My whirlwind Iceland trip, Day 1: Westfjords

On my way to the Air Guitar World Championships, I decided to stop in Iceland, a country I've been wanting to visit for about a decade.  I only had about 10 days for the entire trip, which meant I only had 3 days to spend in Iceland.

My original plan was to stay in one place (Reykjavik) and see a lot of it.  Taking the advice of a good friend who had visited a month prior, I decided to rent an SUV and sleep in the back like the vagabond I am while driving up and down the coast going from one hot pool and majestic view to the next.  I'll break this down in 3 posts, one for each day, as they were each distinct, and packed with lots of little mundane details which I wouldn't dare deprive you of ;)

Upon arriving at the Airport, I waited for a little over an hour for my rental car.  This would also be my mobile home for the length of the trip.  I'd considered staying in hostels along the way, but I wanted the flexibility of being able to stop wherever I could/needed to since I wasn't sure how much distance I'd really get to cover each day.  I could have gotten a camper, but my midwestern frugality combined with my youthful audaciousness and I convinced myself that sleeping in the back with the seats down would be just fine.  Well, it wasn't just fine, it was cold. But I'll get to that.

I headed to THE travel destination in Iceland. The Blue Lagoon.  I've had a few friends visit in recent months and they all had pictures from the hot pools, with white silica mud masks.  You know, like this lovely couple.  Not pictured, are the 2 dozen Chinese and German tourists with selfie sticks who must have moved behind the photographer for this shot:

I got there about 10 minutes after they opened, and was quite pleased with myself as I seemed to have beat the rush.  Unfortunately, I was told, they were "fully booked" and I would have to wait until all the ticketed guests were admitted before I could be sold a ticket.  I pointed out of course, that some of the people with tickets may not show up until the end of the day, or maybe not at all.  This was met with a polite and sympathetic shoulder shrug.  I then told myself a variety of lies until I was convinced that I wouldn't have liked it anyway, and got back on the road to Ísafjörður, the "capital" of the Westfjords.

My first stop was this waterfall that I just happened to spot from the road.  Regrettably, I don't know exactly where this was, but somewhere north of Borgarnes. There was a place to pull off the road, and a sign describing some Icelandic lore that took place in the area.  These tales, or "sagas" were referenced in a lot of the more scenic locales.  It helps to enjoy the view when you can picture a Viking throwing the body of his slain enemy off that cliff you're standing on, I guess.  Anyways, check out the video for some more waterfallness, and to enjoy my hair.

After stopping at a grocery store to pick up some traditional Icelandic lunch meat, cheese and bread, I traveled highway 60 in a sinusoidal path, weaving in and out of 10 different fjords, stopping every two or three to snap pictures. I took a short video near the top of this one, mostly to capture a house, which I couldn't believe someone actually lives in.

 I stopped late afternoon at a place called Flókalundi or Flókalundur depending on which guidebook you're looking at. It consisted of 4 houses, a hotel and a gas station, but was the largest town I passed for a couple hours.  There is a geothermal hot pool (or "hot pot" as the locals describe them in English to tourists) tucked out of view from the road.  I put on my swim trunks and soaked in a little nook in the side of a short cliff with some Polish women and looked out onto the water. When the tide is up, the water gets close enough to run and jump into from the hot pool, but that was not the case, and I was not feeling that adventurous. 

More driving, more zig zagging, and a little sheep-dodging.  Seriously, there are a lot of sheep in Iceland. About 50% more than people, in fact. Here's a picture of three of the maniacs who tried to run me off the road a few minutes earlier.  They look pretty smug here, but I ate lamb stew and bought two sweaters and two pairs of gloves before I left, so I think I got the last laugh.  

Next stop: Dynjandi Falls!  Here's a video about it, cause I'm getting carpal tunnel. And you're probably tired of reading.

These falls reminded me of one of those champagne glass pyramid things, that I've never actually seen in person, because I'm not that fancy.  Besides the main falls, there are 7 or 8 smaller cascades of which you can see a few in the video. I took a picture air guitaring towards the top, because I am a weirdo.

After this, I had a few more hours of driving and made it to Ísafjörður around 10 pm. I had a few beers in one of the 2 cafes that were still open and made friends with 8 students by walking up and using the always effective opener: "soo, I hear you speaking English, mind if I join you?"
About half of the group was Canadian, except for a couple of Germans, a Brit and a Scotsman. They were all getting ready to start a masters program in conservation at the university there.  I felt a little sorry for them being stuck in that town for the next 18 months, but the next morning when I could see how beautiful it was there, I didn't feel so sorry anymore.

We closed the place down at about 4 am. Around this time I started calculating and realized I hadn't had so much as a nap in 39 hours. The 7 hr time change did a number on me, apparently. I made a hobo bed of clothes and such in the back of my SUV (because who has room to pack an entire sleeping bag?)  I woke up after a few hours because I was COLD. I turned the heater on full blast, so I could get comfortable enough to fall back asleep.  I'd like to say lesson learned, but I basically did the exact same thing the next two nights. . .

You made it! End of day one.

Here's the route!