Adventures from Akranes

A 10 hour day exploring..Akranes (camp) > Rekholt >Husafell >>

See Museum at Reykholt and learn about Snorri Sturluson...(Very Important Person..there's always Google). Fascinating. Sue spots her birthday present in the attached shop...I'm still recovering. Talking of which, recovering the  tax is a convoluted process involving passports, forms, envelopes and more. Taxing is the word..but worth it.

See the biggest hot spring in Europe. Apart from completely misting up the shades, this is truly incredible - they pump the water at 97 degrees Celcius 75km and get a temperature drop of only 5 degrees or so. 180 litres/second, that's how. Hot stuff.

See the Hraunfossar falls, emerging from under the lava field then move on, deciding to take the 60km Kaldidalur interior route on an unmade remote road through the Kaldidalur valley, seeing the  Eriksjokull, Okokokull, Langjokull and Porisjokull (Glaciers), then passing through a large grey desert (known for sandstorms). Checked out it's passable on the interweb earlier and it proves to be rough in places but fine. Much easier than the 4x4 track we did last week. Uplifting. Magic. Words can't describe it..I'm no Wordsworth...but you"ve worked that out already...

As if that wasn't enough, we emerge in the 'Golden Circle' and see some of the historic sites here.....but what makes it truly fascinating is that it's here that we can see the North American / Euasian rift.  The plates are moving apart at 1.5cm/yr....I make that 0.0000029 cm/minute. Can't see it myself.

Finish our stay here with a communal meal, entertained by the family of our hosts who run the local museum and restaurant. Special moment.

See lots more but you're bored by now. How about some pics?

Damn....forgotten the tea bags

Only another 50km to go....

We"re drifting apart...luckily, only at 1.5cm/year

Family talent....very Icelandic

By a local artist....

Reykjavik

A visit to Reykjavik.

...A coach trip as a group for a change. Of course, we all go our own ways once we get there. Although Reykjavik is the capital ...and where most Icelanders live, it's got quite an intimate feel about it, plus some wonderful architecture; the opera house is a really uplifting place.

After visiting some of the 'must sees', we stroll around the centre, taking in the atmosphere (the vibe!!), we listen to a (great) band doing a promtion for Spotify & Siminn and then take coffee at a smart coffee bar, frequented by the youth of the town...which is great...probably the thing we miss about our working life. There's a slightly edgy feel here...you can sense it. Nightlife must be fun..but not for us 'mature' types probably.

We could spend two or three days here....decisions, decisions

Images; Opera House, Viking ship sculpture, the Hallgrimskirkja, cityscape, the band..but who are they?

Stykkisholmur to Akranes

A straightforward run down to Akranes so we stop off at the Gerouberg Basalt Columns...and can't resist climbing to the top. The columns are a magnificent sight from below actually.
Two of our group's motorhomes bump towards us along the pot-holed access road....the now-familiar adventurous types... and we exchange plans and stories.
We walk to a minute deserted church, so common out here. The churches are fascinating and probably warrant a post of their own sometime....I'll do that. Let me say that I have no religious beliefs but I find the part that religion plays in any society a fascinating study...as are the buildings themselves.

Anyway, we're relaxing here for a change..at least I am, after sorting out my expiring mobile contract...Sue's sorting the washing ...the SUN is OUT...first time for a while. Here for four nights...trip to Reykjavik tomorrow.

Around Stykkisholmur

 Wonderful day....back late (and a meeting in the nearby golf clubhouse plus socialising plus Viking beer...)  So this is brief....

In summary, we circumnavigated the entire peninsula, visiting many of the highlights. The magic moment for us was driving the Touareg right up to the Stykkisholmur glacier, climbing up a 4x4 track (and more) sometimes cut between snow banks... in high wind and driving rain.

Video Clip: HERE

Here's the result:

...travelling tomorrow

A few more images:

church with style

Scary guardian

spot the elf.....

Blondous to Stykkisholmur

Around 165 miles via Borgarnes.....luckily we decide to avoid the unmade track across the top of the peninsula which has seriously deteriorated it seems....Tales of fellow motorhomers rescuing tourists caught out by the mud and potholes.

We make a couple of stops on the way and also stop to pick up two English hitch hikers, just having left college, now travelling around here. We met them earlier and a motorhoming couple had also given them a lift. One is off to teach in China and the other starting his own business. Great guys.


As we approach Stykkishholmur, we begin to see signs of past volcanic activity, passing through an old (in Icelandic terms) lava field. This makes a stark contrast with the lush green slopes of the earlier part of our journey down here - the land of sudden changes....and surprises. We're here for two nights to explore the surroundings ... so a little more later.

After setting up, we drive through the rain into the (attractive) town, see the water museum, where large  vertical columns of glacial water are preserved in patterns - it's ART with a little bit of science.... more about this and the town .HERE

A meal in town with fellow adventurers, and now we're snug in the van (which seems to shrug off the iffy roads with impunity) - with some decent WiFi, too. Blog away in comfort for a change.