[Road trip in Iceland] Day 11: North-West of Iceland
Today, we have to drive a lot, to get closer to the Snaefellsjökull peninsula. As we are a bit ahead of schedule, we allow ourselves to explore a tiny part of North-West Iceland – where tourists usually do not venture, especially in winter as there are many closed roads.
Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
Itinerary
Stop 1: Hot Pots Ranges
Having spent the night in Drangsnes itself: Sunna’s Guesthouse(link Booking), we can enjoy the hot baths (available free of charge) near the ocean quietly in the morning. Our guesthouse lent us 2 bathrobes and told us to shower before going there, put on the bathrobes and come back to shower & change 🙂 It’s a great plan because there is neither changing room nor shower on the place. The 3 baths have different temperatures (one is cold). Considering the bottles & cans of beer in the trash can next door, I think it’s a tradition to bask in hot water while sipping a beer. There are a lot of hot springs in the North of Iceland, you really have to enjoy it!
After the hot bath, we leave the guesthouse and go around the coast… following a gravel road in rather bad condition. We activate the 4 wheel drive to be a little more quiet.
While there are almost no forests in Iceland, in the region we see a lot of driftwood along the coast, some piled up in pyramids, perhaps for later use.
Stop 2 : The house of the witch
The Sorcerer’s Cottage is a construction imitating the old houses of the poor peasants. The living conditions were so difficult in the area that people regularly used magic spells, simply to wish for the good health of the animals, to be obeyed by their sheep etc.
The witch’s house is part of the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft in Holmavik (the town not necessarily next door). It was built according to traditional construction methods, with the famous grass roof and driftwood found in the area. You can’t go in there anymore though.
Explanatory texts comment on the magic formulas that could have been found in this type of houses. I let you click on each image if you want to read them (in English and Icelandic too).
In the area, we still see barriers of houses made of driftwood. The funnier they look, the more they are appreciated.
Stop 2 bis : Gvendarlaug – healing water
20 meters away, it’s difficult to find the place if you don’t know it exists, but if you look carefully, there is a small arrow leading to Gvendarlaug.
This hot spring – apparently healing – is named after the bishop who contributed much to the region. Before, one could bathe there. Now, it is forbidden, and this healing water is brought to fill a beautiful swimming pool next door, belonging to the Laugarholl Hotel
On the way…
We leave this place to drive to Holmavik, hoping to visit the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft, but it is only open an hour later. The sky is so cloudy and there is so much nothing to do in this small city that we decide to leave, without waiting for the opening of the museum because the road is still long today.
We decide, however, to make a detour via Reykholar
Stop 3 : Reykholar & the algae bath
In Reykholar, algae are harvested using high-powered machines that “walk” in the water. There are 2 factories at the end of the road, one of which is used to reduce the algae to powder.
We learnt it too late, but in Reykholar, you can take a seaweed bath! More info here : https://www.sjavarsmidjan.is/home Apparently, it’s a hot bath prepared as soon as a visitor arrives. The person is going to dilute the algae powder in a hot bath in the open air and leave some for you to make a mask. You may not like the idea, but be aware that algae (even if it makes you think of sushi), are great for the skin, they react with the skin to make a super moisturizing layer. I told you about the benefits of a seaweed bath, discovered thanks to the Irish brand Voya here
Stop 4: Helgafell, the holy mountain
We drive for about 2 hours on a gravel road to reach Helgafell. With this gray sky, and this monotonous road, frankly I’m tired, really very tired even though I don’t even drive. So, when we arrive in front of Helgafell, my laziness makes me think for long minutes: do I get off, or don’t I get off?
The wind is picking up (there have been strong wind alerts for several days in the South and it is arriving slowly here as well), it must be at 35km/h minimum, which doesn’t motivate me much.
But it is formally marked on Tripadvisor: by climbing this mountain (which is actually a hill), without turning around, without talking, everyone is entitled to 3 wishes. One must make them while looking East (and of course not reveal one’s wishes)
Let’s go! What pushes me to climb it is when I realized, thinking about the 3 vows I plan to make – that I don’t need to make any more vows for myself. Since my trip to Egypt, something has happened, perhaps between those columns in Luxor Temple, I have reached an incredible level of serenity. Nothing can reach me now, so I don’t need anything anymore. I will climb this hill to make wishes for others.
Arrived at the top, JB turns around to wait for me. Poor guy, he has lost his vow rights (he shouldn’t have turned around). There is a sort of orientation table to locate the East and to make his wishes. The view from here is breathtaking. Even if the threatening clouds are omnipresent.
Stop 5: Kolgrafarfjördur
The wind continues to blow very strong and while crossing this small path cutting in the middle of a fjord, one finds oneself completely watered by waves. While getting out of the car, I almost got the door blown off by the wind, and I can’t even walk straight anymore as the wind whips me. 50km/h ! Give me an umbrella, I’ll fly away.
Stop 6: Kirkjufellsfoss
Just before Kirkjufellsfoss, we see this nice waterfall that nobody visits because it is on private property (and you have to walk a lot to reach it). But if you have time, look for the waterfalls around the Kirkjufell mountain, some of them are very very beautiful.
The Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall is small but much visited because it has the advantage of being right in front of the funny shaped Kirkjufell mountain. This kind of pictures is on all postcards.
But seen from the side, this mountain is less cool 🙂 You can go up to the top with a guide but it seems that you have to have a good level.
Here is the waterfall: tiny, and with the wind at 50km/h, we are so lazy to go there. You will have only one picture from far.
Legend has it that a woman who lost her two sons – drowned while searching for fish – cast a spell – that there would be no more fish in this waterfall and no more drowning. Apparently the spell worked well.
We still walk along the coast to hurry to be warm – in our guesthouse. We will see many black sand beaches – beautiful – with very strong waves, whose head is “messed up” by the wind. According to JB, it looks like the waves are surfing on themselves. It is an extraordinary spectacle.
Just as the guesthouse arrives, it starts raining ropes. What rotten weather! Luckily we’re warm, there’s even a launderette, where we can wash our clothes – but air dry (because the dryer seems to be out of order). We only paid for a private room but the other rooms aren’t occupied and end up alone in a huge apartment with a living room. Luck! there is an aurora borealis alert but unfortunately with so many clouds & rain, there is no chance to see them 🙁
Our next article, it’s this way
Part 2: Practical Tips
If you go to Iceland in the summer, if you are short of time and still want to explore the western part of Iceland, don’t go through Drangsnes like we do. From the north of Iceland, drive non-stop to Latrabjarg to see the cliffs and birds.
In the Northwest, people are so little used to seeing tourists that everything is closed (in winter). There is absolutely nobody on the road. Remember to fill up regularly and do some shopping before coming (the grocery store near our guesthouse was closed).
Budget
Will be updated later (I’m tired now) 😀
- Drangsnes Hot Pots : free
- The Sorcerer’s Cottage : free of charge
- Helgafell: 200ISK to put in a box
- Hotel in Drangsnes: Sunna’s Guesthouse(link Booking) 81€, room with private bathroom, kitchen, near a free hot water spring
- Hotel in Hellissandur: West Pack Guesthouse(link Booking), 55€, numerous common areas (including a games room with billiards, darts and board games), free laundry (dryer HS on the other hand)
