Trolls on Tour - part 3

 Day 6

Whale watching in a beautiful oak fishing boat from the 1970s.

Three humpback whales were feeding in the fjord.

It was very cold. We wore red dry-suits to keep us warm, and floating should we fall overboard.

We drove through the valley of horses where we did our horse riding week, stopping for lunch in the service station. The service stations in Iceland have surprisingly good food options. An hour or two down the road, we did a short walk to another waterfall. 

Our home for the next two nights was a hotel in Borgarnes, a small town on the coast about an hour north west of Reykjavik. 

After we eleven Aussie trolls checked into our hotel, the other seven people were driven to Reykjavik as they were only doing a six day tour. The last two days were like a private tour for our group.

Day 7

A circuit exploring the Snafellsnes Peninsula, where our guide comes from. He pointed out family farms and told stories of sheep herding.

Whale bones washed up on a golden sand beach which is unusual for Iceland. Each vertebrae was about 50cms high.

We spent some time watching about 20 seals.

A very cute black church.

A 3 km walk from a small harbour along dramatic cliff with troll-like features.

Hexagonal basalt columns tipped horizontal in the cliffs where seabirds were nesting.

Beautiful old house with a mountain backdrop and sea views.

Loretta and some random strangers on a rock arch over a deep blow hole.

More crazy strange rock formations.

Then we walked through a moss-covered lava field.

More troll rocks. Our driver told us they were trolls who stayed out too long, got caught in sunlight and turned to stone. Scientists say these ones are remnants of a volcano crater.

A walk on a black beach strewn with twisted rusted pieces of a shipped wrecked in the 1990s.

We climbed small dormant volcano crater.

Pete pretended to push Loretta into the crater.

A famous mountain, filmed in the Game of Thrones TV series.

There were a lot of people.

Joel, Loretta and me walked behind the Sheeps Waterfall.

An evening walk back in Borgarnes after a delicious meal. We had a few light showers during the day but not enough to spoil our fun. The evening was almost balmy, very calm.

Day 8

Our final day. Sunshine and steam-bows at Deildartungulver which is one of the most volumness hot water springs in Europe. It produces 180 litres of boiling water per second which is piped to Borgarnes and other communities.

Snorri Sturlson was one of the early settlers who played an important part in Iceland's government and independence.

There is a museum and two churches from different eras at his old home.

Hraunfossar waterfall, created not by the river it falls into, but by innumerable springs emerging from a lava field. Very beautiful.

Our final activity was a walk down into a lava tube, a cave formed by lava in 900AD.

Ice-stalagmites form each winter and gradually melt during summer only to reform the following winter. 

It is quite large inside, 39 metres below the surface. The cave is 1585 metres long. The temperature was one degree.

Then we drove back to the city of Reykjavik and were dropped at our accommodation in different locations before we head off to new adventures in other parts of Europe and Singapore. 

August 13, 2024

Joel and I were the first to leave Iceland. Up at 3am to catch the airport bus. We felt a little sad. 

Iceland gave us a few parting views of glaciers and snow covered volcanoes.

Now we fly to a new adventure in a new country - Norway!