Iceland #13 - Day 7: Hiking to Glymur

One of the wonderful things about returning to a country over and over is discovering new things each time, as well as re-visiting a few known gems. In the winter the options are limited, as roads are closed due to snow, but in late summer/early autumn most of the roads are still passable and therefore new destinations await!

My friend Mandy arrived the day before another friend, Mav, so we had the day to ourselves to explore. I googled "day-trips from Reykjavík" and found the usual golden circle destinations, but then found a couple of waterfalls that I'd heard of but didn't know much about, as they're out-of-bounds during the winter. The first was Háifoss, right up at the far side of the golden circle (which we were visiting the following days anyway) and the other that got my interest was Glymur, previously Iceland's tallest waterfall (until it was discovered that another had a slightly longer drop). It's pretty easy to get to, sitting up a valley at the end of Hvalfjörður. I must have driven past the turn-off on my first solo Icelandic trip, as I'd driven around the fjord, but the road up to the waterfall would have been closed anyway. The trip involves quite a steep climb up the side of a canyon, but I decided it would make the perfect day-trip for us (unless it was pissing with rain, which it wasn't).

We woke up at around 8.30am and had a good breakfast downstairs, before heading off towards the waterfall. I managed to take a wrong turn to get on to the Route 1, but it didn't matter too much and soon we were back on the road heading north, passing those endless Mosfellsbær roundabouts again. We stopped at the café at the trailhead to Eskja to use the loo. It was for customers only so we got a muffin to take on our hike and Mandy had a horribly-disappointing cup of expensive coffee out of a machine (not a proper coffee-maker!). We took the turn-off to take the road around the south side of the fjord. It's a lovely drive, past farmland and small waterfalls. We stopped at some shallow falls, Laxa i Kjos, and took a couple of photos each, the sun coming out briefly for us (I didn't bother with the tripod, but it would be a nice spot for some smooth water longer exposure shots).

We drove on, passing the small waterfall that I'd stopped at on my first solo trip - Fossárrétt. It was interesting that although it's not a particularly spectacular waterfall, since my previous visit in 2012 a car-park had been built just near-by - obviously the local tourist board thought it worth people stopping at. I'd been practising my first long-exposure shots with waterfalls on that trip!

We soon reached the turn-off to Glymur, and finished the last few miles of the drive. The car-park was packed, so we knew we wouldn't be alone on the hike. We got ourselves ready and set off, with the sun coming and going behind big clouds. At least it wasn't raining (we might not have done it had it been). The path meandered around, climbing a little. I saw the odd remaining lupin - it must look so glorious when they're all out. We didn't stop until we reached the caves that you have to climb through to continue (sounds worse than it is - anyone could hike this bit easily). I finally got my camera out and took a couple of shots of Mandy at the entrance to the cave. Always a good challenge to take photos in caves - super-bright outside and super-dark inside...

The next stop after the cave was the first river crossing (there's actually only this one if you go up and back on this route, but another, bigger one if you decided to come down on the other side). People were stopped at the edge of the river taking off shoes and socks. The crossing consisted of hopping over a couple of rocks which had water flowing over them (but not deep), followed by a section along a slightly wet log over a deeper bit; the whole way across was a metal rope to hold onto.

We sat down and took off our shoes and socks, tied the shoes around the backpack straps, tucked the socks securely into the shoes, rolled up our trousers, and I put the camera away in a plastic bag inside my backpack, in case of disaster. There was actually a bit of a queue, so we waited while a few people went ahead - it was definitely a on-at-a-time crossing. Mandy went first and I took a few iPhone pictures - I had to get some record!

It was my turn next and the first part was easy, although the water was jolly cold. I got onto the first section of the log and it was extremely slippery and I slipped a little - thank god for the wire! The dry bit was fine, but I did feel a little relieved to reach the other side. We dried our feet with our socks and then put them and the shoes back on again and continued up into the canyon. The trail became steeper, and from time-to-time there were sections with wire ropes to help you. Eventually we came to the first of the viewpoints of the magnificent waterfall. The canyon was lush and green and the waterfall was just visible in the distance. I set the tripod up and took a few shots. It was a long way down!

We carried on - still having a long way up to go. We could see the tiny silhouettes of people at the top of the falls. The view back down to the valley behind us was also lovely.

The viewing areas were welcome stopping places, as the climb was relentless.

As we got closer to the top the falls came more into view, and we could see how there were two separate sections - a gently fall over sleek rocks, and a section that fell directly into the abyss below. We also noticed a couple of sheep snuggled together on one of the steep grassy slopes at the foot of a cliff - god knows how they got there! Some of the cliffs had intensely orange rocks, which contrasted against the deep greens of the canyon sides.

Finally we reached the top, which felt like quite an achievement, given how steep it was. We then had to decide whether to try to cross the river a bit upstream of the falls or return the same way. We decided to try the other side - for something different - and so continued on the path until we saw some people on the far bank putting their shoes back on. That must be a place to cross, we thought. We got ourselves ready again - camera away, shoes tied around backpack straps, and watched a couple of other women attempt to cross. The river is very wide above the falls, but although it looked quite shallow, crossing was more challenging than first appeared. The women went out for a good ten metres before finding a too-deep bit and turned back. A few other pairs and groups arrived and we all kind of surveyed the river, unsure what to do. Eventually the same women tried a bit further up the river, along the top of a faster-flowing bit, and they managed to find a reasonable path across. The sun even came out as we crossed, which made the cold a little less unbearable briefly.

It was quite exhilarating, trying hard not to fall, arms flailing to keep one's balance. A whole group of us followed the woman's path. The rocks were either smooth but covered in slippery weeds, or sharp and pointy, so the whole thing was quite a challenge. We were very pleased and relieved to get to the other side, but it was very good fun. Again we dried our frozen feet with socks and dressed again and continued on. The view above the fall gave nothing away about the drop beyond the edge. The sun disappeared and dark clouds grew on the horizon; some rain was also visible in the distance.

We carried on down, choosing the shorter but steeper path that hugs the side of the canyon (a less steep path takes you down, away from the canyon). The rain in the distance became more prominent.

There were more viewpoints, with the falls more visible, so we stopped for a few photos, including a couple of obligatory selfies.

*iPhoneSE shot

*iPhoneSE shot

The path down wasn't as quick or easy as we'd hoped, and we ended up in trails going through birch trees. I certainly didn't want to get stuck in a bloody birch forest again, after the previous day's escapade! Eventually we left the trees and rejoined the path we'd started on before entering the cave. It started to rain slightly so the waterproof jackets came out briefly.

Soon we were down and back at the car, and I realised that I no longer had my lovely sunglasses with me - I remembered putting them on the ground at some point and obviously had failed to pick them up again. Very annoying, but if that was the worst disaster of the holiday it wasn't too bad. We drove back towards the road along the fjord, running a bit later than we'd hoped. We still had to drive back, shower and change, before then meeting up with some friends of Mandy's in a bar near where we were staying in downtown Reykjavík at 7pm. We had just over an hour's drive ahead, but obviously had to pull over when we saw the most intense rainbow across the fjord. It was only a small amount but very bright, with impressive clouds above.

The journey back into Reykjavík was an easy one, and Mandy helped me navigate, so we were able to arrive at the apartment without a hitch. We were staying just down from the Hallgrimskirkja, and managed to find a parking spot right outside. We had been booked into a different apartment, but Booking.com had cancelled it the previous week and suggested this one - Mengi. It was a lovely little place, and brilliantly located.

We went out and met up with Mandy's friends - Ed and Paul - in Kaffibarinn - a coffee shop that turned into a bar at night. We had a couple of drinks there before heading down to the Kex Hostel along the waterfront for some more drinks, some delicious fish, and meeting some of Ed and Paul's friends. There are certainly lots of expats living in the city, but since everyone speaks English they hung out with locals too, not just other expats. Last stop was a couple of drinks at the wonderful Mikkeller Bar that I'd visited the previous year with the boys.

Mav, meanwhile, had landed, and was getting the bus into the city, with a minibus to bring her to the apartment (or nearby). It seemed to be taking forever, and she didn't arrive until 1.30am. Mandy and I sat across from the church with a couple of glasses of vodka that we'd brought out from the apartment. I noticed a bus arriving on the far side of the church and headed over. Mav was thankfully on that one, and we walked back to the apartment, had a quick drink before bed, before turning in for the night at 2.30am - another rather late one, especially considering how much I had planned for the following day!

Click here for my blog from Day 6 - Driving back to Kéflavíjk
Click here for my blog from Day 8 - A Little Bit of Golden Circle, South Coast, Sunset & Northern Lights

Iceland #13 - Day 1: Finally Visiting the Westfjords!

Iceland greeted me with a vague green bow across the sky that I could just see if I pressed my face against the plane window and blocked out the reflecting light with my black top. Soon we dipped into the low cloud and the sight was gone and I landed at an ever-increasingly busy Keflavík. I went through the normal routine of picking up some Borg beer (the Garún) and waiting at the belt for my luggage for 10 minutes before remembering that backpacks are now delivered at a separate area. I headed out and looked for the car rental guy - finally seeing him and following him out into the parking area (where the cool silver statue with the men looking up has been reinstated), only to find that his minibus was full and I'd have to wait for him to come back. I wandered back inside to pick up some milk for Sigrún and then waited outside for ages. Eventually after about 20 minutes a different guy returned and I felt a bit pissed off that my bag went in to the back first, thinking that I'd get it out last and be at the back of the queue at the car rental desk. As it was, when we got there I rushed out, some others were getting their bags out so I was able to grab mine and get to the front of the queue. I did the paperwork and gave the guy a tip on a fish and chip restaurant in London as he was planning to visit next Feb. I got an Opel Mokka - a small 4WD that I hadn't come across before - and it was a lovely car to drive. It was automatic, which meant a bit less fun to drive, but a lot easier. And most importantly, the stereo worked properly with my little old nano.

The drive to Álftanes was horrible. By the time I left the Pro-Car place it was just before 1am (2am UK time) and I was totally exhausted; driving in the dark along a dreary road in the drizzle was unpleasant. I was struggling to keep myself awake, counting down the kilometres until I'd be safe. Finally I arrived, without having fallen asleep at the wheel, was greeted by the adorable Jökull and went straight to bed. In the morning after hellos with Sigrún and Johannes they pointed out that all my car windows were open. It was very strange - I'd remembered hearing a whirring sound when I'd locked the car after unloading the night before, but assumed it was just the mirrors moving inwards. But no, it had obviously been the windows all winding down. Fortunately the drizzle had stopped so the car wasn't even damp. And even more fortunately no-one had reached in to remove the Garun! It was very odd, and I was certainly very careful that it didn't happen again on the rest of the trip, given that I kept a few valuables in the car.

I had breakfast with the family and had a quick catch-up before Johannes took the kids off to school and Sigrún went off to work. And then I set off. My day's agenda was to drive up to Stykkishólmur from where I was taking the ferry across Breiðafjörður to Brjanslækur, before driving the last 55km to Patreksfjörður to sleep for the next couple of nights. First stop was a trip to the Hagkaup supermarket to stock up on a few essentials for the week - the usual packed lunch stuff, a bit of fruit and juice, and some chocolate licorice to nibble on in the car.

My trips to Iceland now have to involve a trip to my favourite jewellers, Orr, in downtown Reykjavík, and I'd worked out that I just had time if I got there when it opened at 10am and left by 10.45am. I managed to navigate my way into town (with free roaming now, I had access to data on my iPhone which was helpful for navigating) and parked around the corner from the shop. I arrived at 10am on the dot and it wasn't yet open, but it gave me a chance to have a good look at all the rings in the window. Eventually the lovely Heiða arrived and I began my search for my new little treat (a recent tax rebate helped). I'd had my mind on some earrings that I'd seen before, and ended up with those, a matching neckless and a little silver ring. I cannot help myself there!

A little poorer but happy to have some gorgeous new silver bits I headed back to the car and off towards the Route 1 (having got totally lost again in the one-way system trying to get back on the main road out) and soon I was going round the endless roundabouts near Mosfellsbær before taking the rather scary tunnel under Hvalfjörður - 6km is a long time in a tunnel, but it certainly saves a lot of time. The weather had been clear enough in Rekyjavík but as I drove north I could see some cloud ahead of me. At Borganes I stopped at the Vinbuðin and picked up a couple of singleton beers, and then turned off to cross the eastern side of the Snæfellsness Peninsula to reach Stykkishólmur. The drive wasn't very spectacular until I started climbing across the heath. Unfortunately at that point I hit low cloud and drizzle which became driving rain as I got higher. I'd driven on that road 5 years earlier when it had been under snow - it looked a lot different now, passing little lakes, but I'm sure it would be spectacular with better visibility. It was a relief to start descending and finally come out from under the clouds on the other side, and then I was greeted with a beautiful view north down to the fjord ahead, with a rainbow ahead of me. I parked up at a viewpoint to take my first photos of the trip. I was a little surprised as I got out of the car by the wind - it was ferocious (and typically Icelandic!). I wandered down the hill a little and took a few shots of the rainbow, which intensified as I was there. A nice little display for me. Who doesn't love a good rainbow? I went back to the car to put on the wide-angle lens to capture the whole thing, and also put on my rain jacket - the wind was obscene and cold!

I was glad for the respite when I got back in the car and continued down the road towards the port. I was okay for time, so didn't have to rush, but I did want to visit a little restaurant I'd been to in the winter trip in 2012 that I'd remembered being lovely. I got to the main road heading east-west along the northern coast of the peninsula and took the right turn. As I drove along the road I looked back south over the storm that I passed through - the clouds were just spectacular, so I pulled over again at a turn-out to take a few more shots. Fortunately the wind down here was pretty gentle. I hadn't had a chance to clean my sensor yet, so I knew that any photographs today would require a lot of post-processing to remove the stubborn dust spots, but I still took loads anyway! It was quite magnificent. Had I not had a ferry to catch I probably would've taken more shots, going for a little hike with the tripod. I definitely spotted at least one troll in the hillside beyond...

I tore myself away and took the turn-off up to Stykkishólmur, the weird church visible me in the distance, stopping one more time to photograph the clouds over the hills behind me.

I filled the car up as I arrived in town - not risking having petrol shortages after an incident a few trips ago, and afterwards I soon found the little café in town - Narfeyrarstofa, parked outside, and headed in for a bowl of delicious fish soup. It was beautifully presented, with tasty bread on the side and a dish with different salts (seems to be a thing in Iceland these days).

* iPhoneSE shot

After a quick chat with the lovely friendly owner, telling her that I'd remembered it from my last visit, I drove down to the port and parked the Mokka at the end of the queue for the ferry. I got out and climbed onto the wall to get a few shots of the wonderful, colourful basalt columns that surround the port.

Cars started revving their engines and soon I was back in the car driving onto the Baldur ferry. As we departed I put on the hired Zeiss 100mm lens to give it a test run - quite challenging using a manual-focus prime lens. On the hill above the basalt column cliff a few people were having a little hike. The town looked pretty, with the backdrop of mountains and the amazing clouds still hanging low over the hilltops.

I soon changed lenses to the telephoto zoom as I couldn't capture much from the ferry at 100mm. It was a lovely calm day - thankfully, given how prone I am to seasickness. I spent most of the journey on the deck, enjoying the sunshine (left the sunglasses in the car, so spent most of the journey squinting). The mountains looked lovely backlit by the afternoon sun. There was a pointed mountain to the west that I thought might be the much-photographed Kirkjufell, but looking on a map now I think it was Lambahnúkur.

As we sailed along I played around with long exposures, trying to get some slowed down wave action; the light wasn't great, and I didn't have a tripod or filters, so it was a question of putting the ISO to its lowest (50) and the aperture to its highest (32 on my telephoto lens). When I processed the images I realised that I had at least 50 dust spots on the sensor (the clean was long overdue), which obviously showed up more using the high apertures.

After about an hour and a half (at 4.30pm) we arrived at Flatey. During the summer it's possible to disembark, have a look around the little flat island, and then catch a later ferry to continue your journey. From the beginning of September it is the shoulder season so the ferries go down to once a day, and the Flatey stop is just for some deliveries to be offloaded. It took about an hour, with a few bits and pieces (including wooden house frames) being winched onto the dock. An enthusiastic dog paced around, as if trying to help with the operation.

We set off again and it became a bit cooler as the sun began disappearing behind hazy clouds. I still spent most of my time on the deck, but occasionally needed to retreat to the warm cabin.

It wasn't long until the first flat-topped mountains on the southern side of the Westfjords came into view. I was very excited. This was my 13th trip to Iceland, but my first to this region, having always put it off as I visited at the wrong time of year. It's still accessible in September, although the first snows can come at any time during the month on the high passes, limiting access. I took my first shot of the area with cloud-topped mountaintops, the first of many similar shots over the following few days.

As we neared land the cloud and wind grew, and it became far colder, the sun making only the odd brief appearance. To the east I noticed some layers of chunky lenticular clouds, but all around the clouds were increasing and menacing.

On one little trip outside to check the view I stumbled a little and banged my leg on a buckle on one of the outside storage boxes - resulting in an enormous bruise that is still visible two weeks later!

By the time we got closer to the port I had to stay inside as it was freezing. I chatted to some people from Seattle, before heading back out to take a last few shots before the ship arrived in Brjanslækur. As we docked I stayed upstairs with a few others, missing the instruction to return to the cars. Suddenly I saw cars driving off, an employee came and shouted for us to get to our cars, so I ran down to mine and squeezed into the car and drove off just as the one in front was leaving (before I got shouted at again).

And there I was - finally in the magnificent Vestfirðir! It was cloudy, drizzling slightly, cold and windy - just as I'd imagined it to be, with clouds draped over all the surrounding mountains. The ferry had spent longer at Flatey than I'd hoped and it was already 6.30pm by the time we disembarked. I had hoped to visit a hot pool just north of Flókalundur (the town a few kilometres north) but decided I didn't really have time, since I still had about an hour or so to drive to get to my base for the night, the Stekkabol guesthouse at Patreksfjörður. I was quite keen to get there in time for "sunset" and also to find something to eat before everything shut. As I learned on my trip to the north-east the previous September, once the summer is over everything closes earlier (or completely), and I was feeling very hungry.

It was a lovely drive, winding along the coast as I headed west. I pulled over at a parking area to take a couple of photos over a beautiful bay, where an American couple were parked. The man was on the phone to his car rental agency in Reykjavík trying to sort out a tyre issue. They were videographers and had a Suzuki Vitara full of gear and their tyre had got a puncture and the spare was practically bald. They were told to drive to Patreksfjörður where they could get a replacement. He was absolutely livid!

I headed onwards, up the first of many spectacular mountain passes. The road up to Kleifaheiði wasn't too memorable, but the journey down the other side was very impressive, with massive sweeping switchbacks and views down to the Patreksfjörður fjord below. At the top was a strange sculpture (Kleifabui) that's been there since 1947 - no idea what the bit sticking out of it was all about, but apparently it was built after the road was completed using leftover materials. 

At the bottom of the pass I took the road to the north-west which wound itself around the edge of the fjord, with a great view of an incredible yellowy-white sandy beach on the opposite shore. By the time I reached Patreksfjörður it was almost 7.30pm. It was strange little place, with a couple of parallel streets built up the hillside from the fjord's edge, and a small harbour at the far end of town. I drove through and found a little spot from where I took a few shots of the hills on the other side. The telephoto was struggling in the light to focus (as was I, without my reading glasses!), so I gave up pretty quickly.

I drove back through the town, not quite sure how to get up to my guesthouse, as there weren't many roads connecting the different levels. Eventually I figured it out, checked in, and wandered down the road past a pretty church to the one restaurant that was still open for the season, Stúkúhusið. I passed

the American couple, who'd got the replacement tyre (at a cost of about $200), hoping that they'd be able to recoup it from the rental company. He was still clearly very pissed off. I ate the fish of the day (divine chunks of cod with a creamy pistachio topping), managed to drink about a litre of water, and then wandered back home - it's always a bit odd eating alone.

* iPhoneSE shot

* iPhoneSE shot

The forecast for the following day - which I was planning to spend exploring the area, including the Látrabjarg cliffs and Rauðasandur beach - was for rain until at least midday, but possibly all day. I set my alarm in time to get breakfast, but planned to spend the morning cleaning the sensor and looking at the previous day's photos. I did a bit of a review in my room, drank one of my cold beers, chatted briefly to hubby on Facetime and then went to bed, feeling a little exhausted and headachey, but very glad that I'd decided to take the ferry and saved myself a few hours of driving, and also very glad to finally have made it up to the Westfjords. I was very excited to be spending the next few days exploring.

Click here for Day 2 - Exploring the Látrabjarg Peninsula