Our first stop was supposed to be a viking village that was created near Höfn for a movie, but the road leading to it was compromised by all the rain and our little Sharky RV would not likely have made it down and back. So, we skipped the viking village and headed to the next stop.
By the time we got to Secret Black Sand Beach, the rain had stopped just a bit, so we were able to suit up and enjoy the rock formations and black sand. The beach was filled with cool rocks and clam shells that the sea birds drop from above to crack open. It was nice to stretch our legs a bit and check out the amazing volcanic rock formations sticking up from the sea.
Not long after the Secret Beach, we stumbled across a cute little fishing village on the east side of the island called Djupivogur. We went to a little grocery store in town and bought a bunch of Icelandic candy to try, and then headed down the street and found a cute cafe for lunch. We got a couple orders of fresh, local fish and chips, and three Icelandic hot dogs. Livy and Nick ate their hot dogs plain, but Drew went for the fully involved version. Icelanders take their hot dogs very seriously, and you can get them in just about any cafe and even at many diners that are connected to their main gas stations. At lunch, we also tried this amazing meringue torte the cafe had on display. Delicious! We had fun trying our Icelandic candy once we got back on the road. Lots contain black licorice, which we thought we hate, but turns out that licorice with chocolate and other flavors like coconut is really good! Trying to decipher food labels in Iceland has been a fun challenge all around. Our bread choice, fun morning pastries, and soda have all been fun to try too.
Leaving the cute little fishing village meant we were about to leave the safest part of our drive today. As we turned and headed toward Egilsstaðir, the roads got really crazy! We hit gravel roads filled with pot holes left and right, went up and down twisty hairpin turns, and sudden altitude changes that shocked our system. Poor Sharky had a tough time keeping up. It was nail-biting for me, and I'm just the navigator. Thankfully, Mike is an amazing driver so we made it to Egilsstaðir safely.
However, we had a few hours of daylight left, so we decided to head even further east to a town famous for it's rainbow road and church. The trip should only have taken 23 minutes, but the rainy weather we had all day suddenly changed to snow, and we found ourselves trying to climb some steep and windy roads in our heavy RV. Poor Sharky even sputtered out twice trying to get up to the pass. Again, Mike and his nerves of steel got us to the next stop.
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| Little bit of snow...I was even excited to see it at first! |
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| More snow.... |
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| What the heck snow? And it happened in minutes! |
Seydisfjordur was a very cute little fishing town in a deep valley next to the ocean, and we found the Seyoisfjaroarkirkja Church without any trouble. Even with the rain and foggy conditions, it was a very cool stop. We wanted to stay longer and explore the town (right as you pull in we saw a cool brewery...something we have not seen many of on this trip), but the weather was getting worse and we had to trek back up that crazy climb to get to our camping spot for the night.
The drive back over the mountain was a lot faster...we saw a couple of snow plows trekking back and forth over the pass so they really cleared it off nicely. Back at Egilsstaðir, we got to our campground, made a super yummy dinner, took hot showers, and settled down for the night. A big part I love about these camping trips are the fun we all have together. The kids played "Kemps," a partner card game, and "Spoons." Listening to all of them giggle and have fun together is my favorite! They ended the night with Uno Attack, Spot It, and some good old fashion coloring, and we're about to finish last night's movie before bedtime. Tomorrow we hit a natural spa (it's called the "Blue Lagoon of the North") called Myvatn Nature Baths, and after today's crazy driving adventures, Mike and I are ready to relax!
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