Into the west (of Iceland)
(Sunset photo taken at midnight local time)
Horses grazing on the farm at Helluland
We woke this morning in our guesthouse at the Helluland Farm. Laurie went out and wandered while I slept late. She talked to the farm staff, watched them round up horses for the tours today, and took photos of the horses. She has loved our time at Helluland. After breakfast, we pack and head west towards our next stop.
Iceland's answer to Walmart
We stop in a nearby town called Sauðárkrókur, once again I paste this name because I don’t have those characters on my keyboard. We buy fuel, and stop at the local grocery store for ice for our cooler.
We head into the store and find a bit of a surprise. The store is, by Icelandic standards, huge. I’ve heard people say that in other countries you can’t just go to one store and find everything……this is now proven incorrect. They had groceries, appliances, clothes, toys, sporting goods, an entire yarn section…..it’s Icelandic Walmart!
We head into the store and find a bit of a surprise. The store is, by Icelandic standards, huge. I’ve heard people say that in other countries you can’t just go to one store and find everything……this is now proven incorrect. They had groceries, appliances, clothes, toys, sporting goods, an entire yarn section…..it’s Icelandic Walmart!
Lunch counter at N1
After our shopping trip, we start our longest day of driving since we arrived (around 3.5 hours). We make an occasional stop to top off for fuel and to eat lunch at N1. N1 is a gas station chain in Iceland and many of their stations have a full restaurant along with fuel and a store. Some of their stations have unattended pumps.
Laurie had the lunch special of all you can eat lamb soup and bread, common across Iceland. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and fries, which was quite tasty. After our brief break, we head towards the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The ride is somewhere around 60 miles on gravel roads….which were more than a little rough.
Laurie had the lunch special of all you can eat lamb soup and bread, common across Iceland. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and fries, which was quite tasty. After our brief break, we head towards the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The ride is somewhere around 60 miles on gravel roads….which were more than a little rough.
The saying is "like 60 miles of bad road"...this is it.
After a jarring ride leaving us both looking for a kidney donor, we finally arrive in Stykkisholmur. We’re staying in a small cottage in rolling farm country. It’s more than sufficient for what we need and gives us plenty of room to spread out. We’re also happy to stay here for TWO nights in a row! We don’t have to pick up and move tomorrow! Yay!
We rode into Stykkisholmur, checked out the grocery store and Laurie wanted a beer for tonight. Iceland doesn’t sell any alcoholic beverages except in restaurants and the Vinbudin store, the Icelandic state liquor/beer store. You can find beer in the grocery but it is what we in the states used to call “near beer”, or non-alcoholic beer.
We rode into Stykkisholmur, checked out the grocery store and Laurie wanted a beer for tonight. Iceland doesn’t sell any alcoholic beverages except in restaurants and the Vinbudin store, the Icelandic state liquor/beer store. You can find beer in the grocery but it is what we in the states used to call “near beer”, or non-alcoholic beer.
The liquor store!
We see the sign on the front of the building but can’t figure out where to go in the store. It turns out, to get into the liquor store, you must go through the hardware store. And we do. For comparison purposes, a bottle of Jack Daniels is $64 U.S. Laurie buys two cans of the local Gull beer which she likes and we head to the waterfront in town.
Drone shot of us on the cliffs
It's a cute town with a working harbor. We head to a small island joined by a causeway and climb up on the bluff via a set of stairs. There are walking paths and a tiny lighthouse, and I fly my drone. We watch fishing boats coming back into harbor after a days work on the high seas. It’s calm and serene, with little or no wind. It’s sunny, the best weather we’ve seen this trip.
Stykkisholmur Harbor
We head back to our cottage and call it a day. It can’t get much better than this.
—---------------------
Lots of cool photos tonight! If you look at the gallery and either click on or hover over the photo sometimes there is a caption with more info.
—---------------------
Lots of cool photos tonight! If you look at the gallery and either click on or hover over the photo sometimes there is a caption with more info.