Today we explored the eastern part of Iceland. The breathtaking drive took us through tranquil fishing villages, spectacular fjords and sweeping landscapes.
South Africa has Chapmans Peak in Cape Town, USA has Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles and Iceland has it’s spectacular cliff hugging drive along the mountain sides with the sea below.
We were fortunate in that it was a beautiful sunny day enabling us to enjoy the full spectrum of colours of the sea and scenery. Apparently this area has around 60 days of fog a year, so not all tourists are so lucky. As this area is more remote we have come across very few tourists.
We stopped when we could to take pics of the sea, some of it still frozen, some of waves crashing onto the cliffs and in place it was calm like a mirror. Unfortunately, photos can’t do justice to the beauty of this spectacular place.
We were excited to see reindeer, harbour seals and lots of bird life, our favourite being the entertaining Whooper Swan.
We visited some of the small fishing villages. Djúpivivogur, was established by the Danes in the 16th century. Fáskrúòsfjöfòur, was founded in 1880 and has French connections.
Driving through the fjords was absolutely beautiful and the further north east we travelled, the more snow we encountered. We eventually reached a spot where the road became dangerous due to a snow slide and thankfully we were able to find a spot to turn back and take the road inland through a 6km tunnel in the mountains.
We are staying at a small hotel just outside Egilsstaòir, the biggest town we have come across, since Reykjavik. Most of the villages we have travelled through have only a few hundred inhabitants.
Robs went for a run in the late afternoon, she runs around 8km most days, when conditions allow. I went for a walk, thinking it would be fun to walk through the snow I headed out through a side door of the hotel and my feet plunged down about 1/2m into soft snow, I nearly saw my ass. So I headed off along the road through the pine forests, it was Christmas picture card scenery, like most of today.
For dinner we opted to go non traditional and found a pizza place with a brewery attached – a no brainer for Gray. We had seen an old school type diner on our drive through the town and I thought it would a nice idea to go there for milkshakes after pizzas. Omg, the ice cream machine was broken, so no milkshakes. I decided to have a Belgian waffle, the worst cardboard I have ever tasted, definitely not worth the calories. Lots of laughs later, I have been banned from choosing restaurants.
Pandas in Africa 