Peninsula Exploration

The next day we hopped in the car and did a loop around Snæfellsnes Peninsula to the north. Our first stop was Bjarnarfoss hanging off the side of a mountain. This waterfall actually had a few pine trees near it which was exciting because Iceland does not have a lot of trees. When settlers from Norway first came here at least 20% of Iceland was covered with trees. The settlers cut down almost all the trees, and despite people trying to regrow them, now only about 2% of Iceland is covered in trees.

Our next stop was by the sea, at Arnarstapi to see a famous arched rock formation called Gatklettur. From this cliffside coastal viewpoint we could see waterfalls that fell into the ocean and rocky stone beaches along the shoreline. Needless to say this place was gorgeous. Quaint little houses lined our drive in, the grass was thick and yellow, contrasting beautifully with the piercing blue of the ocean. The rock formations along this beach are uniquely impressive with arches of rock along the cliff, carved out over centuries as the ocean slowly erodes the beautiful columnar basalts. I'm standing on one in a picture below (Helen, you might not want to look.). This coast was unlike any I've seen before and we really enjoyed walking along it, taking as many pictures as we could.

A much less impressive view was the rough looking restaurant we had lunch in. Unassuming on the outside, there were treasures within! Not only were we waited on by the most cheerful woman, full of Icelandic charm, we indulged in some fantastic homemade food. Mashed fish, and lamb stew were just what we needed to warm back up after being beaten by the coastal wind. We even let ourselves have a little dessert, an Icelandic pancake and a pie-like morsel called "marital bliss.". My assumption is it's called that because it will be able to patch most problems in any relationship, topped with clotted cream it was heavenly.

We then stopped further along the peninsula to see Lóndrangar, a formation of basalt that stands straight up like a tower rising from the sea. We marveled at it, and typical of Ryan, he became overcome with a childlike giddiness, because what's more exciting than rocks?! He was giddy skipping about the lava flow, so it was all the more funny when he slipped down a small hill. I almost wet myself laughing. It's so refreshing to feel how happy the little things can make you. Next was the massive Saxhóll Crater. The crater was vast but I spent more time walking up and down the stairs than I did actually looking at it (there were an unfathomable amount of stairs! I was made to feel old huffing up and down them!). It was also getting quite cold at this point and I was ready to climb back in the toasty car. To finish out day we visited one more waterfall, Kirkjufellfoss. This waterfall was tiered, little waterfalls on top dropping into bigger and bigger ones. It reminded me a bit of a three tiered cake, though I'm sure this cake would be a bit earthy for my taste.

We felt quite satisfied having looped the peninsula. It's amazing how much natural beauty there is to see here, every other mile has something to ogle at. It's such an open place, with the human population relatively low there is a sense of freedom that comes with being here, a wild wilderness that I hope can continue to be protected.