Somewhere Over the Rainbow
After the dynamic waterfall visit we continued to drive along the fjords. We stopped for dinner at Hotel Flokalundur as it was the only place in town. I enjoyed delicious cream of carrot soup. This was right at the intersection of rt 60 and 62 in the Westfjords. We continued driving enjoying awesome scenery as we traversed mountain passes and snaked in and out of fjords. The wind was whipping into the side of the van as we drove. We found a nice campsite right outside of Budardalur. We found a spot next to a bridge “down by the river”.
The next day we decided to head out to Snaefellsjokull national park. This is a peninsula that extends to the west of Iceland. It has a lot of volcanic type scenery around the area. The drive out on the peninsula did not disappoint. We came upon this rainbow below.
Valley heading west towards Snaefellsjokull national park
Ohio in Iceland?
We stopped in Hellnar and grabbed some lunch at Primus Kaffi. Excellent food and baked goods there. While there I saw a guy wearing an Ohio state sweatshirt. Not that unusual to see except 98% of the tourists we ran into in Iceland were European. We started talking and he told me about a trip he did called Inside the Volcano and told me I absolutely had to do it. We only had one day left at this point so time was of the essence. We called and they opened up an extra spot so they could accommodate 2 people. We were stoked.
We did a hike in Hellnar after lunch and drove around the peninsula to another crater you could walk up and see the views. Stomachs were rumbling so we headed to Olafsvik and had some Icelandic pizza at The Hobbit Inn. We then headed towards Reykjavik and found a nice camp spot with some privacy.
On the hike in Hellnar
On the hike in Hellnar
On the hike in Hellnar
Looking at Snaefellsjokull national park from a rare white sand Iceland beach
Inside The Volcano
We headed to turn in the van Sunday morning and checked into the hotel. The guy gave us a full days refund on the van due to the cooler not working and the lack of spare tire explanation. We were an hour late turning in the van but they didn’t seem to care. We rushed back to the hotel and got ready for the volcano tour.
This may be the highlight of the trip. Be sure to watch the video below. I have never experienced anything quite like this in my life. To be lowered 350 feet down inside the only existing intact magma chamber in the world was quite the treat. Words really can’t describe it. They used a modified window washer unit to lower you into the chamber. There’s really not much more to say about it other than if you go to iceland you must experience this. We had a 45 minute hike to where the volcano lift was. The video can do the rest of the talking.
Epilogue
This trip was a once in a lifetime trip. I would put it on par with my New Zealand trip. The weather was a little better in NZ than it was in Iceland. But each country had amazing variety. I saw more Americans in NZ than in Iceland. I never had a cent of Icelandic cash the entire trip. They prefer credit cards. The food consisted of a lot of fish and a lot of lamb. They have lots of sheep in Iceland. Thanks for reading!
Until the next adventure….John
As a little bonus we flew right over Greenland on the way home and saw icebergs floating in the bay.
Icebergs in Greenland’s bay