We continued our way around the Ring Road and our next day was called “Explore North Iceland”, so we did , and we did it with a beautiful blue sky. Hooray!

Our first stop for the day was at Godafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, however we have renamed it “waterfall of the Cruise Ship Buses”. Yep there were loads of buses that had come from a cruise ship for their days outing!

Luckily for us, they had to get back on their bus just as we were arriving. The waterfall was beautiful, divided into 2 horse shoe shaped cascades, and with the sunshine we had gorgeous rainbows.

We continued on and had a coffee at Akureyri , the largest town outside Reykjavik. It was a pretty spot with some lovely buildings, and we both made “friends” with some interesting people!

 

The scenery driving along the fjords was spectacular.

Many farms are situated beside the fjords as the ground is flat and fertile.

They are dwarfed by the huge cliffs behind and make for some stunning photos!

 

On this day we traveled through a number of tunnels. The more recent are 2 way, and the older ones are…..yes……one lane tunnels with turn outs to allow you to pass. Of course, the direction we were traveling did not have right of way!

 

 

Rhonda spent a lot of time with her eyes closed through those tunnels! Some more weird driving conditions we have encountered are the one way bridges , blind crests with a pole in the middle of the road and of course the sheep!

 

We visited the interesting turf farm house at Glaumbaer dating back to the 1750’s.

The area where we stayed the night, Skagafjorour, was lovely and the island of Drangey, just off the coast was impressive.

 

Our Guesthouse for the night was in a fantastic location looking up the fjord  out to sea.

Dinner at the Guesthouse that night was “one of the best”. Rhonda’s arctic charr was sensational as was Greg’s cod with curry sauce! Both had a green salad with a raspberry dressing! Again washed down with a Viking lager and a glass of wine. Yum! It was a great stop!

Our next day was called “Journey to Snaefellsnes Peninsular”. Although we woke to grey skies , we were told that the weather was going to be good , and it was! Blue sky!

Reading our maps the night before, we knew that today “Pete” was gong to travel on some unmade roads. Even if it was a little rough going at times, the scenery was stunning, made better by blue skies and sunshine!

We stopped at Stykkisholnur , a very pretty fishing village , famous for its historic houses and very attractive harbour.

 

We continued along the coast and stopped to take some photos ….surprise surprise……of Kirkjufell, a 463 metre high mountain, popular with photographers due to its unusual shape.

We then entered the Snaefellsjokull National Park.

The park is Iceland’s oldest National Park and its prominent feature is the imposing 446 metre tall strato volcano and its glacier.

We stayed the night at the Foss Hotel in Hellnar, a small fishing village on the coast.

 

We were upgraded to a room with a fantastic view of the glacier. The room was great except for the fact that each time we had a shower the water ran out after a couple of minutes!

 

 

 

However on the plus side , they did not charge us for dinner that night! The blackened cod was quite delicious!

 

 

 

The coastline at Hellnar was stunning, situated on a rocky bay with many nesting birds.

 

Of course we have more ABC’S! It was cute though!

The blue skies continued this morning as we made our way back to Reykjavik. All along the road there were magnificent views of the glacier , so of course more photos!

Even though it was sunny, the wind was extremely strong and Rhonda thought that at one stage Greg was going to be blown off the cliffs!

 

 

We made a stop at Rauofeldsgja , a rather dramatic canyon. It was a good opportunity to walk off breakfast!

 

 

 

 

We made another stop for ” ABC ” at Buoir. The church was built in 1848 and is an iconic black church.

 

We arrived back in Reykjavik , dropped off “Pete” and wandered around! The House of Parliament was a lovely building , built in 1881 and Iceland’s parliament is the worlds oldest parliament still functioning!

 

We thought the houses situated on the City Pond would be the most expensive real estate in Reykjavik!

When it was refreshment time, we stopped at the Falcon House for a beer or 2!

 

Hallgimskirkja is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

 

 

Rhonda thought that this guy was pretty weird!

 

 

 

We are loving the architecture around the city and also spied the Icelandic Pledge which we think we have adhered to strongly!

 

So, if anyone has the ambition to come to Iceland we say……just do it ! We strongly recommend our travel company Nordic Visitor. They have been fantastic.

So thats it from us from Iceland! We are off to Switzerland in a few days and then back to France , but this time to Alsace in the north east.

So for the last time in Iceland, it is that time again! After doing this epic blog we NEED a drink or 2!

Love Greg and Rhonda.