Photo Friday: Iceland Campervan Tour, Post #2

Also, happy Halloween! I kind of decided this year to ignore the whole thing, but hope you all have fun!

Here's the link to post #1 of the 2-week trip. 

Day 3 (Sept. 13): Snaefellsness Peninsula

Visiting Iceland in September has some advantages over a summer trip: fewer other tourists, darkness that means you may see the Northern Lights, and lower prices for many things. But there's no denying that the weather is a great deal less stable than it might be in July or August, and it takes more luck than I had to have good weather all the time. I learned fast to take advantage of sun when I had it, so that sometimes I did things that weren't on my plan in order to do something interesting while the weather was good. Other things got skipped because the weather was wet and windy.

My third day in the campervan turned up sunny and "breezy" after the windy night. I was already learning that wind is what you get. I drove into Snaefellsjokull National Park and immediately began making scenic stops.

Entering the park.

I promptly stopped at Svalthufa, which promised scenic coastal views. The wind was pretty fierce, which reduced my desire to hike.

Malarrif Lighthouse in the distance

Lower slopes of Snaefellsjokull. The top remained cloud-covered.

The next stop was at Djupalonssandur, to check out the beaches and coves where from the mid-1500s to the mid-1800s fishermen had a large and highly successful spring fishing camp. Dropping through a crack in the lava down to the beach at least got me out of the wind for a few minutes.

To get a place on a boat, you had to be able to lift at least the stone 2nd from the left onto the rock outcrop. According to the sign, the rock weighs about 120 lbs (54 kg) and the shelf where you put it was, at the time, about hip high. I did not attempt the lift.

The sheep (on nearby slopes above the beach) were hugging the ground to get out of the wind. 

I followed a path 3/4 of a mile over the bluffs (sometimes crouching a bit so as not to get blown over!) to the next beach, Dritvik, where the spring fish camp seems to have been centered.

There were some unimpressive stone ruins of the historic fish huts, just a stone or two high. There was also a more modern fish hut, painted a striking orange.

This being a day of driving and lots of short stops, I went on a few miles to walk up Saxholl, a cinder cone that (on a different day) would give great views of Snaefellsjokull, and even on a day with rapidly increasing clouds let me see the coastal plain, created out of the lava the volcano spewed at one time or other. 

Saxholl

I was prepared for a painful climb up loose cinders, but there is a nice stairway all the way up.

Once on top, I felt the full force of the wind--strong enough that I had trouble walking against it! Most of my photos didn't turn out, because I couldn't hold the camera (or myself) steady in the wind!

Fast losing my taste for hiking, I continued on around the end of the peninsula--to be drawn to stop and watch some of the biggest waves I've seen crashing into the shore and spraying high into the air. 

Hard to capture the explosive force of the breakers.

Continuing on into the deteriorating weather, I left the park and started passing through small fishing towns (okay, basically every town in Iceland is a fishing town).

I tried to visit the maritime museum in Hellisandur, but it was closed.

I could, at least, enjoy the boats parked outside the museum.

 
Shipwrecks of one sort or another are all too common on the coasts of Iceland. I spotted one near Olafsvik.

Not really sure if it was a wreck or a deliberate grounding, but it's derelict now.

I'd seen a lot of photos suggesting that Kirkjufell would be a mountain not to miss, but with the foul weather I chose not to stop in the paid parking and try to get the iconic photo with the waterfall. A pull-out on the roadside farther around the bay gave me views.

Nearby, I watched the Grundarfoss get blown backwards on itself. 

A dark afternoon over the islands at the mouth of Hvammsfjorthur (Hvamms fjord).

 

One of the cool things about visiting Iceland in September is that it's round-up time. I had to stop once or twice to be safe as the sheep (a lot less obedient than cattle, and often rather apparently lacking in brain) ran all over the place. 

Icelandic sheep are so fluffy! I'm sure they have to put on a lot of wool to survive the winter.

 

The herders operated on horseback, afoot, and on 4-wheelers.

Random scenery.

Mid-afternoon I had to get gas, and picked up a coffee as well, as I had a fair distance to drive still, without much more in the way of scenery (especially since it was now raining with some enthusiasm. I stopped in Buthardalur, where the cafe had more plants than I think I've ever seen in such a place. I imagine that's one way you make it through the winter in the far north. The coffee was pretty good, but I resisted the very tasty-looking cakes. Unlike the heroine of my mysteries, I cannot eat pastries every day unless I want to gain a great deal of weight.

I eventually reached a campsite in Varmahlith, where I hid in my camper while the wind and rain hammered us all night. But the sun came out in the morning, at least for a while!

This mascot (?) for the campground kind of creeped me out, every time I had to walk past it to get to the loo!

As I passed the middle of the month, I was finding that some campgrounds were closed for the season. I have to give kudos to Happy Campers for their generally quite accurate interactive campground map, which helped me make sure I would reach an open camp at a reasonable hour. While most campers seemed to arrive later than I did--at or after dark--I definitely found that even stopping at 4:30 or 5 p.m. hardly gave me time to catch up my journal and notes home, cook and eat dinner, and get to bed at the early hour that allowed me to be up at first light. Traveling alone probably also contributed to my tendency to travel shorter hours than many of my fellow campers.

Cripes. I was supposed to get two days into this post, but I've run on a bit long for that, and the next day was pretty full. It would make an unmercifully long post to include another day. More for you next week! 

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
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