Snaefellsnes Peninsula
- Day: Saturday, June 24
- Weather: Cloudy, 12 °C
- Distance in kilometers: 320 km
The Avis agency picked us up at the Alba Guesthouse at 9AM so that we could pick up our 4x4. We had thought we would find a Suzuki Jimny as originally planned, but they didn't have one anymore, so we rented a Hyundai Santa Fe for the same price.
Once we got used to the automatic gearbox we hit the road towards Mosfellsbaer. First, we took a short break outside Reykjavik to take photos of the Laugasfell church.
Road 47, which runs along Esja, was magnificent, with a beautiful view of Hvalfjöður in particular. Our afternoon was partly devoted to a walk to the Eldborg volcano. We parked the car at the farm where the path leading to the crater began.
We crossed the lava fields covered in moss on foot before arriving at a rather impressive crater. It took about 2 hours to make the retern trip hiking from the farm; the ascent of the crater itself took only 20 minutes, but the “path” was very steep and often slippery.
On the way back, we found ourselves in the middle of the herd of cows from the neighboring farm who all began rushing towards the open gate to get out of their enclosure while we did; the race was on but unfortunately for them, we were faster...
We headed for the Snaefellsnes peninsula and stopped at the Ytri Tunga farm on Chris's advice.
Hellnar and its cliffs
In fact, just 200 meters behind the farm, there was a beach where we easily found a seal colony enjoying some sun rays. Slowly and silently we managed to get very close to them to take a few shots. Surprisingly, our discreet presence didn't seem to bother them too much; they didn't pay too much attention to us, just casting a quick glance from time to time.
A few kilometers away, we made a stop at the church in Buðir, which has the unique feature of being all black. Our journey ended in Arnarstapì, where we found our guesthouse (Snjöfell). The road offered magnificent landscapes, with mountains adorned in red and ocher colors.
The village of Arnarstapì was very charming, complete with a picturesque little port, and the locals we met there were exceptionally friendly. Close to the stone statue, which represented a Viking, there was a lovely hiking trail leading to Hellnar (2.5km).
Upon reaching Hellnar, we discovered a delightful little café where we could take a short break before continuing our journey. Additionally, on a pebble beach in Hellnar, there were breathtaking rocks forming an arch and providing a home to numerous bird species. The black rocks beautifully contrasted with the sublime turquoise blue of the water. After savoring a delicious meal at the restaurant in the Snjöfell guesthouse, we called it a day and decided to get some rest.
