My plan today was to spend 2-3 hours travelling around the Snaefellsnes peninsula which is about 45mins north of Borganes. With clear blue skies and no wind at all it was a perfect day for a drive and a walk, because it was still fairly early in the day the roads were slightly covered in snow and ice so part of the trip was quite a slow one. I stopped a couple of times on the first section of the drive for photo time, before coming up to the Londrangar Basalt Cliffs. I later learned that these two "statues" used to be a full mountain, over thousands of years the water has slowly washed them away until only the toughest parts of the mountain remain.
My next stop ended up being a bit more exciting than expected. I pulled up to a small cabin advertising lava cave tours. there was a small sign saying "Winter hours: Check our website", which is not very helpful when I'm relying on wifi! There was only one person standing at their car so I didn't think twice about it, turned the car around and kept driving. As I drove I knew that if I didn't go back and ask about it I would regret it. So I turned my car around (AGAIN) and headed back. This is where the American comes into my story (and no, I'm not engaged or married or even going on a date). I asked about the tours and he said we had just missed the last one so had to wait 45mins for the next one. This was fine with me as it was lunchtime. As we sat, the American (Eugine) and I started talking about our travels, he was also a solo traveller and had done the same as I had but in the matter of only 5 days (he missed a lot!). He was sleeping in his little tiny car each night to save on accomodation and living off 2 minute noodles. He was a very interesting person to spend that 45 minutes with but I enjoyed hearing his stories, especially because he was also a solo traveller. He even told me the website to look at that helps you work out the better nights to "possibly" see the northern lights (he has managed to see them twice in the 5 days he had been here!!!)
The Lava cave tour guide we had was great and in the tour group we also had people from;
1x Australia, 1x LA, 3x Idaho, 2x English, 1x New York
These caves were amazing!! 35 meters down and 200m wide, they were a sight to see!! This tour was very different to any other cave tour I had been on, the only light we had was an individual flash light, whilst the tour guide had a super-sized one to light up the bigger areas. It was at the very bottom and end of the cave that we turned off our flashlights and stood there in the pitch black for about a minute, this was scary. No-ones eyes could ever adjust to the amount of darkness that was down there! At this point we also got to taste the "purest water you will ever drink". It runs down from the snaefellsjokull glacier above and through the lava caves to a small pool, then keeps running out towards the ocean. I had a handful, just so I could say that I have tried it. It was good water, cold and refreshing. (Its quite hard to see in the photo but the last one is the pool of water)
The Lava cave tour guide we had was great and in the tour group we also had people from;
1x Australia, 1x LA, 3x Idaho, 2x English, 1x New York
These caves were amazing!! 35 meters down and 200m wide, they were a sight to see!! This tour was very different to any other cave tour I had been on, the only light we had was an individual flash light, whilst the tour guide had a super-sized one to light up the bigger areas. It was at the very bottom and end of the cave that we turned off our flashlights and stood there in the pitch black for about a minute, this was scary. No-ones eyes could ever adjust to the amount of darkness that was down there! At this point we also got to taste the "purest water you will ever drink". It runs down from the snaefellsjokull glacier above and through the lava caves to a small pool, then keeps running out towards the ocean. I had a handful, just so I could say that I have tried it. It was good water, cold and refreshing. (Its quite hard to see in the photo but the last one is the pool of water)
It was 3:15 by the time I was leaving, with still another 2 hours of driving ahead. I stopped at a few very scenic places on the way. The first being Kirkjufellsfoss Falls, Another amazing waterfall!
After this, a black sand beach, the "top of the world" shot and a few huge mountains! (these photos deserve to be huge!!)
I quickly stopped in Grundarfjordur to have a look at the outside of the fishing museum as it was closed, then onto Stykkisholmur where the Flatey Island ferry leaves from. I had a quick walk around town but as it was getting a bit late thought I better start to head back to Borgarnes.
I arrived back in town just in time as it started to get very windy, and I hate wind! haha. I had been told the settlement centre in town was a very nice place to go for dinner so headed straight down there. The Waitress that served me was so nice and was pretty interested in hearing about my trip (she wants to visit Australia, like everyone else over here). I decided to try something different for dinner (I think its illegal in Australia). To all Cowboys and Cowgirls, maybe don't continue reading and leave it here for the night....
I had (very Icelandic) horse with a fresh berry sauce and steamed veggies. And my god it was good!! It was so tender and tasted amazing, I think I would like to start a trend in Australia. We eat Kangaroo which is an Australian Icon so I don't think eating horse can be worse than that! After my amazing meal I headed back to the guesthouse, had a quick Skype session with Sarah and planned out my next few days, heading to the capital tomorrow which I am very excited about, only 7 days left in this amazing country!!
xx
I had (very Icelandic) horse with a fresh berry sauce and steamed veggies. And my god it was good!! It was so tender and tasted amazing, I think I would like to start a trend in Australia. We eat Kangaroo which is an Australian Icon so I don't think eating horse can be worse than that! After my amazing meal I headed back to the guesthouse, had a quick Skype session with Sarah and planned out my next few days, heading to the capital tomorrow which I am very excited about, only 7 days left in this amazing country!!
xx