New character needed — An Elegant Sufficiency

We arrived in Grundarfjörður, Iceland yesterday and I immediately spotted the “ð” character which I haven’t needed before. I love all these little quirky details of travelling and happily went in search of it on my keyboard.

As soon as we opened the curtains we could see the Snæfellsjökull volcano, covered in a light mist. We’d read that it was the setting for Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth and unsurprisingly several of the tours on our menu today were based on that theme.

A quick check on the TV confirmed where we were (and where we’d come from) and we quickly gathered our things ready to go out on our tour. We’d not arrived until lunchtime, so it was going to be a busy afternoon.

Our tour was to be of the highlights of this peninsula, the Snæfellsnes.

The small town of Grundarfjörður is dominated by the distinctive Kirkufell mountain which we’d seen as we arrived.

We drove right past the base of it as we set off on our tour.

Our first stop was Búðir where the small black church is a popular photo stop.

Alongside the church was a small pathway leading down to the beach, a rarity in Iceland since it’s golden sand and not black lava. Most of our group stepped out along the path to see the beach but noting the peace and quiet here, I stopped for a short time and enjoyed the silence. Incredible.

But of course, I couldn’t resist taking a look at the beach too - I didn’t want to miss anything!

Returning along that same pathway offered a view of the mountain and waterfall inland from here and the rooftop of the hotel which was hosting a wedding today.

I stopped once more before climbing back on the coach to enjoy the silence by the churchyard - another cemetery in a fine location!

Our guide, Julius, was excellent offering clear advice regarding his plans for the afternoon and meeting times. Our group respected that and were always ready to go exactly when he said. Not a single latecomer!

We contrasted the scenery in Greenland with this different landscape in front of us. I couldn’t quite believe the number of colours in those hillsides, too.

Everywhere we went, there were small groups of Icelandic horses which Julius explained were rather special.

Our next stop was Arnarstapi where we gathered at a viewpoint high above a small fishing harbour. To the left of here was a curious arrangement of rocks.

Or was it lava? Either way, these strange formations appeared to have once been part of the coastline. Or, maybe at high tide they still are?

From here, we were going to walk along the coastal path for a while, grateful of the chance to see more of these strange rock formations that create the coastline in this part of the country. There on my right was our destination - a cafe with coffee and cake!

These little ponds on our right were so still, the reflections were beautiful.

To our left, the coastline was remarkable and the small beaches very secluded (except for everyone walking along the coastal path!)

There was a bench right here by the perfect view, where one could sit and enjoy that very special silence that we have noticed here.

Except, of course, on a Saturday, the coastal path is rather popular.

The end of our short walk was the viewpoint high above the beach at Gatklettur where the Hellnar Arch was the focus of many cameras, mine included!

We passed by the stone figure on the way to our coffee stop, choosing not to climb up closer to it this time!

From here, we could also see the glacier high on the volcano which Julius had watched retreat during his lifetime and which he feared would disappear completely in the next few decades.

Our stop at the visitor centre at Malarrif was slightly curtailed because the Visitor Centre had closed ten minutes early! Never mind. Some took a short hike to the lighthouse whilst my Hero and I simply enjoyed being here.

After all, we were in the most incredible landscape; a lava field covered in a huge variety of mosses. Jullius had told us stories of elves, which over a third of Icelanders believe in. Looking at the strange shapes in the lava, it was easy to imagine how figures could be seen, especially in the dark months of winter.

We had one final stop at another beach at Djúpalónssandur this one very different from the first. Here, the fittest could climb down the steep pathway to the black lava beach, maybe trying their strength with one of the four lifting stones whilst there.

One again, we were content to leave the younger, fitter folks to that and happily took the pathway to the viewpoint at the top of the cliff. By now it was approaching 6pm and aware that we’d have a 45 minute ride home plus a tender ride too, we were all prompt tour guests once again so we could leave on time.

On the way back, Julius sang us a traditional song, followed by the admission that his son would probably sing it better. To illustrate that, he played a perfomance by Kaleo whose lead singer is indeed JJ Juliusson.

It was a quick turnaround then, because we’d arranged to meet our friends in the Splendor bar at 7pm for drinks before a rather special dinner at 7.30.