Today was an immensely beautiful day of scenery. When we sat at dinner and I reviewed photos— about ninety today— I had a hard time deleting any bad ones. It’s not my photography, it’s just that the landscape is so stunning, any direction I point my camera yields something worth looking at.
The first “hike” had steps! We stopped at the Saxholl crater which erupted 3-4,000 years ago. The “trail” is an award winning (the Rosa Barba International Landscape prize, in addition to three other awards since 2017), design of steel steps going all the way up, and around the outside. Unique!
Second hike was much longer. We started at Djupalonssandur and hiked to Dritvik and beyond, toward Sandholar.
The hike was of historical interest as well as scenic. The area was a seasonal spring fishing camping site for a few hundred people each year from the mid 1400s to the mid 1800s. There are remains of structures for shelter and drying fish.
The sweep of the views takes in the deep blue sea, green grass, black lava rock, and muted moss colors. We were lucky to have wonderful weather, so we can add in sky blue as well.
And of course, all of this is under the volcanic mountain, Snaefells, meaning “snow mountain.” It’s the largest free standing mountain in Iceland. The snow is a glacier, Snaefelljökul.
After leaving the immediate vicinity of the parking lot, there were hardly any other hikers. We had a sandwich and even a nap in the shadow of a tall stone structure that must have been a navigation marker high on the bluff.
We gained only a few hundred feet of elevation. Walking on a lava rock trail is a little more labor intensive than a trail with top soil. Here are some photos of the footpath:
The area is famous for having a beach of “black pearls,” since some of the basalt pebbles have been tumbled to a smooth, small size. There are plenty of big stones too. Just as in olden days, there are four large stones on the beach. The men used to challenge themselves to lift as heavy a stone as possible and place it on a nearby ledge. The real challenge was to do the lift in one’s sopping wet fishing clothes.
We only managed the 50lb stone and fell into the category of “weakling.”
Our late afternoon hike was just outside the park. We started at yesterday’s cafe for coffee and cake, and then hiked from Hellar to Arnarstapi. This was a hopping place with a lovely cove and dramatic cliffs.
The Snaefellsnes Pennisula has a protector, Barour, who has a long, and, of course, sad saga. He was half troll and half human, and there is a statue (1985) in his honor.
Barour gave the mountain its name when he, his men, and family came to Iceland, landed at this cove, and saw the snowy mountain top.
His saga involves revenge and death, excrement, and a niece being set on an iceberg to float off to Greenland. At some point in all this sorrow, Barour moved into the hills and caves and became the pennisula’s protector.
Wonderful day, covering over seven miles, and three sites. These long hours of daylight are so pleasing!
Here’s the plant of the day. Another Angelica clinging to the rocks with a lagoon in the background. We’ve seen tall Angelica, thick stemmed Angelica, and now this very small Angelica.
One Response
Look at YOU – hoisting that rock!!