Day 11: Skagafjördur to Borgarnes
Today was snow, snow, snow and beautiful Borgarnes
We had planned to tour the western side today, visiting canyons and waterfalls, craters and glaciers. However, the weather had other plans, we woke up and it was snowing. The stunning views from our hotel room the night before were now just a carpet of white.
Being from Africa, snow is always a novelty, and we were happy to forgo todays plans to travel through the snow. Well Robs and I were, Gray was the one having to drive through the blizzard of snow.
The cow skin scenery of the mountains were now white. It was stunningly beautiful.
Half an hour out of Borgarnes, the sun came out. Borgarnes is a great town north of Reykjavik. It is one of the few coastal towns not dependent on fishing.
We drove around the town, or took about 10 minutes but the views are spectacular.
We visited the Settlement Centre, housed in two of the oldest buildings in town, it provided us with a fascinating insight into Iceland’s early history and discovery of the island and early Viking culture.
One of the interesting facts, when the vikings arrived, Iceland was teaming with birds and game. The vegetation inland was so thick it was virtually impassable. This in in stark contrast to the black landscapes covering most of the coastlines. It’s scary to see what the volcanos have done to the environment.
We had another great dinner in a wonderfully unpronounceable restaurant. I had ling, a type of fish, it was delicious.
Tonight was pretty much our last chance to see the Northern Lights. I know it was a long shot at this time of the year, but I kept vigil till around midnight in the hopes they might appear. Sadly not.
Pandas in Africa 