The roomie and I were dead set on hiking in Iceland during our free days. It'd be ludicrous to pass up the opportunity to actually experience the incredible natural landscape! For this road trip, we explored the Snæfellsnes Peninsula north of Reykjavík and the Faxaflói Bay (about a 2 1/2 hour trip with stops).
At the suggestion of the front desk guy at the hotel, we detoured around the Hvalfjörður instead of going through a tunnel that cuts the trip by about 45 minutes. It was a picturesque drive and worth the extra time to drive!!! The expansive water was calm and of a pristine blue color. The mountains and hills surrounded the water and Icelandic horses and sheep freely roamed the stretches of green grass that weaved in and out of the hills. As we drove further north, the mountains began to spread out, the terrain got rockier, the hills more mountainous, and the flora multiplied. This reminded me of the American West.
We weren't sure how far we had to get to our destination, Snæfellsjökull, the volcano that Jules Verne posed as having the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth in his novel, A Journey to the Center of the Earth. (I wish I could say I was clever enough to have read the book or that I knew of our destination's significance beforehand, but no. It wasn't until we started reading our guidebooks out loud in the car -- mainly the elf and troll stories because they were hilarious-- that we came across the literary tie.) Since the volcano was the furthest point West and we had rehearsal at 5:30 we began to think of other options. Plus our sage hotel guy cautioned us that the hike we planned on was a bit dangerous for novices. The weather changes at the drop of a hat and people get lost all the time. He even suggested that we notify a local farmer to let them know we were out there if indeed we pursued the idea. Below is an up-close view of Snæfellsjökull from our drive as we rounded the peninsula on its furthest point west.
After our car passed a sign for what looked like a possible hiking opportunity, we made an executive decision to turn around and check it out. We made a right off the main road (it's a left if approaching from the south) at the hiking sign for the Eldborg volcano crater aka the Fire Castle, the most complete volcano crater in the world! It was relatively small, but it rose 1,000 ft. We parked in front of what looked like a house and went up to the door and knocked, as the sign at the back said 'reception.' My roomie opened the door to what looked like a mud room to ascertain if it was ok to park where we were. Yeahhhh it definitely was someone's house, no one ever came to the door. The whole situation was awkward. We decided to leave the car, pack our lunches and hike the 2+ miles to the summit.
Our hike took us alongside a small river then along the barbed wire fence past the sheep, fields and farmland which ultimately led us to an open area with lots of rocks, dried lava and low-lying bushes.
Icelandic joke time: What do you do when you're lost in a forest in Iceland? You stand up. hahahahahaha
Why it's funny: There aren't many trees in Iceland (the most I ever saw in one place was in the arboretum in Reykjavík). Low-lying bushes, like the ones we saw on the hike, seemed to be the norm.
The path was clearly marked, a reddish soil that was clearly used a lot. It also was hot outside (maybe 70 degrees F?) so I stripped down a layer of clothes. Near the crater, we came across a group of American elementary school-aged kids with 2 women chaperones and a golden retriever (seriously, how random?!) that must have belonged to the awkward situation house people where we parked. A rock and soil path steeply climbed the front of the crater and a chain link fence was there for support on the descent. The roomie and I opted to climb the rocks instead of using the path the entire time. It was easy because the rocks jutted out and provided an easy foothold and the smaller, less secure rocks, were easy to spot.
We reached the top and had a great view of the ocean running alongside the peninsula and Snæfellsjökull, which we lovingly dubbed Mt. Fugi because of the uncanny resemblance.
Sidenote: As we flew home from Keyflavík, I looked out my window and saw a clear view of our Mt. Fugi jutting through the clouds. It truly was special to know that I was there, that I experienced its beauty firsthand. My last memory of Iceland, the last thing I saw. The sight is etched in my brain and I can't help but smile when I think back to my trip.
The hills/volcanoes/mountains around us had a bold coloring to them as the valley had a light cloud cover and the light was seeping through. There wasn't much of a path at the top of the crater, just a small, roped off area with sharp lava rocks. We ate our lunches (mostly makeshift sandwiches from our hotel breakfast) and took in the scene. The point of departure was far off in the distance, the house a small detail in the expanse of open land. Our new vantage point allowed a more accurate perspective of just how far we hiked (quite a sense of accomplishment)!
The hike back didn't take as long. I think Eldborg was near a camping place, though none of us officially figured it out. Back near the house were a few buildings, like cabins, off to the side of a larger building with picnic tables out front (it almost seemed like a dorm). There were kids everywhere, perhaps the group we saw on the hike, in addition to some Icelandic children? The whole thing was confusing. The dorm-like building had a bathroom, signs pointed the way to the WC. It wasn't really a public restroom per se. It led us to a restroom right off of someone's room. We had no clue if we were on private property or what. Oops? Again, more awkwardness. Luckily no one seemed to mind.
Next to the faux dorm, Icelandic horses were fenced in. We pet them and I took pictures. I then made my way down to the river to wade my feet which then turned into a short nap. I was awoken by one of may car mates hurling rocks in the water toward me to wake me up. It was time to pile in the car and head towards Olafsvík.
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