Having already spent a day relaxing / waterfall tromping and another day whale watching, there was only one other activity left on the list for the Snæfellsnes peninsula – a nice, long hike near the Snæfellsjökull volcano.
We are still catching up after our recent disembarkation from Le Lyrial, so we decided to just spin through AllTrails to see what looks good.
We end up with this easy loop near Vatnsborg:
But in our enthusiasm to get out the door, we don’t quite realize how far the hike is from Snæfellsjökull itself:
Rather than backtrack, we decide to go ahead with this tromp through the lava field. If the hike goes quickly, then we might manage a brief foray at Snæfellsjökull as well:
The volcano is clouded over and potentially getting rained upon so this may all be for the best
Plus the scenery here has a special beauty all its own:
The kids are quick to connect this hike to their last tromp across a lava field in the Galapagos. That lava field was formed in 1897, while Vatnsborg is believed to be between one thousand and several thousand years old. It feels like a glimpse into the future of Santiago Island.
The path is challenging, but those are often the paths the kids enjoy the most.
We have a scenic view of the volcano in the distance:
And there are some beautiful flowers along the way:
We notice quite a lot of Arctic fox scat, which explains why everything is so lush here – as noted during our Le Lyrial cruise, Arctic foxes essentially create their own garden through defecation. That appears to be happening here, too.
One of the high points looks like it offers a commanding viewpoint:
But it’s been closed to protect the local flora:
So we tromp onward, climbing up a smaller hill instead:
It turns out that this isn’t just a hill, it’s also a crater:
Not only are there caves:
And a commanding view of the volcano and lava field:
But the crater itself is host to a plethora of life, like a miniature Lost World:
I wonder how much Arctic fox poop it took to fertilize this many ferns?
We continue around the hillside:
Reaching Grashólshellir itself:
Another lost world
Reaching another viewpoint:
And catching sight of the Svörtuloft lighthouse – which marks the westernmost tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula:
Now that we know to look for them, we continue to find ‘lost worlds’ throughout the lava fields:
And broken lava fields that seem as though they were shattered by the gods:
The hike is 7.1 km in total, and takes us just over 2 hours – including the extra detours.
It’s past noon by the time we return to the car, so we decide to head back to Grundarfjörður for lunch. Clearly we’ll have to come back another time to tackle Snæfellsjökull properly. But while this may not have been the hike we first wanted, but it’s definitely the hike we needed.
(As an aside, I appear to be getting worse at spelling Icelandic places – I attempted to Google Grundarfjörður by typing “grudasforder” and Gemini came back with:
“It looks like your text is a typo or a jumble of letters. If you meant a specific word, phrase, or topic, please retype it or let me know how I can help you.Could you clarify what you meant or ask a complete question so I can assist you properly?”
Beyond the help of Google – that’s when you know it’s gotten bad.
We’ve all been craving an Icelandic hot dog, so we stop at the nearby Maestro food stall for lunch.
Their menu:
My wife and kids get some basic hot dogs with ketchup (kids) and garlic sauce (my wife):
I have the Henrik, which is a fried hot dog with garlic sauce, cheese, potato seasoning, and Doritos:
My life was probably better before I knew exactly how delicious this is – much like I never knew what I was missing before I had poutine
And… that’s our day, really. The kids head out for another bounce on the pandemonium pillow, while my wife and I take some time for reading / writing / relaxing. Chicken Tikka Masala and coucous for dinner this evening, with naan and salad.
We then take some time to finish packing up before a brief dip in our rental’s hot tub.
Another beautiful sunset tonight:
No time to race into the street – so I just shot between the shrubbery the best I could
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already reached the end of our four nights here at the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Part of me wishes we had longer, but then we wouldn’t get the chance to visit the myriad sights of the golden circle, or ÖÖD Hekla, or our upcoming adventures at Highland Base – to say nothing of the kids’ triumphant return to the Akureyri swimming pool.
I drift off to sleep dreaming of the long travel day – and many adventures – yet to come.