Iceland Day 9: Swimming in the Snow

UncategorizedLeave a Comment on Iceland Day 9: Swimming in the Snow

Iceland Day 9: Swimming in the Snow

compilation video of our entire Iceland trip

We took a short detour from Akureyri to see the Christmas Village, which ironically isn’t open until April, so we were creepily walking around this abandoned santa’s village peeking in windows.

_DSC4054

We set out for the basalt columns of Kalfshamarsvik.  

_DSC4063

Unfortunately, we were met with impassable snowdrifts about a mile from the viewing site and had to turn around and drive all the way back down the peninsula.

_DSC4070

Our next stop was a bit hidden. We went down the road until it was closed and backtracked until we saw an information sign. Kolugljufur waterfall is actually a series of waterfalls that runs through a canyon.  At the beginning, a one-lane bridge spans the canyon.

_DSC4129

We were elated to finally find it, and then of course when we got in position to take photos a tour bus scooted across the bridge and twenty people quickly dotted the landscape of this previously “hidden” (to us) landmark.

_DSC4139

The coolest thing about this waterfall was that in several places it was frozen over and you could see water falling behind the ice; a very strange visual effect to observe.

Our next stop was Hvítserkur. When we arrived we found the road blocked by another sign saying it was impassible.  

_DSC4203
Don’t you dare fart! In these temperatures, it’ll freeze your insides!

We could see the viewing bridge was maybe only a mile down the hill, so we parked our car on the side of the road and walked down the icy path towards the beach.

_DSC4199

When we got there another couple on the road saw us and stopped. This time we were glad to have visitors as they could take our picture. They also let us know that the rest of the way around the peninsula was passable, so we went all the way around to Hvammstangi.  We stopped on the way to see the seals, but none would pop their heads up into the -6 centigrade temperatures and strong winds.

_DSC4243

When we got to Hvammstangi we headed to the only grocery store and arrived five minutes before closing. The check-out lady informed us that there were NO restaurants in town. “We’re building one,” she said as if that made it better. We checked into our little hotel and the host told us we had two free tickets to the town swimming pool.  An outdoor swimming pool.  So we went to the outdoor (heated) swimming pool in a snow storm. And yes, there were locals there – but only in the hot tub. I was the lone weirdo swimming round the pool.

Leave a Reply

Back To Top