Leaving Myvatn Lake we had a 500 km drive in front of us, easily our longest day trip and the weather gods finally decided to desert us. Intermittent rain accompanied us the whole way, not a disaster as we had too far to travel to stop and sightsee anyway, the route taking us basically across the top of the island to western Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is often nicknamed “Iceland in Miniature” due to the wealth and diversity of natural features found there. The geographical history of the Snaefellsnes peninsula is rooted in volcanic activity, there are both active and dormant volcanoes and lava flows from numerous previous eruptions have created a varied landscape, including vast lava fields covered in moss and vegetation.
After several long ‘bladder testing’ stretches on this route, I could tell I was going to like Snaesfellsnes Visitor centres who displayed their WC status in signs big enough to see a mile away 😂
Our destination was windswept Hótel Búðir and some how I never got a decent photo of it. I’ve borrowed one from their website so that you can see how stunning the location really is …
You can see in the left of the photo above the famous and much photographed black church – Budakirkja.
The question of where to site the Church back in the early 1700s is interesting. It was allegedly decided by a wise old woman.
She advised that … “three arrows should be taken, one of which should be marked. A man would then spin until he felt dizzy before firing all three arrows and that the church should be built where the marked arrow landed …
… This original Budakirkja was a turf church that later fell into disuse and was eventually demolished. The current Budakirkja, built in 1848, stands as a reconstruction. It was painted black because the exterior wood is coated in pitch, a common practice in the past to protect the wood from the harsh Icelandic weather.”
We only had two nights at Hotel Budir so only one full day on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and one of the reasons we had come here was for me to ride an Icelandic horse.
Whats the big deal about riding an Icelandic horse you may ask? Well my horsey friends won’t ask because they know 😉
The Icelandic horse is quite unique. The breed has developed from horses brought to Iceland in the 9th century by Vikings and natural selection has led to the overall hardiness and disease resistance of the breed; the harsh Icelandic climate likely eliminated many weaker horses early on due to exposure and malnourishment, with only the strongest passing on their genes. For hundreds of years importation of any horses into Iceland has been forbidden in order to protect the purity of the breed and indeed even if an Icelandic horse leaves it cannot return.
In addition to walk, trot, and canter/gallop, typical of other horse breeds, many Icelandic horses can also do the țlt (ambling gait) and the flying pace. The țlt is unique as there is no suspension phase Рthe horse always has a hoof on the ground Рso it is incredibly smooth, much smoother than the trot or canter.
Because of tide times I had booked my ride at 12 noon – not the most convenient time but they ride on the beach at low tide – so we headed out in the morning to see what we could squeeze in.
It was still raining and low cloud hugged the mountains as we rejoined the main road. There was an interesting looking hike into this canyon but time was against us and we never made it back there.
We made it as far as the little fishing village of Arnstapi, famous for its dramatic coastline and basalt formations. We heard and smelled the raucous bird colony before we saw them and grabbed a few photos before the rain became more insistent again.
The history of Arnarstapi is deeply intertwined with the sagas which are interesting in themselves.
The Icelandic sagas are a collection of narratives written in medieval Iceland that recount the history and legendary tales of Iceland’s settlement. Records of Arnstapi’s settlement date back to the Bardar saga which tells the story of Bardar, a half-human, half-ogre who once lived on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and is still considered the area’s guardian spirit. This is he pictured left.
Heading back to change for my ride the weather looked like it might be fining up and leaving Russell with a good book I drove to the farm of Stori-Kambur. I was met by a lovely young lady named Molly from Finland who was here on a working holiday and would be my guide for the ride.
She introduced me to Kráka, my horse for the afternoon, which translates to ‘crow’ in English, I’m guessing because of her dark colour.
We had no sooner head off down the track toward the sea and it pelted down, horizontal sleet coming straight into our faces. Neither Molly, me nor our mounts were much impressed, all of us ducking our heads but it was relatively brief and then the sun came out.
We had our first tölt, (incredibly smooth) the wind lifting Kráka’s voluminous mane, sand and water flying and I was a happy girl!
We stopped off at a waterfall for a breather and then rode back through a combination of sand tracks and a shallow lake where a good gallop saw my shoes filled with water.
In Iceland they refer to a canter/gallop as the same gait basically and when we said go, they went! Molly had told me to stay close to her tracks as there was some ‘quick’ sand about so I did but after the first fifty metres had to hang back a bit as I was being pelted with sand. She couldn’t stop laughing when we stopped as my face was covered in sand 🤣
It was the absolute BEST fun!
Thanking Molly and Kráka, back to the hotel I went, somewhat waterlogged but exhilarated and keen to tell Russell all about it.
After a shower and change of clothes (dropped my shoes into the hotel drying room) we headed off to maximise our time on the peninsula. Unfortunately though, the weather had taken a real turn for the worse.
We stopped at Lóndrangar, dramatic basalt sea stacks looking eerie in the mist (and said to be once inhabited by elves) and then we navigated through Snæfellsjökull National Park without seeing much but the road in front.
This route eventually delivered us to the north coast of the peninsular and the little village of Hellissandur, once a fishing village but now more of a tourist hub and well known for its street art murals. The weather was slightly better here and we had a stroll around town admiring the artwork of which there was plenty.
We passed the impressive Hellissandur Longwave Radio Mast which is one of the tallest structures in Europe and didn’t stop for photos, instead continuing on toward Mount Kirkjufell.
Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss (it’s nearby waterfall) are both named because of the “steeple like” shape of the mountain (kirk = church) which is one of Iceland’s most photographed mountains so definitely on our itinerary 😉
Miraculously we even began to see little patches of blue in the sky above as we turned into the busy car park.
Having spent quite a while here it was getting close to dinner time so we headed on toward the village of Grundarfjordur which we could see in the distance. Russell did some googling and discovered a likely spot for dinner so we thought we’d try our luck at Bjargarsteinn Mathús.
What a find! This delightful little house was built in 1908 but has been re located twice before, this lovely seaside location its third resting spot accommodating this beautiful restaurant. The waiter and front of house was very entertaining and the creative menu including crispy redfish skin, deep fried seaweed and a skyr mousse dessert were delectable. We did however pass on the smoked puffin and fermented whale…
As I was driving and Iceland have a zero alcohol policy I had to settle for the Icelandic Summer (no alcohol version) cocktail which was delicious and we came away well pleased with ourselves. It was far superior to the meal we had had the night before at Hotel Búðir.
We drove home under this sky, what a contrast to the beginning of the day.
Â
Tomorrow we move on to Reykjavik with a bath on the way…