Oh how I wish I had enough vocabulary and media to express just how enchanting this next leg of our trip was.
We began our journey traveling up along the Northwest coast to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Snæfellsnes (snæfells means snowfall) is a coastal fishing community that gave permission to the government to build small parking lots on their private land so that visitors could experience the irreplaceable beauty of their region.
First of all this is what it looks like outside at 830AM
Our first stop in the Peninsula was the majestic Kirkjufell Mountain and Kirkjufoss.
As we learned before, Kirka means church and this mountain was named such as it looks like a looming church steeple.
Driving toward the mountain from behind it was a surreal vision; it was just before dawn, the light was low and blue and from the darkness, this giant twisted conical mountain began climbing into view. It felt as if we were sneaking up behind this sleeping earth giant as it slowly woke up.
Here is a photo of the mountain behind the parking lot where our jeep (white) is for size reference.
Here are some of our favorite photos of this regal beauty, especially as the sun rose and changed the color schemes in front of us.
From here we drove along the coast to an area called Arnarstapi.
The drive to this section of the coast was a marvel in and of itself.
Waterfalls were Everywhere, frozen in time down the mountains. The running water and pooled water was a mesmerizing mix of glacier blue and prussian blue...bay water covered in mosaic of ice patches...pale jade green rivers of slushie water occasionally added a twist of color.
On either side of us were military green grassy knolls with black rocks jutting above. On the drive we saw this giant house literally built into the land like a traditional viking hut.
The views were jaw dropping colors of the landscape. Pure white snow patches all over mountains and cliffs shrouded in a beautiful burnt sienna - moss green mixture of soft, but rugged, thick grass.
Icelandic Horses
One of our favorite parts of the trip occured during our drive to Arnarstapi: meeting Icelandic horses!
We were driving along when we saw another small herd of horses casually eating and hanging out near the road. We decided to go out and say hello, and let me just say, Icelandic horses are simply the friendliest, most stoic creatures. It was very difficult walking away to go back to the car. Next time we will have a sack of munchies on hand for such kind of random hellos.
Arnarstapi Coast
In Arnarstapi coast were frozen waterfalls flowing down balsite cliffsides, boulders jutting from ocean shaped like icelandic horses themselves, complete with thick layers of wavy manes of tan grass.
The Winds were so strong they bullied the mighty ocean itself, waves galloping with flowing manes of ocean spray.
Even while driving, the jeep swayed back and forth with the violent gusts of wind. When opening the doors, we had to hold on to them to make sure the winds did not rip the doors clean off their hinges (which is known to happen). Prakash lost 2 beanies to the wind, but we've decided those were our offerings to the Icelandic gods of Nature.
Submitting to Mother Nature
Iceland is a land of extremes with some of the most chaotic weather patterns we have ever seen. Icelandic winds are terrifyingly aggressive and unrelenting; the snowfall turns a green mountainy haven shrouded in soft golden sunlight into an overcast winter wonderland within hours, and when she feels like it, Mother Nature showers an entire region in rains so heavy the ocean climbs up onto the road.
The landscape changes drastically from one area to another yet remains equally breathtaking. One does not have enough eyes to take it all in.
Iceland is the embodiment of a line from one of my favorite Telugu songs: "prema entha maduram, priyuralu antha kattinam" (as sweet as love is, my lover is equally as cruel).
On our way to Akureyri, we were thoroughly humbled by her moody weather. About 2 hours from our airbnb in Akureyri, the roads were closed due to severe windy snowstorms that made it impassable. In Iceland, in the war between man's ego and nature, nature most definitely wins.
So we were snowed into a smaller coastal town called Sauđárkrókur where we encountered many different types of people, ranging from helpful, without us even asking, to helpful and kind innkeepers that were, of course, helpful because we were paying guests, to a couple outright obnoxious locals with limited sense of boundaries. Every type of person exists everywhere.
We stayed at the Grand Inn, a modern day tavern with guest rooms and the last lodging with any space in the small quiet town. Weary and storm-beaten travelers, we drudged into the bar-inn draped in hues of our desperation to get out of the freezing winds. We connected with owners over a shared love of jeeps and were offered free locally brewed beer by the end of it. As we sat in the warm safety of the bar, outside the snow and titan winds continued wailing as they ripped through the air, always a reminder of who made our decision for us in the end.
Finally. We made it to the Akureyri region.
Here we saw some more unforgettable sights.
Ásbyrgi Canyon and Botnstjorn Pond:
This was an understatement of a spot. The road to the trail was covered in untouched snow; we were the first to arrive. At the canyon base that the trail traversed was such a thick layer of snow that all the surrounding sound was absorbed; it was silent except for the trickle of waterfall from a mostly frozen waterfall up in the canyon wall. The frozen waterfall was shaped like someone bent over, like an angel or someone getting blood eagled (see viking folklore, it is an intense form of punishment to the highest of criminals), and the waterfall looked like it was coming out of this icy figures mouth. Surrounding canyon walls were straight cut basalt columns. Shaped like a horseshoe, the entire canyon is believed to be the hoofprint of Odin's 8-legged horse, Sleipner, a horse given to him by Loki.
In the absolute silence of this snowed in canyon, so silent that falling snow would have made a sound, one could feel the sanctity of the spot.
Godafoss:
Literally this translates into "waterfall of the Gods" and once you lay your eyes on it, you can see why.
This semicircular collection of multiple waterfalls evokes formidable authority and wisdom, like one is witnessing a summit of the divine. Sections of waterfall remained frozen almost looking like scaly ice dragon claws from which water still flowed. And yet the arrangement of the falls also felt innately intimate, like a family of waterfalls sitting around a dining table pouring their stories out to each other. I felt like I was watching a secret rendezvous. What a magnificent sight.
As a bonus, en route, we met some more happy horses just trotting along. Horses photo credit goes to Prakash :)
On to the next part...!
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