I woke up to glorious sunshine and bundled up to walk before Eric was awake, eventually walking for almost an hour, and spying an early morning golfer. No golf carts around here.
Walked past this mural with puffins, afraid that might be the closest sighting I see.
The plan was to get on the road and drive a bit before breakfast. The countryside is so astounding. My photos do NOT do it justice. There are farms tucked away in canyons or nooks protected by volcanic outcropping. usually with colorful buildings to brighten the landscape.
Throughout the entire ring road we came across their horses. Icelandic horses are unique in that they have a fifth gait and once they leave Iceland these purebreds are not allowed back into the country since few diseases exist.
They are long-lived and hardy. It is believed they were developed from ponies brought in my Norse settlers in the 9th and 10th centuries. Selective breeding and natural selection played a role as the harsh Icelandic climate eliminated many horses throughout the years.
Fairly soon we came upon our first tunnel. They were definitely needed for some ‘short cuts’ otherwise we would still be driving around the coastline. Most were between 5-7 km long.
First stop to pull off the road was this red chair, bolted to a rock along road 1. I found out later it was called the Batman chair. Why? The farmer nearby was always seeing people stop next to the road taking photos of the ‘batman mountain’. He decided to make it something ‘more’. Ahhhhh, now I get it. Wished I read that info before-hand. I don’t have the correct angle for the Batman Mountain.
Notice who didn’t get out?
Going to introduce a bit of whimsey for this trip. I forgot my ‘duck’ that I used in Italy, soooooooo, first order of business after landing was to find a substitute – a sheep was ultimately selected. Eric thought I should save it until the very end and have its own post. But darn it, it was just so cute, and it made numerous people smile along our travels and strike up conversations.
Our next pull-off were these fabulous cliffs.
Eric got a little nervous a few times. Why? No guard rails. EEkkkkk! Sometimes we had them, other times we did not. We had guard rails at this stop.
We are skirting the coastline as we are driving the East Fiords. Here was one of the few times no wind and I could capture a mirror reflection.
Breakfast was a little hard to come by and we ended up at Djupivogur. These sweets below plus coffee was our breakfast that morning. Yes, that is Danish apple pie on the left and I got a slice of carrot cake on the right.
They had a brewery and since we were blocked in – another story – we got a few cans to take with us. Too early to drink, even for me.
Wandering the small town, I found some of the ‘hidden people’ houses. 62% of Icelanders believe in them.
What did I mean earlier by ‘blocked in’? We pulled into a tight parking spot along the wharf which made Eric nervous. While we were eating our cake/breakfast, a number of large trucks & vehicles blocked us in. Uh ho. Crud. We’re going to be stuck here for a while. Eric went down to survey the situation. We noticed in the harbor a medium-size cruise ship. These were the individuals taking the group for a glacier tour – soon. Naturally, Eric struck up a conversation and that person was the owner of the tour company and the shops/restaurant that we had been in. He offered to move the vehicles but Eric said we weren’t in a hurry, so they continued talking about Iceland and hunting. These are the type of conversations that Eric enjoys.
Getting back onto the road, we drove past several salmon farming operations in the calmer fiords. Man, there are some heated controversies about fish farming. Strong enough to divide communities.
We have got to get going towards Seydisfjordur! It is a little bit off ring road but is a charming town that is an artistic enclave. But getting there requires driving over a few mountain passes. The temps have continued to decrease and were 4 degrees C.
We needed food and eventually found the Salt Cafe & Bistro. Eric got a fish stew and I got pizza. Yeah!
Little did I know I was going to need this beer – before we drove over another mountain pass.
We’re on the last leg before tonight’s lodgings. Up, up and over these snowy mountains.
This photo was looking back at the switchback we just completed. If you know where to look, there is a tiny car in my photo below. It’s a white speck on the black pavement.
We’re almost there! It’s a hamlet where the Danish ferry makes weekly stops and apparently the night before the ferry – this town is packed.
Okay, I can breathe again since we’re at the bottom of the mountain. My next post will feature the uniqueness of Seydisfjordur.
Darden Travels 