Friday

Creaters

For breakfast we ate the rests from the day before and around 9am we were already on our way to Eldborg, an old crater only 40-minute walk away. We came across quite a large group of French pensioners. Surprisingly, we had to up our walking tempo a lot in order to outdistance them. However, it was a very energetic group of older people because we couldn’t get rid of them the entire way 😊 (I don’t mean badly).

Nevertheless, the crater was immaculate. At least for us – ’cause maybe, as was the case of yesterday’s waterfall, it was mostly due to the fact it was the first crater we had seen. The view at the top was beautiful, the spaciousness of the Icelandic meadows took our breath with every new step.

With this generous view we enjoyed a small snack and headed back to our car. This time, without the French group, so we were able to listen to the mysterious silence of nature.

Before we reached our next location – Ytritunga – we stopped at a tiny bistro at the road, but once again we were shocked by the high prices and so we just moved on, happy with the few pieces of cake we allowed ourselves.

Seals

Ytritunga was a beach that was supposed to be full of wild seals. And the promos didn’t lie. There really was a group of seals tanning in the cold Icelandic sun. We were able to get as close as 30 metres to their massive bodies. We even saw two teenage seals showing off in the bay, swimming up and down, diving and jumping, as if they were only living for the attention of strangers from all over the globe.

In the middle of this seal-seeing, our stomachs started growling once again, letting us know that the small cake was definitely not enough for a traveller’s appetite. Therefore we adjusted our plans and headed straight to the town of Grundarfjörður, the location of our next accomodation, where we knew for sure there would be a grocery store. In Grundarfjörður we basically cleaned out the whole supermarket and had lunch right there at some random table, placed there exactly for cases like ours. The simple bread with cheese and some vegetables tasted like the most luxurious home cooked meal to our starving stomachs.

After that, we arrived at our next housing – a really big apartment with two bedrooms, one living room, a fancy terrace, and even a washing machine, which we used right away. The whole place was designed in a 90s business style and for a short stay, we couldn’t have been happier.

We skipped quite a few points on our original plan in order to satisfy our hunger. Thus, after we took care of our primary physical needs, we decided to go and do some more exploring. Well, my wife, our middle child and I decided to do so. Our oldest and youngest were so exhausted from the hunger and the related emotions, they prioritised a comfy bed and internet over another walk.

Dragons

So we took off in this small group and spent an hour in the car on the way to the Malarrifsviti lighthouse. First thing that caught our attention were bits of an old playground. Surprisingly, my wife got all excited and went straight for the playground roadway. To be honest, I’m not sure if it was more fun for her or the two of us watching, but it was an intense experience from both sides 😁.

From there we walked all the way to a location called Londrangar. The trail was covered with huge black rocks and even some black sand, which was another first for us. At the end of this trail, there was an immaculate reef as if taken right out of the ‘How to train a dragon’ movie. Nothing, not pictures, not words can truly capture the intensity and freedom of these views. The fresh air filled with the aroma of flowers and the sea, the spacious meadows covered in moss softer than you can imagine, and rocks in shapes math couldn’t even begin to teach you. Simply, it was unbelievable. Breathtaking. And to top this all of, these beaches, meadows and rocks were all lying at the bottom of a tall mountain covered with snow. No wonder so many fantasy movies and series choose to film around here.

At the end of this wonderful beach, we found a seagull nest under the huge cliff hanging over the ocean. There also was this other kind of bird, which we couldn’t really specify, but they looked kind of like penguin, even though they obviously were not. The seagulls were incredibly loud and there was literal shit all over the rock. I mean, personally, I had imagined a group of these flying creatures a tiny bit more romantically. Anyhow, it still was a view worth seeing, just in a different way than we expected.

On our way back we stopped at another crater – Saxholl, but my middle one stayed in the car this time around, so with my wife, we suffered the 387 steps alone. The wind at the top kind of revived us again though, and after this last wonder of nature, we finally headed back to the internet addicts.

We got back at 8:45pm, and had pasta for dinner, which our sons prepared for us. After that, after intensely needed shower, and a short photo slideshow we all passed out very quickly.