With the trip looming we were as usual at our disorganised best and two members of a full party short. With some last minute wrangling we managed to coax a Fin and a Frenchy to join myself, the Italiano/German and the Merican (unfortunately even in Iceland you can’t escape Americans) in completing the complement.
The morning came and with it a “cheap jeap”, courtesy of our only organised member Erik “Rabb”. We stuffed the jeep full to the brim and set sail to the north. Our venture took us first to the town of Stykkishólmur on the Snaefellnes peninsula where we boarded a ferry that was to take us to the south-west of the West Fjords.
The ferry across was expensive, freeeezing cold and took just as much time as driving around would have, and yet all the same, it was great experiencing some real Icelandic wilderness. Beers on the uppermost deck in god knows how much below temperature, with some of the strongest winds I’ve ever encountered is something I won’t forget in a hurry. With some smooth talking we were also allowed into the wheelhouse to see the captain. As we neared the end of the trip and night closed in, the towering, snow covered fjords emerged from the gloom.
We decided to head west to find somewhere to hunker down for the night. As we drove over the first pass, the snow began falling and the ice thickened. A hair raising trip ensued, enhanced by some fantastically awful driving from the Frenchmen (who insisted he was a “great driver”). Fortunately his driving skills were sufficient to get us to our destination town of Talknafjordhur. We managed to find a nice guesthouse for the night and the luigi (Johannes “Giovani”) set about preparing the pasta. Raab and myself were keen to try and find an Icelandic man willing to take us out on his boat for a fish/sight-see so we headed down to the harbour. We struck up a conversation with a hardened Icelandic fisherman who was hard at work preparing for a night at sea on a commercial fishing boat. After talking for a little while he offered us a place on the boat that was heading to sea for an 18 hour fish (not quite what we were intending). Unfortunately with time at a minimum we had to turn down his offer, to which he answered “well do you want some fish?”. He slapped two large (I believe they were called Haddock) fish in our hands and wandered off.
We spent the night at Talknafjordhur in a hotpot just a couple of kilometres out of town, halfway up a hill with a magnificent view over the fjord. A truly amazing experience.
The next day we continued north encountering some of the most truly spectacular scenery I have ever seen. The mountains aren’t as sharpe/steep or rugged as the mountains of Fjordland, nor do they contain any vegetation whatsoever, this however takes nothing away from the sheer natural beauty of the waterfalls, ice-lakes or snow covered lava flows that cover the area. Fjallfoss, a huuuuge set of waterfalls was the highlight of the day.
We continued north passing through a 4.5km tunnel that included a brilliant car surfing performance by Raab and Frenchy (Louis), before Finnish pessimism/sense prevailed. We emerged from the incredible man-made structure in the town of Isafjordur. A town surrounded in every directions by steep, snow covered cliffs with an amazingly still inner harbour which provided the opportunity for some truly spectacular photos. We were kindly invited to couch surf at an Australian girls flat, providing some much needed sarcastic and monetary relief.
We then travelled a short way to the remote town of Sudureyri, where once again we soaked for several hours in the town hotpot before travelling back to Isafordur. Another awesome display of northern lights, and beers on the roof of the four story flat, capped off a great days adventuring.
The next day we kayaked the fjord. The reflections of the mountains on the crystal clear water and the tranquility were mind boggling.
Unfortunately time was limited and we had to begin our journey home. We stopped off to see some arctic foxes and yet another hotpot by the seaside, capping off what was an awesome trip.
BTW YEEEEEEESSSSSS ALLLLLLLLLLLL BLAAAAAAAAAACKS!
No one else here truly understood why I was screaming and running around semi naked. God the 10am champagne shower felt good though. Hopefully you all partied your pants off for me.
Unusual Suspect to win the Melbourne Cup…
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