We awoke to a grey skied day, but at least it wasn't raining!!
Today we were heading off to explore the Snaefellsnes Peninsula which has been dramatically shaped by volcanic activity over the centuries. Our first stop was to see the tiny church in Budir. The church originates from1703, but what is particularly interesting about it, is that a lava flow comes right up to it's accompanying graveyard & boundaries.
Once again we were amazed at the contrasts in landscape & colour.
We enjoyed the additional bonus of learning about local characters. This monument honours Gudridur, who is the most famous woman in Icelandic history. Born in this remote & harsh environment in the 10th century, her first husband was one of Eirik the Red's sons. He died, she remarried & travelled to North America where she allegedly gave birth to the first white male to be born there. His name was Snorri. They didn't get on with the Indigenous community, so they returned to Greenland & then Iceland. Later she went on a pilgrimage to Rome & then returned to Iceland to join a convent! She was believed to have been the most travelled Icelandic woman up until the 20th century!!
Our key destination this morning was Snaefellsjokull, the volcano perched on the southern edge of the peninsula. We had booked to go into the Vatnshellir lava cave, which was formed way back 8000 years ago during a volcanic eruption. The top had collapsed, which created an easy entrance, so in we went!
To get there, we had to climb down two spiral staircases, where it was dark, wet & very cold. Equipped with torches, we couldn't really look around until we were instructed to stop. The torches were to help us see where it was safe to place our feet!
Unlike limestone caves, there were not many stalagmites & stalagmites in this cave. There used to be more, but because the cave was open to anyone wanting to enter until 2010, lots of the interesting formations were stolen. Now it is forbidden to enter without the assistance of a guide. Unlike limestone, these stalagmites don't evolve over numbers of years, they were formed rather quickly during the time the lava was cooling after the eruption.
I must admit that I expected to see a lot more variety of colour, but what we did see was very interesting. The best part of the whole visit was the turning off of the torches & being silent to listen to the cave. It was then that we really heard the symphony of water drops.
Back out into the light we felt blinded!
Our next stop was to Arnarstapi, where we finally got to meet Bardur. Whilst inside the cave, we had seen an area which was described as Bardur's dining room. Bardur was born of a human mother & a Giant father. After some significant family issues (!) he became a recluse & entered the Volcano. He is now considered the guardian of the Peninsula.
His sculpture marked the start of a 3 km coastal walking track to Hellnar. As it wasn't raining, we were very keen to walk it, as it took us through lava fields & gave us an opportunity to see the coastline.
The scenery was amazing, & made us think of how Hawaii's coastline is being altered at the moment with the lava that is now flowing into the sea there.
The track was not smooth! It was rocky & uneven & for people with big feet (us!) it was a constant challenge. This was one of those walks where one has to look down most of the time & then stop to look up & see what's around. There were many nesting birds on the cliffs & marshy areas between patches of lava, but thankfully they didn't swoop us!
Once we arrived in Hellnar we went straight to this rather special café; Fjoruhusid. It doesn't look like much from the outside....
....but it is in a stunning location & they make wonderful hot chocolate! This boosted our morale for the walk back!
And because we believed we deserved further reward, on our return to the car, we bought our first Icelandic hotdog! Definitely the best hotdog I've ever tasted! First a layer of crispy deep fried onion went down, then a smattering of raw onion, then the dog & two sauces. We are yet to find out about those very special sauces (we will on our food tour in Reykjavik) but the whole treat was scrummy!
Once fortified, we took the northern route back to Stykkisholmur.
Another great day done & dusted.
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