Iceland {Part IV}

Day 7:

• Free breakfast brew at the Kaldi brewery
• Drive through the Northern fjords 
• Stay with some locals in a real Icelandic farmhouse

Fun Fact:

• Iceland had a period of prohibition, beginning in 1915. Beer was banned in Iceland from 1915-1989, even though liquor was made legal again after 1935! 

skal!

our busy brew master and tour guide

stopped in Siglufjordur, a small fishing town with about 1200 residents

saw these guys

and grabbed a coffee and some lunch

C wanted to try driving across this narrow spit...

...but we only made it about halfway before turning back

stopped here briefly, but decided to skip a swim and press on

quick visit to Holar to see a church built in 1106, where we were treated to some hymns sung by a German tourguide

hipster horse

stopped here and enjoyed a lap pool, kiddie pool, 2 water slides, 2 hot tubs, and a shower for about$4 

Instead of finding a camping spot for the night we decided we would try a farmhouse accommodation. Along the main road blue signs (as seen below) mark the name and location of a family farm. The name on the sign is usually that of the original owner. Beneath the name are a series of symbols indicating what services the family is willing to offer to passersby, be it food, shower, bed, telephone, etc. 

We pulled off at a random farmhouse that we could see from the road and knocked on the door. A man eventually answered and we stumbled through greetings with broken English on his side and sparse Icelandic on ours. He understood that we were interested in renting a room or two for the night and called his wife in for support. Her English was much better and she served as a translator for all of us. We ended up chatting in the entryway of their home for half and hour or so (thanks entirely to C's sociability - I get awkward and embarrassed with language barriers, but he shines). We all enjoyed our little cross-cultural exchange and were thrilled to spend the night in their cabin up the road.

front door

view of the family's house and farm from the cabin

Day 8:

• Explore up the hill behind the cabin
• Get on the road, heading towards Isafjordur where we will plan our trip to Hornstrandir
• Brief stop in the town of Holmavik to see the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft
• Camp in Bolungarvik

 Fun fact:

• Iceland's naming system is patronymic, which is based on first name lineage, not surnames. So, a man named Aron Mikaelsson would have a son named Jon Aronsson and a daughter Anna Aronsdottir (signifying that Jon is Aron's son and Anna is Aron's daughter)!

this friendly guy followed us on our morning walk behind the cabin

abandoned hydroelectric operation

on the road again

 

fjords!

Isafjordur

We made it to Isafjordur just as the information center was closing, but the two employees stayed to help us get ready for the trip we were hoping to make the next day. We decided on a route and itinerary, bought a detailed map and round-trip boat tickets, and let the captain know to expect us the next morning at 0730. We had stocked up on food earlier in Holmavik, so we pushed on to the next town, Bolungarvik, where we would camp and catch the boat in the morning.

Up next: backpacking the Northernmost penninsula, Hornstrandir.