Category: UK/Iceland, Summer 2023

On our last day on the Snaefellsnes peninsula we took a boat ride called the “Viking Sushi Adventure”.  The boat departs from Stykkisholmur, the same harbor where we arrived via ferry two days prior.  There are hundreds of little islands in the area, with plenty of bird life, including Puffins.

It was interesting to see the reaction of several of the tourists on the boat who had not yet seen Puffins.  They were freaking out when we pulled right up to the edge of this island.  I was rather surprised the captain got as close as he did.

Many of the islands were mostly composed of the basalt columns we have seen everywhere in Iceland.

We pulled up next to another island, with mostly gulls on the cliff face.

The youngsters made quite a racket whenever the parents brought back food.

You can hear they screaming “mine!, mine! mine!” here.

Reminded me of this!

This little bay was the hiding place of Erik the Red, a Norse explorer, who ended up in Iceland when his father was exiled from Norway in the year 960 for murdering several people.  Remember, these were Vikings.  Erik followed in his fathers footsteps and committed a couple of murders himself, for which he was exiled from Iceland for 3 years in 982.

After hiding out in this bay, he eventually was forced to leave Icelandic waters, and sailed to Greenland and spent his exile there.  Erik’s son was Leif Erikson, the actual Viking who discovered the America’s (what he called Vinland).  Below is a short video showing how many birds call this spot home.  It was like a Hitchcock movie!

The next part of the cruise is the reason they call it a “sushi” adventure.  They put a dredge over the side and drug it along the bottom of the bay, about 200 feet down, for about 5 minutes.

Then they pulled the dredge up.

I should have managed a better spot for the damn video.  In any case, here is a shot of the contents of the dredge.  The crew was busy opening up all of the scallops and sea urchins.  While there weren’t a lot of scallops, what they did catch were delicious, and couldn’t have been any fresher!

There were plenty of crabs mixed in.  It was a pretty cool experience, but don’t expect to get a lot of seafood from this…you are still going to need to have lunch back on shore.

Our last stop on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula was a set of waterfalls right in front of Kirkjufell Mountain, considered the most beautiful mountain in Iceland.

The waterfalls are called Kirkjufellsfoss, and while they aren’t large, they are quite beautiful.

Even worthy of a selfie!

As well as a video.

Kirkjufell is Icelandic for “Church Mountain”.  The mountain was featured in Game of Thrones Season 6 and 7.  We really need to go back and start watching that show…we only made it through a season and a half or so.

One last sunset, feauturing Kirkjufell.  This was the view from our guest house.

Next up, we travel to the famous Blue Lagoon, and spend our last night in the excellent Silica Hotel.

 

In order to save about two extra hours of driving we took the Baldur Ferry across the Breidafjordur Bay to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.  The plus is it’s also quite scenic.

The ferry stops in the middle of the bay at Flatey Island, where you can actually get off the ferry and stay if you want to. The island is maybe a total of three acres (maybe four), so we passed.

Cute houses on the island, but still, an entire day on a little island? There aren’t even any waterfalls!

We loved the clouds developing around the bay! We thought we might see some thunderstorms, but no such luck.

The ferry lands in Stykkisholmur, likely the largest city on the peninsula. A great spot with a grocery store and of course, the ubiquitous “Vinbudin” store, the only store in Iceland where you can buy beer and wine (and spirits if that’s your thing). They have one in pretty much every village we visited, but their hours vary, so pay attention or you might have to spend a night dry! Or keep your car stocked….like we did.
A half hour from the ferry dock we arrived at our home for the next three days, Kirkjufell Guesthouse.

FYI, if you decide to stay here, make a reservation at Bjargarsteinn Mathus restaurant for each night you are staying here. There really isn’t anyplace to eat, and the food is wonderful! We know, we ate there all three nights!
On the way back to the guesthouse I saw these boats with the sun reflecting off of them, and had to get a photo. Like I said previously, Iceland is a photographers dream!

The sunsets here always impress, and they last forever! Bear in mind when you are in the states, the sun sets in a nearly straight line from east to west. In Iceland the sun sets on about a 45 degree diagonal, from south to north, so the sunsets last at least twice as long as usual…if not longer.

This waterfall, Grundarfoss, is super close to the guesthouse, and you have to hike out to it, so it doesn’t get a lot of attention. It also doesn’t get a lot of sunlight, so it doesn’t make for good photo opportunities. It’s funny how jaded we get with certain waterfalls versus others. There are just SO MANY in Iceland it’s easy to get picky!

On our second day here we took the required tour around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Our first stop was at Ytri Tunga beach, which is known for lazy seals basking in the sun. First though, this beautiful shot of Snaefellsjokull ice-field from the beach.

Then the lazy seal. Ahh…the life! Yeah, I’m looking at you!

Of course, no tour of an Icelandic peninsula would be complete without a waterfall! This is Bjarnarfoss Waterfall.

Our next visit was the famous Budarkirkja Church. This church is the most photographed in Iceland! The church was originally constructed in 1703, but was taken down due to a lack of parishioners. It was reconstructed in 1987 after a single member of the church lobbied to have the church brought back. Now it’s a hotbed of cars and tour busses. The fact I got a shot with nobody in it is remarkable.

Below is Hellnar Viewpoint. You can see the remnants of an old fishing pier below.

This is a closer look at Hellnar Sea Cave. There were actually people swimming in the ocean nearby…brrr.

This shot is just down the coast towards a spot called Londrangar. These natural volcanic pillars are all that is left of a crater after centuries of erosion from the ocean.

The cliffs are beautiful on both sides of the Londrangar viewing platform.

Thankfully the drive around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula is a circular route, and if you get an early start you can see nearly all the sights in a single day. As we started our circle back to the guesthouse we visited Saxholl Crater. It’s a fairly easy hike up the side of the crater.

The views at the top are worth it. This must have been a very small volcano in it’s day.

When we were nearly down, two busloads of people showed up. Dodged that bullet! Here is a shot back looking at the crater as we were leaving. If you enlarge the photo you will see two entire busloads on the trail! Avoid the busses if you can.

Our last stop of the day was, you guessed it, a waterfall. This is Svodufoss waterfall, with the Snaefellsnes ice-field in the background.

This one deserved video, particularly from this angle.

We were rewarded with yet another gorgeous sunset. If you can’t see Northern Lights this time of year, at least you get to see a lot of these!

Up next, we take a boat tour, see more Puffins (they never get old), and visit some more waterfalls!