Author: Andrew Reilly
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South via glaciers and waterfalls
We checked out of our hotel near Hofn in the rain this morning (8th). Grim. Oh well. Now in character for how we imagined Iceland, instead of all the lovely weather we’ve been having. First stop was the Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon, to see the icebergs. This was a bit meh, I’m afraid. Rain, cold, lots…
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Tooling around the eastern fjords
Today (7th) was a beautiful clear morning in Seydisfjordur, and after packing up and checking out, we discovered that the village itself was as shiny and picturesque as you could hope for. Also, it had an open coffee shop, albeit one in which the hipster barista explained that the pastries had finished at ten, and…
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Waterfalls and travel to the east
The sixth was a day that involved a lot of driving: east from near the north-middle of the island, to the eastern fjords. Along the way we saw a lot of open country, with mostly low scrub or tundra grasses, or lunar grey rock fields. We also saw some beautiful waterfalls. Some had names, but…
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Geo-thermal power
Oops, I’m getting a bit behind here. This post is memories of the 5th. We started off with a walk around the re-forrested peninsula into Myvatn (having since discovered that the name literally means “midge lake” in Icelandic). It was a bit cooler than the previous day, and there was a bit of breeze, so…
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Car maintenance, hidden falls, lake, craters, thermals
Oh, and a bit of aurora action, last night… After some email communication with the car hire folk, it transpired that the petrol station back in Húsavík would be able to sell us a bag of the “AdBlue” addative needed to keep the car going, so we went there first, and bought some. Shortly after,…
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A restful day
Today was checkout day from the guesthouse that we’ve been in for three nights. Easy, as we’re getting better at this, and packing for the car can be a bit lax. First stop was Húsavík, the town a little south of us, to shop for provisions. There was some thought of exploring, but there was…
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Capes
Today we headed east along the 85 again, but where yesterday we stopped at the Asbyrgi canyon, today we continued around to the North, heading for Raudinupur Cape, one of Icelands most northerly points. We stopped to stretch our legs along the way at a nameless parking spot along the coast that turned out to…
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Three tunnels, botanical gardens and a clear evening at a briliantly situated guest house
The coffe shop that I had high hopes for in Siglufjordur had decent coffee but not great English, and all of the pastries seemed to be variations on iced doughnut. Well customed by folk who looked like fishermen. It occurred to me that the further we get from Reykjavik the more likely it probably is…
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Shorter drives, longer walks to Siglufjörður
Nice quiet start at the stables this morning. Easy, as we hadn’t done a full unpack: we’re overnighting for several days now, so most of the luggage is staying in the car. (No auroras seen, last night. Significant disappointment.) The first stop was the small town of Blönduós, which is the home of the Hrútey…
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Barnafoss, Hraunfossar, Hvitserkur horse stables and dirt roads
The Hraunfossar and Barnafoss are waterfalls that share a carpark, but are quite different in character. The Barnafoss are as turbulent and violent a waterfall as I’ve seen: a roiling rapids coursing through craggy rock openings. A little further down stream, the same water source, many tiny springs that flow from underneath the lava field,…