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Published: September 28th 2016
Which way to the church?
Colourful street in Seydisfjordur...The following two days were more about the drive than anything else; no big attractions or sights to see on our agenda...we hadn't really made up our minds as to where our next stop would be after Myvatn; the options were either the small town of Borgarfjordur Eystri where there was some hiking and a Puffin colony, or skip that and stop at Seydisfjordur which has a small artistic community and the possibility of doing some kayaking in the fjord there...after speaking with some locals and discovering that the Puffins had moved out for the year, that pretty much settled it for us: Seydisfjordur it would be...
So off we went, it was unfortunately the worst day weather-wise as it rained the whole day...but again with nothing really planned we just took our time and eventually made it to the junction point of Egilsstadir, where we would leave the Ring Road for a secondary one, about a 30 km stretch to Seydisfjordur...not without drama mind you, to get to the coast we had to climb over a mountain range, and with the rain and accompanying low clouds it made for a nearly blind trip in...it was crazy actually, we had
Seydisfjordur
...love the low clouds, fortunately they lifted a bit the following morning so we could see the mountains better... experienced driving through clouds already but with the added pounding rain it made the conditions quite treacherous...Lovely K made out like a champ at the wheel though and soon we would land safely in our stop for the night...
Cool little town, but with the weather the way it was it kind of negated any outdoor activities, goodbye kayaking...after some discussion and looking at all the damp clothes in the camper we decided that this would be a hotel room night if we could find something not too outrageous...
Not a lot of options in town, stopped in at the first hotel we saw; the Hotel Aldan...main place had a nice restaurant, and it was divided up into three different buildings, so after some discussion with the gal at the front desk we were directed next door to check out a couple of the rooms...decided on the smaller of the two, again not a lot of bang for our buck in this country but it was a cozy room (read: small) with an ensuite and more importantly heat and no sleeping bags required...what a treat! The place was oozing with character; this was the Snaefell location which used
Lovely K on the Red Chair...
...in the middle of nowhere on the way to Hofn... to be the town's Post Office, so wonderfully old and creaky...brought in all our gear and proceeded to hang everything over the radiators, plug cameras/ipod/speakers in to recharge and head out to do some exploring...
Didn't go too far due to the weather, but it seemed like a really pretty town...the low clouds hampered much of the view, but we checked out a few shops, the local artisans den and took a walk along the waterfront...the town was surrounded by mountains and there were streams running down everywhere, did manage to get some better views the following morning as the clouds had lifted slightly...
Beyond that not much to report; after wandering we stopped in at El Grillo for a pint and something to eat, and just spent the evening chilling out in our hotel room with some vino, and more importantly enjoying being warm and dry...haha...
After a fantastic included breakfast at the hotel it was back on the road, destination Hofn...no major attractions to hit this day either but was really looking forward to the drive as the Ring Road follows the coast line, was not disappointed...we had to double back to Egilsstadir to rejoin
Lagoon of swans...
...on the way to Hofn... the Ring Road, so it was nice to see some of the incredible scenery we missed on the way in, including a beautiful waterfall hidden away by the clouds the previous day...
Thought we were done with the dirt roads but no; not long after leaving Egilsstadir the pavement ended, back to pothole dancing...after a number of kilometers we came to a split, and after consulting the map it looked like a secondary highway would shave a few kilometers off so ended up taking that (plus we noticed while sitting there that the majority of the traffic was taking this route as well, figured they must know something we don't...). It was dirt road in either direction, hoped this would be the lesser of two evils...
Not sure if it was or not in the end but we made our way along the bumpy road in search of the Ring Road connection again...of course it started to rain, and we were crossing another mountain range in zero visibility when we happened upon two dudes hitchhiking, couldn't believe it...we were literally in the middle of nowhere, and with the weather the way it was they looked downright miserable...normally don't
pick up hitchhikers but figured we couldn't just leave them there so pulled over and stuffed them into the back...
Two guys from Barcelona doing the hardcore backpack around Iceland (camped beside a waterfall the previous night)...originally asked for a lift back to the Ring Road but after they found out we were heading all the way to Hofn they asked if they could go there too...no problem...although the van wasn't smelling the freshest anymore as the lads probably hadn't showered in a while...haha...
Dirt road went on for a bit before we saw the Ring Road looping around and it was back onto pavement....aaahhhhh....uneventful drive, some stunning vistas though as the road curled in and out of huge bays, exactly what I had been hoping for...we stopped a couple of times, first at a beach where we saw all sorts of swans swimming in a lagoon, and where the beach itself was made up of round and polished black volcanic stones...think the Spaniards were happy to get out and stretch their legs as well...haha...
Driving along when we then saw a large red chair perched on top of some rocks by the side of the road,
Gufufoss falls...
...on the road leading into Seydisfjordur...if you've seen the movie Walter Mitty he passes this place in the longboard sequence... it was so out of place we just had to stop to check it out...that's all it was, a large red chair bolted to a small hill of rocks, obligatory photos and off we went...
Okay, I lied, we did have one place to visit on the agenda; the Lonely Planet recommended a stop at the Viking Cafe just before we got to Hofn, so we decided to check that out on the way into town...the lads were supposed to meet some friends so they got out when we made the turn, wished 'em luck and we parted ways (we did see them later that evening at the campsite, and again the following day at Skaftafell which was funny...).
Not a whole lot to the cafe, it's basically a shack selling coffee and pastries...paid an entrance fee for the grounds and took a stroll down to a replica Viking village; apparently Vikings was filmed here, and a Hollywood crew were coming in next year I think to film a movie...village was cool, neat walking around and seeing some of the fake movie stuff, great hike...After a quick drive to check out the Stokknes Radar Station it was time
Hangin' in the van...
...tunes, vino and unwinding in Hofn... to finally get to our destination of the day: Hofn...
Pronounced "Hup" which is a bit deceiving, again a pretty small town with not much there, more of a launch point for the Southeast...checked out the harbour and had some dinner at a nearby restaurant (Langoustine Soup! Mmmm....) before stopping for supplies and setting up camp at the municipal site...it was cool to look at a map of the island at this point and see how far we had come...and with two action packed days ahead of us it was an early evening to rest up...
(Some photos copyright of Karen C., denoted by (KC)...used with kind permission)
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Be careful
A good wind could change things.