Fjords would be the theme of the next few days as we traveled along the fjord fingers of the northwestern parts of Iceland. Since we would not be traveling the tourist 'Ring', we would be in remote, rugged areas. Hence the car rental upgrade we were required to have. In these areas, we met the most Icelanders which grounded the trip to provide a bit of reality.
Our drive today took us to Davik (known for their blueberries that were ripe NOW) and then along the coastline, through numerous tunnels which were typically one-lane. This required driving through dark tunnels intently looking for car headlights in the distance in order to plan the best pullover space that appeared occasionally on our side of the road. (the other lane always had right of way).
We stayed in a hotel near Homavik built near a 'Troll House' with a Witchcraft Museum nearby as this area is the Troll Peninsula and very 'sorcery' in their tales. We got to swim in the local hot pool after enjoying a morning dip in the Hofsos town hot pools with beautiful views. Lots of hot pools to enjoy! We eventually arrived at Isafjordur, a larger town complete with a cruise ship dock which dwarfed the town with visitors. We did some mountain biking there and enjoyed the local brewery and a unique dinner restaurant while staying in a local house made into a basic hotel.
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| looking down on Sudavik from 'blueberry hill' |
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| he didnt want to hike uphill until...BERRIES |
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| our Icelander advisor on all things blueberry |
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| old berry scooper |
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| quaint restaurant known for fish soup, rye bread |
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| all you can eat! YUM |
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| after all - its the Troll Peninsula! at town pool |
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| cute house in Siglufjordur-former herring center. no more herring |
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| found YARN at local brewery, of course |
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| harbor, former spot for herring packaging |
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| local art..and old men |
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| art at metal shop Siglufjordur |
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| our drive to the Westfjords |
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| driving in the countryside is DIRTY |
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| road congestion |
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| picturesque town warm pool beside fjord - Hofsos |
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| of COURSE we swam |
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| turk stayed in hot tub |
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| pools in Iceland have underwater detection cameras, not lifeguards |
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| passed modern, out of place, church Blonduos |
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| Purebred Icelandic horses everywhere |
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| last execution Iceland 1830 |
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| volcanic 'mounds' of Vatnsdalsholar |
Volcanic mounds of Vatnsdalsholar were created by enormous landslide at end of the last ice age, creating numerous hills along the mouth of the valley.
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| typical Icelandic farm |
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1947 pool from ancient bathing hot spring
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| one must walk to bathhouse from hotel |
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| nearby natural hot pool |
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a 'must' before dinner
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| same pool as community swim club used in 1940s |
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| nearby Troll House! |
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| Troll chair |
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| escape from Troll House-it had a TROLL! |
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| Where the giant rocks came from !! |
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| Taking seriously the need to bring protection and aid on daily basis! |
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| controversial salmon farming in fjords (Norwegian owned) |
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| a stop at old house for tea and cake, and a break in the drive |
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| quaint room with view to fjord |
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| glacier in background |
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| cloudy, misty, chilly, fjords and more fjords |
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| waterfalls everywhere |
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| Isafjordur, which had a cruise ship with more than town's population :'( |
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| ship in distance, town abuts to avalanche wall-which we biked |
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| sheep-run brewery! |
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| oldest house in Iceland-older were made of turf and didnt last |
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| biked, then climbed to falls |
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| a fishing town working to be tourist town |
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| 'dottir' means daughter of fathers name |
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| animated host of dinner at T.joruhusid |
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| long tables, fish buffet, all you can eat |
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| Turk is READY |
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| cast iron skillets of fish caught that day |
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| where did these old USA cars come from? |
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| ... and why a hearse? |
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| start of 7 tier Dynjandi waterfall |
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| just the lower part |
Despite driving rains, we head north/west through the Westfjords.
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| much roadwork to open theWestfjords to tourism |
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| built same year as Titanic |
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| purposely beached here in the Westfjords when it was put out of commission 70years of service |
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| water is different!!! its the Atlantic ocean, not fjord. |
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| decommissioned WWII plane from Keflavik, here |
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| Latrabjarg-westernmost land of Iceland. lava layered cliffs 14mil yrs old |
We drove to the westernmost part of Iceland, also considered the oldest land here. Latrabjrg is largest bird cliff in Iceland, and considered significant for the world (to the birds). But weather was awful - strong winds and rain. So, no birds for me to see. and no puffins!!
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| proof of my visit! |
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| more Cairns placed by ancient travelers |
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| I say -lets hike to a hot spring. Its here somewhere |
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| found it below a bluff, on the beach |
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| view from the hot spring..fisherman showed up looking for yesterday's clothes..how did he get home? |
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| our last hot spring of the trip |
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| sky cleared. Side plank on a fjord! |
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| our last day in the Westfjords, beautiful |
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