The start of our journey back to reality! We were able to have a fairly late start as, though we were to cover a fair few miles, there were not too many places of interest to catch our attention along the way.
Needless to say, we found more than had been anticipated!
Leaving our comfortable hotel, we ventured back past the frozen lake and were a bit surprised to be taken off on to a side road when we expected to continue along Route 1.
We drove along another, smaller road and came to a church
and, opposite the church, what appeared to be a row of small, terraced houses
It was only when we walked around and it was pointed out by the tour leader, that we realised they were all interlinked and it was actually one large-ish residence, probably belonging to an important family in the locality.
The site is now a museum, recording the traditional way of living in this rural community with its turfed roof and thick walls.
Back to the main road and on our way to Godafoss. We had stopped at this impressive waterfall on the way to Myvatn but had blizzard conditions that day and had only looked at the one side of the waterfalls. As at Detifoss, the side we hadn’t yet seen was the ‘preferred’ one. We were ready to see both.
It was much warmer and less windy so we had a better chance to see the site clearly and to walk around it without freezing.
The ‘big’ scene from the ‘preferred’ side was pretty amazing! But there were other viewpoints to appreciate, too.
I enjoyed some of the views up the river from the pedestrian bridge and also some from the side we had previously seen in the snow.
Who’d have thought it would be so easy to photograph the same group of waterfalls so many times?! This was one of the many occasions when I was grateful not to be using roll film!
Then we were off again, headed for Akureyri and with a deadline of getting there before 5pm. Needless to say, there was traffic to contend with on a day when we wanted to move faster but we arrived in the port town just in time to be saluted by the horn of the cruise ship signalling that it was about to set sail! Asked if we wanted to stop, we all felt the need for a drink. Where could we go but the famous cake shop! The assistant recognised us and was friendly and we all tried something different from what we’d had on our earlier visit.
And so we made our way through the valley and fjords past lonely houses to Skagastrond facing the Westfjords and a possible sunset location. This was also the night when there was most likelihood of an Aurora sighting…. but we were tired….
The night’s accommodation was the most basic we had stayed in, but it had everything we needed ( except an early coffee!) and the most amazing views over the Westfjords or the harbour.
There was a great place, frequented by locals, in the harbour for dinner and we were amused by the bemused embarrassment of a young girl at a nearby table when the waitress brought her a celebratory birthday cake and we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
The next morning before driving 30km to a service station for coffee (or even breakfast) we walked around the harbour and spotted photo opportunities. There were a lot!
Hard to believe we were about to begin our final full day on this trip!
Living the Journey 