remains inside the rock structure. I climbed up to have a look & then climbed to the very top. The 360 degree views are stunning, but my goodness, if I had stretched my arms out I could have flown anywhere it was that windy. And cold. Tereza decided the climb wasn’t worth the effort whatever was up there.

Finally off the dirt road & onto the bitumen & our next turn–off is to go & see Kolugljufur Gorge & the Kolufossar waterfall, both named after the female troll Kola. Both the gorge & the waterfall are beautiful & spectacular with the noise of the water & the water spray adding to the spectacle. The gorge is about a kilometre long & around 50 metres deep, just running through some hay paddocks. We walked along the edge to get some better looks, the falls are actually a series of falls that run along the gorge, we could only see a small part, but it was amazing.

Pingeyrar is a stone church that was dedicated in 1877 & we arrived just as the visitor centre closed, so only had information from the storyboard outside. It is a long way from anywhere, apart from the farmhouse nearby. Apparently this was the site of an Assembly that guided the governance of Iceland for around 300 years from about 930 A.D.

Not far from Pingeyrar are a lot of small hills, mounds of dirt & rock, called Vatnsdalsholar. The parking lot just there doesn’t tell us anything about them, disappointing. Apparently they were formed from a series of landslides from a large mountain that stood there many aeons ago. There was a sign here that told us that this was the site of the last executions in Iceland in 1830.

Back on the highway & the road is wide & bitumen, so it is a quick drive through & over another really high mountain range, again above the snow line, to reach Saudarkrokur. Another fishing village with a few large trawlers in port & lots of small fishing boats. I have to stop & Google the hotel, then drive the short distance to the address. When I stopped at the location I still couldn’t see the hotel, it was only when I started to drive away I noticed the sign that blended into the exterior. On checking in we found we are in a guest house, Mikligarour, about 200 metres away. Another short drive & the brightly painted front drew our attention. We are in a room on the 2^nd floor with two shared bathrooms & two single beds on either side of the room, not good. On the middle floor is a very large kitchen/meals/lounge area. Back to the Hotel Tindastoll for dinner at 7 pm for a choice of Arctic Char or Lamb plus dessert. The restaurant is downstairs & very rustic with lots of old memorabilia crowding the room. The waitress was very pleasant & friendly & the meal was good. The Hotel Tindastoll was built in Norway & shipped to Iceland in 1820 & erected elsewhere. After the Hotel was moved to a few different towns it was finally erected on this site in 1884, very rustic. Another good day.