On day 12 we’d planned to visit snaefellsjokull, but like so many things in the north, the road was closed. We decided to drive all the way around Snæfellsnes Peninsula instead, stopping wherever we were commanded.
Most of the squiggly sign stops were uneventful, but one -Lóndrangar- made it worth it. On the southern tip of the peninsula was a series of high cliffs with volcanic formations called “sea stacks.” As the horrible wind howled I walked out onto the cliffs to see the birds circling and the gargantuan waves crashing against the naturally colonnaded black cliffs on either side.
Back in the car, we proceeded down through snow and rain to Borganes for a buffet lunch at the visitor’s center restaurant. It was here that we met the waiter who informed us that we were “brave” and “adventuresome” for going to the Westfjords. He is also the waiter who said he had never seen a pink aurora in 25 years, so in addition to being foolhardy, we were quite lucky out there in the westfjords.
We drove south a bit before taking a turn back north, towards the golden circle. We stopped at Gulfoss and Geysir again, closing out our adventure where we’d started. Both sites were much milder than before, with the walking paths actually walkable, and the snow now not being blown into our eyes.
After that, we went back to the little farm restaurant down the road and had some gelato.
We then headed over snow-covered roads back to our hotel in Reykjavik.
