What a tremendous way to spend our anniversary--exploring a unique landscape.
Earlyish in
the morning we drove back to the park for our first hike of the day, a 2.5 km
(one way) walk along the southern coast of the peninsula from Hellnar to
Arnarstapi. This walk is one of the most popular in the park with good reason.
It takes you through an old lava field full of interesting formations. This
lava field, and most of the other ones we saw in Iceland, are different than
what Karen and I experienced on our trip to Hawaii. There the lava flow was
newer with very sharp edges. In Snӕfellsjӧkull National Park the lava fields
are older, with the formations having a chance to be rounded, a bit, by erosion
and covered with a thin layer of moss and lichen.
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| Cliffs near Arnarstapi, Iceland |
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| Arch near Arnarstapi, Iceland |
We really
enjoyed the walk and the landscape was spectacular. We were also lucky with the
weather. It was sunny and calm—17 C (I walked in a t-shirt). A SMALL ASIDE –
The average summer temperature in Snӕfellsnes is around 13 C, while in
Reykjavik it is 11 C. I said to Karen and Marshall at the start of the trip
that this is the first time I have gone on a trip from warmer to colder
weather. (Other than going downhill skiing, which doesn’t count because it is
already winter and cold.) It felt kind of weird.
After our
walk we drove to a lookout at Londranger for our picnic lunch. What a
difference a few kilometres made. Even though the sun was still out, it was
much windier and the jackets were definitely on. However, we were rewarded in
our slightly odd choice of picnic spot by Marshall’s spotting of a pod of killer
whales. Even though they were a fair distance off shore it was a big plus for
all of us as we have never seen them in the wild. I was especially pleased as I
have real thing for whales (as Karen and Marshall can attest to). I am not sure
why, I just find them peaceful (yes, I know killer whales are carnivorous) and
awe-inspiring.
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| Two peas in a pod whale watching |
After lunch
we drove and walked down to Djúpalónssandur beach, which is a black sand beach, although
it has more stones and pebbles than sand. Although scenic, what I liked most
about Djúpalónssandur was its history as a seasonal
fishing station. As I wrote earlier, the waters off Snӕfellsnes were/are rich
fishing grounds and seasonally the men from up and down the peninsula (60 to 70
boats) would gather at Djúpalónssandur and nearby
Dritvik beaches to fish. They would row out every day in 8 person boats and
handline for cod, which they would bring back to shore to dry. Before you could
go fishing you had to prove you were strong enough to do so. The test of
strength were the Djúpalónssandur lifting stones
(although lifting stones were used in other places in Iceland). There were four
lifting stones and you had to lift them from the ground and place them on a
ledge about hip height. The stones can still be found on the beach.
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| View of Snӕfellsjӧkull from Djúpalónssandur beach |
The names and
weights of the stones are: Fullsterkur ("full strength") weighing
154 kg, Hálfsterkur ("half strength") at 100 kg, hálfdrættingur
("half-carrier") at 54 kg and Amlóði ("weakling”) weighing
23 kg. You had to be able to lift the 54 kg stone (120 pounds) before you were
allowed to work on the fishing boats. Marshall said fishing sounded like tough
work and he might fake an injury and not be able to lift the 54 kg stone. It
sounds like a good plan, but apparently the fishing was very social and a rite
of passage, so the men looked forward to it every year.
Afterwards we
walked up to the top of an old cindercone called Saxholl. By this time it had
clouded over and the wind was really blowing, so it was a short stay at the
top. We then drove to a lighthouse at Skalasnagi where a lot of different birds
nest in the cliffs. (They used to rappel down the cliff and collect birds’ eggs
every spring. I have come to the conclusion that if something could be eaten,
Icelanders found a way to harvest it, no matter how difficult, and eat it.) The visit to Skalasnagi ended our time in Snӕfellsjӧkull
National Park on a high-note, as nesting in the cliffs were some puffins. Karen
was very happy to see them. She loves their colourful beaks and overall
cuteness. (We took better puffin pictures on Day 5.)
Our
anniversary dinner was a bowl of excellent and very yummy fish soup and a piece
of cake in a small harbour town called Rif. Our park guide recommended the soup
and it was a great call. I liked Rif because Arctic terns were nesting right on
the edge of town so as you drove down the road you could see, and carefully
drive around, a number of chicks. After that we returned to our cottage for an
early night. Marshall was asleep by 8 p.m.
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| A friendly citizen of Rif, Iceland |
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