On the Road to the Vestfirðir
A long day of driving awaited us as we headed toward the West Fjords. For practical reasons, we could have taken the ferry from Stykkisholmur, passing through Flatey, but the ferry schedule didn’t work for us.
We had planned to do a hike in the morning, and since the ferry didn’t offer any afternoon departures, we chose to drive to the fjords instead.
Sogin: The "Little Landmannalaugar"
The planned hike was at Sogin on the Reykjanes Peninsula. After a 45-minute drive, we arrived near Kleifarvatn and took a bumpy road to reach the site’s parking area.
The trail was poorly marked, but it quickly became clear that we needed to climb eastward toward a small hill to reach the viewpoint. The colors brought to mind the pallette we knew from Landmannalaugar, and we could continue to the left for a great view of Mount Keilir and the distant, still-smoking lava flow near Grindavik.
A Stop at Grabrok
We hit the road again in the late morning, heading north, and after a quick lunch stop near Borgarnes, we decided to take a break at Grabrok. We had often passed by this site along Route 1 without stopping, so this was the perfect opportunity!
Unfortunately, the weather was unpredictable that day, the sky overcast with grey clouds. We had planned to do the short hike around the site, but as it started to rain heavily, we settled for climbing to the top of the first crater (only about a 30-minute walk).
Arrival in the Fjords and Their Famous Hot Springs
The road to the fjords was long but beautiful, and only partially paved. We arrived at Hellulaug around 5PM, a stunning hot spring near the road that serves the southern fjords. Unfortunately, other tourists had the same idea and it turned out crowded, so we decided to continue to our guesthouse, "Mora," located a few kilometers away, which boasted its own hot spring right in front.
After a 20-minute drive, we dropped off our things at the guesthouse and walked to the Krosslaug hot spring, merely a hundred meters away. The view of the fjords was splendid, and we decided to take a dip in the hot spring despite the cloudy weather as we had the place to ourselves. The peace and quiet were indescribable and it was a moment of pure bliss that we won't soon forget.
We had immediately noticed the difference in traffic once we left Road Nbr 1 and entered the northwest fjords. There were very few tourists, cars few and far between. This turned out perfect for us, as this feeling of being at the ends of the Earth was exactly what we had come to find in the Vestfirðir region.
